An anniversary dinner in London that lives up to the milestone

Every year, without fail, the panic sets in. The date is circled on the calendar. However this year it's different:...

Every year, without fail, the panic sets in. The date is circled on the calendar. However this year it’s different: 20 years. (Yes, twenty!) That is a big number… A number that deserves more than a last-minute anniversary dinner reservation at the same place you went for your birthday.

London has no shortage of restaurants that describe themselves as the perfectly romantic spot for a special anniversary dinner. The problem is that most of them are just normal restaurants with a candle on the table. Same menu, same murmured “happy anniversary” from a server who said the same thing to the table next to you, same feeling of being processed through a machine that happens to have better lighting than the place you went last Tuesday.

This year, do something that feels different. Not louder. Not more expensive for the sake of it. Just different in a way that the evening actually earns. A room that does the work for you. A menu built for attention, not throughput. And somewhere to go after the bill arrives, because the best anniversaries are the ones where neither of you checked your watch.

The room, the menu, and somewhere to go after

Aki is a contemporary Japanese restaurant set inside a Grade II listed former bank on Cavendish Square, Marylebone. It is not a chain, not a production line, and not a room that needs decorating to feel like an occasion. The building already did that a century ago.

The room

A banking hall reborn

A Grade II listed former banking hall with soaring ceilings, marble, and art by Biennale artists including Ryan Gander and Daniel Knorr. The room does the work before the first course lands.

The menu

Signature Aki experience

Aki Signature Menu, £95 per person, with nine courses from omakase sashimi to A4 Japanese wagyu, with 30‑year‑aged soya and fresh root wasabi throughout. For those who prefer to choose, the à la carte spans nigiri from £8, sashimi, robata, tempura, and certified Kobe beef.

The wine

Champagne and beyond

A wine and champagne list built for anniversaries, with Ruinart Blanc de Blancs by the glass, Bollinger Special Cuvée and La Grande Année by the bottle, and Dom Pérignon, Cristal, and Krug for milestone nights. English sparkling includes Hoffmann & Rathbone Classic Cuvée 2015, alongside white Burgundy, Chablis 1er Cru, and Santenay 1er Cru Pinot Noir.

After dinner

Kiyori below

Kiyori cocktail lounge, fifty feet underground in the original bank vaults, for Japanese whisky, yuzu‑led cocktails, and matcha‑infused nightcaps. No time limit, no need to find a second venue.

Private dining

Make it yours

Private dining for up to 24 seated or 40 standing with terrace access, a bespoke menu built around your group, and a dedicated service team. The upgrade that turns a memorable dinner into an unforgettable one.

5 things an anniversary dinner in London should deliver

The Setting

A room that feels like an occasion

The default London anniversary setting is white tablecloths and a candle. It signals “occasion” in the laziest way possible. A room that genuinely earns the evening does not need to whisper. It simply needs to hold its atmosphere from the moment you walk in.

Step inside Aki:
Soaring banking hall ceilings, marble, curated art, and a glass-and-marble lobby. The building spent a century as a NatWest bank before a £15 million restoration turned it into one of Marylebone’s most striking dining rooms. Start with a glass of Ruinart and let the room do the rest.

The Food

A menu that rewards attention

The standard anniversary menu is à la carte with a glass of prosecco thrown in. The food should feel considered, not phoned in. A menu built for an occasion does not ask you to make decisions. It asks you to pay attention.

Aki’s menu:
Nine courses on the Signature Menu (£95 per person). Omakase sashimi with 30-year soya. Edomae nigiri shaped to order with warm, akasu-seasoned rice. Koji den miso black cod caramelised over binchotan charcoal at 1,000°C. A4 Japanese Miyazaki sirloin. The full progression from precision to warmth, without a single course that feels like filler. For those who prefer to build their own evening, the à la carte menu adds blue fin tuna tartare with Oscietra caviar, hand-picked Cornish crab, and miso butter poached Chilean sea bass with langoustine dashi.

The Pace

Service that anticipates, not performs

Too many anniversary dinners begin with a crowded doorway, a harried host, and a five-minute wait while someone checks the booking. The evening stumbles before it starts.

Our approach:
A glass-and-marble lobby. A quiet word at the door. Your table waiting, not being prepared. A glass of Ruinart poured within minutes of sitting down. The evening starts when you walk in, not when the kitchen catches up.

The Aftermath

Somewhere to go after the meal

This is where most anniversary dinners fail. The bill is paid. The table is cleared. You stand on the pavement, phones out, trying to agree on the next move. The evening ends not because it ran its course but because it had nowhere left to go.

The evening continues at Kiyori:
Kiyori cocktail lounge waits below. Fifty feet underground in the original bank vaults. A cocktail list built around yuzu, shiso, matcha, and sake. Japanese whisky from Nikka and Suntory. No time limit, no queue, no need to find somewhere else. The evening gets a second act.

The Story

Something to talk about on the way home

The difference between a good anniversary dinner and a great one is whether you are still talking about it on the journey back. A forgettable meal is summarised in a sentence. A memorable one generates details.

What you will remember:
Binchotan charcoal burning at 1,000°C beneath your black cod. Authentic and certified Kobe beef, one of only a handful of gold plaques in the entire United Kingdom. A vault bar serving matcha-infused cocktails where a bank once stored its gold. The Black Pearl dessert: smoked white chocolate and vodka cremeux with Kristal caviar. This is not a dinner you summarise in one sentence.

Reserve Your Table

An anniversary dinner that does not end when the bill arrives

Private dining, Signature Menu, Ruinart by the glass, and Kiyori cocktails in a former bank vault. Book your anniversary at Aki, 1 Cavendish Square, Marylebone.

Reserve your table

Three ways to do your anniversary at Aki

À La Carte

The table for two

Book a standard table from the main dining room menu. Start with blue fin tuna tartare and a glass of Ruinart. Move through nigiri and sashimi. Share the caramelised black cod. Close with the Japanese millefeuille. Our full wine list, champagne selection, and cocktail menu are available throughout.

Best for: Couples who want the full Aki experience without a set menu.

Signature Menu

The full experience

Nine courses, £95 per person. Omakase sashimi, Edomae nigiri, koji den miso black cod, A4 wagyu Denver cut, autumn miso soup, and Hokkaido millefeuille. Real Japanese food that has earned Aki a place in Condé Nast Traveller’s roundup of the best sushi in London. Add Oscietra caviar (£18) or fresh truffle (£5) to any course.

Best for: Anniversaries where dinner deserves equal billing with the occasion.

Private Dining

The private room

Up to 24 seated, 40 standing with terrace access. A bespoke menu built around your group. Dedicated service team. Pre-dinner cocktails in Kiyori. The option for menu printing, flowers, and AV equipment. This is the upgrade that turns a memorable dinner into something your guests will talk about at the next anniversary.

Best for: When the anniversary deserves its own space. An intimate celebration with close family, or a larger gathering of friends who have not been in the same room for too long.

The evening gets a second act at Kiyori

Most anniversary dinners peak somewhere around the main course, then taper into coffee, the bill, and a taxi. The structure is so predictable that by dessert you are already mentally on the pavement.

Kiyori changes that calculation. When your meal at Aki finishes, the evening does not end. It moves downstairs.

The cocktail lounge occupies the original bank vaults, fifty feet below Cavendish Square. The mood is lower-lit, the pace is looser, and the menu is built on ingredients that Japanese bartending treats with the same precision as the kitchen upstairs. Yuzu, shiso, matcha, sake, umeshu. The Rising Sun arrives with a green tea ice cube that melts slowly through the drink. The Midori no Michi lands with a matcha ice ball at its centre, evolving as the evening stretches. For those keeping things clean, the Hana Fubuki offers blossom shrub and elderflower soda with none of the compromise that usually accompanies alcohol-free options.

There is no time limit, no queue at the door, and no need to agree on where to go next. You are already there. For an anniversary, that is the detail most restaurants cannot offer. The night ends when you decide it ends, not when the table needs turning.

Plan Your Anniversary Dinner

Everything you need to know

Where: Aki London, 1 Cavendish Square, Marylebone, London W1G 0LA
Nearest stations: Bond Street (4 min), Oxford Circus (6 min), Baker Street (8 min), Marylebone (10 min)
Parking: Q-Park Oxford Street, just around the corner.
Opening times: Thursday to Saturday 12:00 to 02:00, Sunday to Wednesday 12:00 to 23:00
Dinner service: Daily from 5:30pm, last order 10:00pm
Private dining lead time: We recommend booking 2 to 4 weeks in advance, particularly for weekend dates
Group size: 2 to 40 guests (private dining up to 24 seated, 40 standing with terrace)
Price: À la carte from £8 (Edomae nigiri, sashimi, robata small plates), Signature Menu £95 per person, champagne from £14 per glass
Contact: reception@akilondon.com or call +44 7402 847957