‘Fusion’ has long been a bit of a buzzword in the food world. Things like ‘tex-mex’ and ‘cronuts’ (look them up) have been conjured from this world of hybrid cuisine. Whether these are successful or not I will let you decide. One fusion that I must encourage the reader to try is ‘Nikkei’ – the increasingly popular marriage of Peruvian and Japanese food. At first this combination sounds unlikely, however, as you start to compare cuisines, similarities start to show; both involve a lot of seafood. Raw seafood. Japan has its sashimi, Peru has its ceviche.

People are more and more bent on ‘experiences’ rather than ‘just’ good food and UNI delivers both with great aplomb. Not only does UNI have a winning cuisine combination, an enviable Belgravia address and friendly, attentive staff, it also offers one of those sought after ‘experiences’ with sushi making classes led by their talented, witty sushi chef, Christian. Arriving at the restaurant, a stone’s throw from Victoria station, I was greeted by one of the charming restaurant staff who was invariably cheerful and helpful as she led me down to the ‘classroom’. The layout of the restaurant works perfectly to allow for the multiple facets of the eatery- you enter at a street level bar/restaurant; one floor lower is the intimate yet elegant ‘classroom’ with tables skirting the sides of the room and a central teacher’s table; a flight of stairs lower still and you reach the restaurant’s most enchanting area. Is it going too far to say it was an ‘Aladdin’s cave’ of culinary delights? Yes? Well, it was: atmospheric vaulted booths lined with a metallic wash and one square glass table in the middle – perfect for the sharing style of UNI’s menu. The menu? It’s wonderful. Of the many dishes we had including delicate seared salmon tacos and succulent ceviche I could not fault one.

Though the food was undeniably brilliant, it was the sushi masterclass that really made my experience at UNI. As sushi has exploded across the capital with Wasabis and Itsus opening on every corner, our masterclass taught us the delicacy and skill it takes to make every single one of those thousands of maki rolls in those hundreds of sushi restaurants. Christian taught us with ease and paid attention to each of us to help us perfect our technique (in saying that, I confess my technique is far from perfect). From the beginning we were told about how to make the famously sticky sushi rice before getting stuck in (quite literally) to making our first nigiri. The hour and a half goes by in the blink of an eye or a click of a chopstick and by the end of your lesson you will have an array of homemade sushi made with your own two hands. I could not recommend this experience enough – masterclasses at UNI are £35 each and with that you get to make three different types of sushi, drink plenty of Japanese tea plus a personal sushi rolling mat to take home with you. The next Saturday Sushi Masterclasses are on the 18^th April, 16^th May, 20^th June, 18^th July and 15^th August. A perfect gift for a friend or, if you’re feeling particularly ‘shellfish’, a great treat for yourself.

More information and book a sushi class at UNI here.

Written by Thoroughly Modern Missy, Angelica Bomford.