Hot Stone Review
Lockdown has officially been lifted for bars and restaurants, so naturally we at ONIN London had to get back to visiting the best places to eat in London. 
Last weekend we hotfooted it to Hot Stone in Islington’s Chapel Market, if you love the theatre of dining out then this is the place for you. With covid-19 measures firmly in place tables are in high demand so make sure you book quickly.
Executive Chef Padam Raj Rai has 19 years of experience, having previously worked at Tsukiji within Mayfair’s Westbury Hotel, Nobu and Zuma, and Hot Stone easily rivals these with its selection of razor-sharp makirolls, new-style sushi and sashimi and hot dishes, including a beautifully flaky, 48-hours marinated black cod and a moreish grilled aubergine in saikyo miso. Add to this an interactive dining experience, courtesy of the restaurant’s signature Ishiyaki menu – the ancient Japanese art of cooking on a searing-hot stones – and dining in this North London gem is a genuine delight.
The minimalist space – complete with traditional Japanese panelling and statement ornamental cherry blossom ceilings – has been reconfigured to reduce covers and ensure safe social distancing throughout.
The menu was out of this world, the attention to detail to every plate is so pleasing to the eye and the tastes leave you wanting more.
The start with dishes we tried were the fresh Oyster, with seaweed & Tosazu sauce with caviar. The Oysters were delicate, and the saltiness of the caviar made this such a light but tasty dish. It was also the best palate preparation we could have had.
We tried an array of sushi dishes, seeing as Hotstone is known for their sushi, it was an absolute must. (Can we say the sushi was better than a very well-known sushi restaurant in central London). The dishes we tried were the seared butterfish, truffle spicy ponzu sashimi, the seared fatty tuna, red jalapeno sashimi and a special seared tuna belly with caviar sashimi. Honestly, we couldn’t pick our favourite, they were all sublime. The next dish was the famous Hotstone crunchy hot roll, this is a maki roll dish made of king prawn tempura, crab sticks with crunchy tempura flakes. This was by far the best maki roll I have tried in a long while, the warmness of the king prawn tempura, softness of the rice and the crunch from the tempura flakes were a perfect combination.
If anyone has heard of Hotstone no doubt you have heard about their amazing steak dishes. This was where the theatrics started, we got to cook our dish ourselves at our table on one of the infamous hot stone plates. We opted for the A5 premium sirloin Japanese Wagyu steak, if you know anything about Wagyu you will know it has multiple health benefits and is very light to eat. I loved the steak, from making it to the amazing tastes, you need to try this. Highly recommended! 
No night out at dinner is complete without desserts, right? Well Hotstone has you covered; we loved the simplicity of the dessert menu and appreciated the freshness of both desserts we ate. After eating such an amazing meal, you don’t want it drowned out by overly sweet tastes. The homemade green tea matcha cheesecake and the mochi selection are fresh, tasty and worth the calories.
Overall, it was a brilliant experience. The restaurant has gone over and above to ensure that they are Covid compliant, with waiting staff wearing masks, hand sanitisers the plenty and a safe distance between tables. The booking system ensures that the restaurant can manage their head count and it is well worth booking.
Hot Stone 9 Chapel Market, The Angel, London, N1 9EZ
F: hotstonelondon | I: @hotstonelondon| T: @HotStoneLondon
Reservations and at home: 020 3302 8226
Written by Abi Onas
