Two Hoshizaki sushi cases are sited in prime position on the new sushi bar at Matsuri, a Japanese fine dining restaurant situated in the heart of London’s Mayfair.
In fact, since the restaurant opened in 1993 as a joint partnership between the Central Japan Railway Company and Kikkoman, Hoshizaki sushi cases have been in daily use. Manager, Cristoforo Santini explains, “I believe the first sushi case we had lasted for 10 or 12 years and was replaced with one of the pair we’re using now – Hoshizaki equipment really is built to last! We recently decided to create a dedicated sushi bar and, as we needed to display a wider variety of fish, ordered a second case.”
The cases are cleaned and filled with fresh produce for the lunchtime service and then again for dinner. What goes into them is entirely dependent on the best quality fish and shellfish available each day but, typically, one case will display sea bream, bass, yellowtail, squid, tuna and turbot while the other will show shrimps, prawns, sea urchins, salmon roe and scallops. The consistent +5°C internal temperature allows the fish and shellfish to be held in perfect condition for several hours meaning that customers can see exactly what they will be served and can watch the chef preparing the sushi.
Sushi accounts for a high proportion of Matsuri’s food sales and the new sushi counter is tempting even more customers. The lunchtime demand for lighter sushi dishes has already increased while evening diners now have the option of sushi kaiseki which consists of 8 to 10 sushi courses.
“The display cabinets have certainly attracted customers,” says Cristoforo. “Of course, from a practical perspective, they hold our sushi ingredients in perfect condition but, beyond this, they send a message to our customers that the freshness and quality of our food is outstanding and that we’re proud to let them see it.”
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