Sushi in the City Brunch, Liverpool Street

I am no parent but several of my friends have turned or are turning into them. They are tired and stressed in between fleeting moments of bliss. As their children grow up, there is one persistent complaint that they all have about them. They are constantly bewildered about how difficult it is for them to eat things consistently. One day they will wolf something down and then the next, they will squirm and refuse to have anything to do with that train that just wants to come into the station.

The only insight I have into this quandary is when I occasionally look after my cousins. They are at a delicate age where, like most teenagers, they are trying out new things and seeing how they fit. I took along one of these to a place that I knew might give him some consternation about what he might be experimenting with. The Devonshire Club in Devonshire Square are also experimenting with their weekend lunchtime offering. For £50 a person, you can enjoy a sumptuous offering of sushi, expertly prepared and luxuriously presented.

To start off, my cousin and I enjoyed a platter of sushi and sashimi. It came in amidst swirling liquid nitrogen, which had the effect of having my cousin’s eyes on stalks. He approached the sushi with a little more trepidation. He had expressed that he was not a fan of sushi but then again, he had never had sushi like this. The tuna, salmon and butterfish sushi were exquisite, delicious cuts of fish that positively reinvented the food for my young companion. It was captivating to see him go from someone who was wary of something to be a devotee of a dish.

This was then followed by the main course, which was a mixture of seafood and vegetable tempura, duck and pomegranate salad, roast pork belly and chili and coriander ramen. This was more secure territory for myself and my cousin but it was still very enjoyable. The duck in the duck salad was extremely succulent and combined extremely well with the pomegranate. The pork belly was very flavoursome and there was a real richness to the meat.

The meal was finished off with the restaurant’s signature dish which is miso-marinated black cod. This was divine and made for a Damascene moment for my cousin. Once an enemy of anything fish-related, he now became a fully-fledged convert to all things piscine. And I can’t really write anything that is more convincing than having a teenager change their mind about something that they had previously sworn that they would never eat.

Sushi in the City Brunch
Devonshire Club
5 Devonshire Square
Liverpool Street
EC2M 4YD