RAI - Tottenham Court Road

4.6

178 Reviews

£41 and over

Japanese

11-13 Bayley St, London, Greater London WC1B 3HD

Make a reservation

2 people

Apr 27, 2025

April 2025

7:00 PM

Booked 19 times today

Experiences are available.

About this restaurant

Good for special occasions
Fancy
Romantic

With just 5 tables and 10 sushi counters, RAI offers the finest yet affordable Omakase experience in London. Experience the essence of “omakase,” which means “I’ll leave it up to you,”. Performed right in front of you by Chef Padam, each plate demonstrates a different level of craftsmanship. Watch as our chef expertly prepares sushi and stamps it with speciality binchotan charcoal for charred flavour, served with 5-year-old soy sauce & rare freshly grated Japanese wasabi.

Forget the noise of central London and enter a serene Japanese garden. Discover the captivating charm of our traditional Japanese garden, where stunning visuals meet an exceptional dining experience. Indulge in our expertly crafted New Style/Classical Tasting menu by Chef Padam and his exceptional team. For those who want a little bit of everything but aren’t quite ready for a full course, we offer an exciting À La Carte menu that can be enjoyed in our Japanese Garden.

Dining areas

Additional information

Dining style
Casual Dining
Price
£41 and over
Cuisines
Japanese, Sushi, French / Japanese
Hours of operation
Mon–Sat 5:30 pm–11:00 pm Mon–Sat 12:00 pm–3:30 pm Fri 5:30 pm–11:30 pm Sat, Sun 12:00 pm–10:30 pm
Phone number
020 8149 6248
Website
https://rairestaurant.com/
Dress code
Smart Casual
Executive chef
Padam Raj Rai

Location
11-13 Bayley St, London, Greater London WC1B 3HD
Neighborhood
Fitzrovia
Parking details
None
Public transit
We are only a 4-minute walk from the Tottenham Court Road Underground Station.
Additional
Chef's Table, Counter Seating

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Experiences

Seasonal ALC Menu - Only 5 Tables Available.
Multiple dates available
You can order any dish from the Seasonal ALC MENU.
9 - 11- 13 Premium Course Omakase Menu £59/£75/£89
Multiple dates available
9-course Omakase - £59. *Only at lunch times. Not available at Dinner times.* 11 course Omakase - £75 13 COURSE - PREMIUM OMAKASE | £89 Using freshest and the highest quality premium ingredients. Such as freshly grated 100% Japanese wasabi that takes up to 3-yrs to grow, 2-38-yrs aged soy sauces aged in 100-year-old cedar barrel, A5 Kobe, Koshihikari rice & Sanpuku nori considered one of the best sushi rice and nori in the world – Be prepared for an incredible omakase experience!
RAI SPECIAL PREMIUM OMAKASE | £110
£110.00 per person
Multiple dates available
Using freshest and the highest quality premium ingredients. Such as freshly grated 100% Japanese wasabi that takes up to 3-yrs to grow, 2-38-yrs aged soy sauces aged in 100-year-old cedar barrel, A5 Kobe, Koshihikari rice & Sanpuku nori considered one of the best sushi rice and nori in the world – Be prepared for an incredible omakase experience! To book the Seasonal Tasting menu or ALC menu, please select the correct buttons.

Wagyu dumplings, ponzu sauce | £19*
Grilled aubergine, truffle saikyo miso, sesame | £18*
Add truffle | +£14
Lime and chilli tiger prawns | £22*
Australian halal wagyu with kizami wasabi, lime, togarashi | £39
Salmon, kombu oil, butternut xo sauce | £26
Unagi don, aged soy, ikura | £35
Add truffle | +£14
48hrs marinated saikyo miso grilled cod | £42
Chargrilled spicy lamb cutlet, spicy yuzu dressing | £35
Chargrilled Pork Secreto | £27
A5 Wagyu or Kobe, maitake, sanso pepper chimichurri | MP

Dessert

Seasonal special dessert | £10
Sesame Delight | £13
Home-made sorbet & ice-cream | £6
Raspberry Sable, yuzu ganache, banana, mint & strawberry ice-cream | £13

What 178 people are saying

RAI - Tottenham Court Road reviews from people who’ve dined at this restaurant. Based on recent rating.

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.6

4.6 based on recent ratings

4.7Food
4.7Service
4.6Ambience
4.3Value

Noise • Energetic

Loved For

West End London
Japanese

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews

Rai offers an exceptional omakase experience with "exceptionally attentive and gracious service." Guests rave about the "outstanding food" with "nuanced and punchy" flavors, beautifully presented dishes, and "great sake offerings." While the price can be steep, the quality of the sushi and the ambiance make it ideal for special occasions.

178 Reviews

R
Robin
London1 review
5.0
Dined 5 days ago
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Food is outstanding, atmosphere is super relaxing and the service is probably the best I ever received in London. I am really impressed.
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M
Marta
London4 reviews
5.0
Dined 6 days ago
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Food, ambience, hospitality is unbeatable! Worth every penny for food lovers I can’t recommend enough and it’s been my second time - the menu changes seasonally and I tried many new dishes. Thank you so much for making our evening unforgettable, again!
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M
Maek
Hampshire1 review
5.0
Dined on April 19, 2025
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 4
First experience of Omakase and it was worth every penny. Amazing food, excellent service and a lot of interaction and theatre with the chefs.
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N
Nas
Kent2 reviews
5.0
Dined on April 18, 2025
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 4
Overall the experience was lovely and the service was amazing
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K
Kiran
London5 reviews
5.0
Dined on April 12, 2025
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Omakase with a slight twist… exceptionally attentive and gracious service from a team that truly cares for the quality of your experience. Chef Rai has created an absolute gem. The flavour profiles of each course were nuanced and punchy whilst never detracting from the delicacy of the fish. Really smart, tasty food and a great sake offering to match. Looking forward to my next visit and taking all my favourite people here!
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H
Harpreet
London1 review
4.0
Dined on April 12, 2025
1. Overall 4
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 4
Lovely ambience and service was great. They do try to push the additional dishes despite already paying for the omakaze menu and the drinks were very expensive. Overall great experience but only once in a while or special occasion due to the price.
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J
Janefa
London1 review
5.0
Dined on April 8, 2025
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Full team is meticulous , detail and responsive . Food is excellent . Dish Presentation is artistically beautiful .
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L
Laura
London6 reviews
4.0
Dined on April 5, 2025
1. Overall 4
2. Food 5
3. Service 3
4. Ambience 3
The food at Rai was excellent, but the service was slightly exhausting. The head chef purposefully speaks at 100 mph whilst delivering food at a shouting volume as part of the 'act' but it is impossible to understand what he is actually saying and he had already moved onto the next table before we could ask for a repeat. We spent most of the evening watching the confused faces of other diners as he repeated the same shouting spiel over and over again, never being fully understood. I am not really sure of the point of it. I would have preferred to know what I was actually eating (this could also be solved by handing out a menu), rather than the unnecessary yelling, and we thought this really let down the experience. The waiters who came table side were slightly better, but volume wise it is loud, so we had to ask them to repeat a lot of things (less of an issue as they were very happy to do so). Food wise, the flavours are excellent and the portions were plentiful (they do not miss the opportunity to upsell extra options, both before and during the meal, but we didn't feel necessary). We were also able to move to bar seats to finish our wine as we ran out of our allocated 1hr40 at the sushi counter. My other annoyance came in the nigiri course which was served very quickly (back to back pieces coming out). The head chef kept barking that we needed to eat each piece whole and immediately move onto the next, which 1) isn't the pace I want to eat at and 2) why are you once again shouting? Again, just felt a bit much. There is better (calmer) Omakase easily found in London, and for this price point, I just wish they'd chill out a little with the yelling and think about guest experience.
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C
Clare VIP
London22 reviews
5.0
Dined on April 5, 2025
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Wow! Had such a wonderful meal at Rai. Food was absolutely delicious and service impeccable. Will definitely rebook soon. Highly recommended
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K
Kay
London1 review
5.0
Dined on April 5, 2025
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Me and my friend both really loved every single piece of the omakese! Will defo come back, thank you!
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FAQs

RAI - Tottenham Court Road is rated 4.6 stars by 178 OpenTable diners.

RAI - Tottenham Court Road does offer gift cards which you can purchase here.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.