Fashion and food have been circling each other in London for a while, from designer cafés to collaborations that put a label on a cake stand. Aki London, the Japanese restaurant on Cavendish Square in Marylebone, has made it the centre of its Christmas, teaming up with designer Rebecca Vallance on a themed afternoon tea and a 14-foot Christmas tree.
The afternoon tea
The Aki London x Rebecca Vallance Afternoon Tea reworks the British tradition with modern Japanese touches. The sandos include chicken katsu with tonkatsu Dijon mayo, green tea-smoked salmon with yuzu curd, and golden egg yolk with summer truffle.
The patisserie is where the designer’s influence shows most: a blackcurrant mousse Christmas tree, a Mayan chocolate and black sesame cake topped with Rebecca Vallance’s signature bow, and a mont blanc reimagined as a snowman with a tart mandarin pâte de fruit centre.
It runs until 1 January and costs £60 per person, or £80 with Champagne.
Festive dining and Kiyori
For bigger celebrations, Aki has three multi-course festive menus for private dining and groups, at £95, £120 and £155 per person, available until 31 December. Dishes include foie gras and Wagyu beef chawanmushi, langoustine with tomato and Fuji apple jelly, lobster tempura with yuzu, and grilled Miyazaki Wagyu with black garlic miso, finishing with a Hokkaido Granita with matcha castella and miso custard.
Downstairs, the subterranean bar Kiyori has a festive cocktail list led by head bartender Sebastiano Christofanon, formerly of Nightjar. The Kabukicho Star mixes Suntory Haku Japanese vodka, brut Champagne and clarified orange blossom water, while the Dark Tide combines Suntory Hibiki Harmony whisky, Kiyomi Japanese rum, Sheng Pu-erh tea and kelp dashi caramel. Cocktails start from £18, and the bar also hosts listening nights, live performances and DJ sets.
The tree
In the main dining hall, a 14-foot tree designed by Rebecca Vallance is crowned with a 2-metre sculptural bow in soft champagne gold, with ribbons through the branches, custom baubles and matching giant bows in the windows. It stays up until 1 January.
What it means for diners
Themed afternoon teas give a familiar booking a reason to change each year. For anyone making their own at home, our guide to classic and modern afternoon tea sandwich fillings has plenty of ideas, and there is more modern Japanese cooking across the city at OKA.
Aki London is at 1 Cavendish Square, London W1G 0LA, with bookings at akilondon.com. Details and image via Aki London.
