A Japanese tasting menu under £100 in London? Thursday deal at AKI Marylebone
Finding a Japanese tasting menu under £100 in London is harder than it should be. Too many menus in the capital promise precision, seasonality, and omakase flair, then quietly dilute the experience the moment value enters the conversation.
At Aki, we prefer clarity. Every Thursday in Marylebone, our full nine‑course signature menu is available for £75 per person (normally £95) with a welcome Saketini included. That means a proper Japanese tasting menu, a proper cocktail, and none of the usual compromise.
This is not a reduced lunch menu dressed up as dinner. It is our full signature experience, served with the same discipline, balance, and sense of occasion that define the rest of the week.
At Aki, our Thursday tasting menu means:
- Full nine‑course signature menu – intact, not edited down
- Welcome Saketini cocktail included – crisp, umami‑led, sets the tone
- £20 saving on the standard price (normally £95)
- Omakase sashimi and Edomae nigiri – 30‑year soya, fresh wasabi
- Koji den miso black cod from the robata grill
- AA8‑9 Wagyu Denver Cut Beef – no supplement, no asterisk
- One of a handful of Kobe‑certified kitchens in the UK
1 Cavendish Square, Marylebone, London W1G 0LA | Thursday from 5pm (full menu served until 10pm)
A tasting menu that keeps its nerve
Value in London dining is often handled timidly. Portions shrink, ambition softens, and the menu begins to read like an apology. That is usually where a supposedly premium tasting menu starts to unravel.
At Aki, Thursday does the opposite. The menu remains intact, the pacing remains deliberate, and the experience still moves the way a serious Japanese tasting menu should: from freshness and precision to warmth, depth, and finish.
Welcome Saketini
Crisp, cold, and quietly umami‑led. The evening begins before the first plate lands – with a proper cocktail that sharpens the palate rather than numbing it.
To begin – Japanese small plates
Japanese spinach salad with farm‑to‑plate Tokyo turnips and Hokkaido shiitake sesame dressing. Sakura prawn tempura with smoked tentsu broth and daikon oroshi. Wagyu beef and fermented black garlic gyoza with truffle onion miso. Three opening movements that establish freshness, crunch, and depth in sequence.
Omakase sashimi platter
Chef’s selection of the day’s finest fish, served with 30‑year sashimi soya and fresh root wasabi. Delicate, pristine, and confident – the kind of opening that only good Japanese food can sustain.
Edomae omakase nigiri selection
Chef’s choice, where rice temperature, knife angle, and sequence matter as much as the fish itself. Warm akasu‑seasoned rice, fresh wasabi, and 30‑year soya applied with precision. This is a sushi course that feels properly considered rather than merely included.
From the robata – Koji den miso black cod
Lacquered and caramelised over binchotan charcoal at close to 1,000°C. Served with sea buckthorn dashi curd and nuka cucumber. The dish that demonstrates what controlled fire does to flavour when the kitchen refuses to rush.
The main event – AA8‑9 Wagyu Denver Cut Beef
Served with Japanese pickles and morel ankake sauce. This is where the menu introduces weight, warmth, and intensity – not as theatre, but because a serious multi‑course Japanese menu knows exactly when to change gear. The wagyu is included properly, not as a supplement or an asterisk.
To finish – miso soup + Hokkaido millefeuille
Autumn miso soup with winter root vegetables, chives, and egg tofu – a quiet, restorative pause before dessert. Then Hokkaido millefeuille: sobacha pastry, whipped vanilla ganache, and aged soya caramel. A final course that finishes precisely as it should – memorable, not merely sweet.
Marylebone, on the right night
Thursday has a particular kind of London energy. The city still has momentum, but the weekend performance has not yet taken over – which leaves space for dinner to feel more intentional, more relaxed, and better paced. That suits Aki perfectly.
A tasting menu that keeps its nerve
No portion shrinkage, no ambition softening. The full nine‑course Signature Menu – served exactly as it is every other night of the week, just at a Thursday price.
Wagyu, included properly
AA8‑9 Wagyu Denver Cut Beef is part of the menu – not a supplement, not an upgrade, not an asterisk. It belongs there, and the Thursday price reflects that confidence.
The welcome cocktail is part of the point
Most restaurant offers include a forgettable glass of house wine, if anything at all. We open with a proper Saketini that sets the tone before the first course arrives.
Moments from Cavendish Square
In the heart of Marylebone, within easy reach of Bond Street, Baker Street, and Marylebone station. Close enough to the West End to be genuinely convenient, calm enough to feel like a deliberate choice.
Wagyu, included properly
The presence of wagyu on an under‑£100 tasting menu matters. Not because it sounds luxurious, but because it changes the entire value conversation. When a menu includes AA8‑9 Wagyu Denver Cut Beef, alongside sashimi, nigiri, black cod, miso soup, and dessert, it stops being a “deal” and starts looking like what it actually is: a complete premium menu priced intelligently.
Here, the wagyu course brings depth, richness, and structure at exactly the right moment. It is not there as theatre. It is there because a multi‑course Japanese menu should know when to introduce weight, warmth, and intensity – and when to do so without breaking the rhythm of the meal.
In fact, Aki is one of the very few restaurants in London that holds a Kobe beef certification, and for us that stands less as a headline than as a testament to our dedication to serious Japanese cuisine and the high standards behind it.
Book Thursday in Marylebone for £75.
A Japanese tasting menu that stands out in London
A premium Japanese tasting menu in central London rarely stays under £100 once drinks enter the equation. That is before you begin asking for the details that actually matter: sashimi with integrity, proper sushi, a composed hot course progression, serious beef, and a room that does not rush the experience just because it is midweek.
At this price, the Thursday menu changes that calculation. You are saving £20 on the standard price before the welcome drink is even considered – and that matters because the included start is not a throwaway extra but part of the evening’s structure. This is where this special offer becomes a great deal.
Typical London “deal”
- Reduced portions or missing courses
- House wine as an afterthought
- Wagyu as a paid supplement
- Rushed service to turn tables
- No sushi or sashimi of real quality
Thursday at Aki
- Full nine‑course signature menu, intact
- Welcome Saketini (crisp, umami‑led)
- AA8‑9 Wagyu included – no supplement
- Unhurried pacing, proper sequence
- Omakase sashimi and Edomae nigiri
Reserve your Thursday tasting menu at Aki.
Aki London is in Marylebone at One Cavendish Square, where the Thursday Signature Menu is served for £75 per person with a welcome Saketini.
