Restaurant

I tried to do some washing this morning. At lunchtime, I saw that the machine had stalled with water, wet clothes, and an inability to drain. A combination of lights was flashing, identifying a fault without me needing to look it up. So, our machine is not fixed after all. Another repair booking was made.

After work, I headed to Grosvenor Street to KOYN. This beautiful Japanese restaurant claims to be 'a celebration of the timeless artistry of Japanese cuisine elevated by a contemporary approach'. I was, at last, meeting up with Greg. We were sitting at the bar, catching up on all the news and gossip, when we realised it had been over two years since we last met. It felt like we just carried on from where we left off.

Dinner was delicious, served expertly and nicely paced to allow us a long time to chat. Crispy squid was one of the starters because when it is on the menu, I nearly always have it, but it was light and crispy with lovely mayonnaise. We had salmon avocado and California sushi rolls and a selection of sashimi (which was immediately re-ordered because it was delicious). The main was the 'A5 Wagyu Hot Stone' beef which is £140 for 160g. I don't know about the pricing, but the meat was delicious. There was not another round. We'd opted for it over the Wagyu Gyoza because we felt the dumpling might spoil the meat. At the end of the main courses, the restaurant provided the gyoza on the house, probably because of the enormous amount of money we had spent. It was also delicious, but I believe I made the right decision. We shared a matcha brûlée and chocolate fondant. They were both rich and a great way to end the meal.

During the meal, we ordered some bottles of wine that turned out to complement the food in both taste and price. By the time the bill was served, there was not much point in looking at it. As it's our once-every-two-years meet-up, I'm (more or less) OK with that. I won't be quite so happy when the credit card bill arrives.

Despite the price, I'd recommend the restaurant.