As someone who is a great fan of sushi, I was delighted to hear that the Danish-Japanese company Sticks ‘n’ Sushi had taken the corner site in the old Dickens & Jones/House of Fraser building in Richmond’s, George Street.
Sticks ‘n’ Sushi is an odd combination of cultures, but one that certainly works here in the UK. The company was established nearly 15 years ago in Wimbledon and goes from strength to strength. It has a great knack of finding top locations in places like Battersea Power Station and central Kingston…and of course Richmond.
It was International Sushi Day last month, which prompted me to check out the Richmond site.
My pal Annabelle and I braved public transport on a record-breakingly hot day to meet there for dinner. Luckily the restaurant has aircon, but even that seemed to be struggling slightly in the heat.
We had a table by the window, the perfect place for sitting in a cool environment to watch the hot and sweaty world go by, struggling in the heat.
Enjoying a jug of sparkling water to refresh ourselves, we decided to try one of the set menus to save us the decision making process. We chose Perfect Day (£45 per head for minimum of two people)
It started with edamame beans served with salt and lemon, which were much to be expected, but still a good start.
The other ‘starters’ were tuna tartare bites with avocado, sesame, miso, yuzu and spring onion served on tiny flat breads that held their crispness beautifully. They were so tasty.
We also had some rather spectacular looking mushroom croquettes served with a Danish cheese, miso aioli and dusted with truffle. They were served piping hot and really were delicious. 
Then came a glorious platter, laden with neatly laid out sushi and various dips. The range included Nigiri with salmon, avocado, plus ebi maki with tempura shrimp, and a spicy tuna maki. It was an impressive display and we thoroughly enjoyed the range it offered.
Finally came the sticks. We’d been looking forward to these, but unfortunately some of these were rather disappointing. The Buta Yaki pork was good, but the Shake Teriyaki salmon one had a strange, rather bitter note that neither of us liked. The Tsukune chicken meatballs with teriyaki were great, but very salty indeed. Annabelle has a stronger salt tolerance than me but I struggled to finish mine, despite trying to convince myself that the salt was good for us in this extreme heat.
The set menus are a great introduction to the Sticks ‘n’ Sushi concept, especially if you’re rather indecisive, like me. There are some eight different ones available, starting from just £26 per person.
We had a bottle of house South African white wine with our meal. It was a Chenin Blanc, Wild Garden, Cape Coast at £31, the starting price for wines by the bottle. There are wines by the glass from £7.50, cocktails from £12 and a good selection of beers and ciders, including an alcohol free Japanese beer. And, of course, there’s a really impressive range of sake, by the glass or bottle.
