ALBA’s new 10-seat omakase counter brings Japanese precision to its Amalfi-inspired Knightsbridge dining room, with extravagant seafood and a spectacular view of Harrods.
Both Italy and Japan reached a similar conclusion centuries ago: when seafood is truly exceptional, it really is best to keep things simple. Where Italy has crudo, Japan has sashimi; where the Amalfi Coast prizes ricci di mare, Japan reveres the same creature as uni.
This shared instinct sits behind ALBA’s omakase experience, created by Creative Chef Dmytro Pak, previously of UNI Paris, and led by Japanese Head Chef Takuya Kaneko, who spent eight years at Zuma during a 20-year career in sushi restaurants.
The Ambience
ALBA sits directly opposite Harrods on Brompton Road, with its intimate omakase counter positioned along the windows. During the festive season, this gives all 10 diners a beautiful view of the department store’s famous Christmas lights.
The counter is open, allowing guests to watch as fish is sliced, nigiri is shaped and individual pieces are finished immediately before being passed across. The format creates a natural relationship between the chefs and diners, with each course introduced as it arrives.
Rather than a hushed, almost ceremonial omakase room, there is plenty of energy here. ALBA’s established Italian restaurant continues on the other side of the space, bringing a livelier backdrop of conversation and service.
ALBA’s bright, coastal interiors and Italian hospitality soften the formality sometimes associated with omakase, while the counter gives the Japanese menu a distinct identity of its own, the resul is two experiences which complement each other, bringing dynamism and intimacy in equal measure – and connected by a shared reverence for seafood.
The Food
The experience begins with a trio of pristine sashimi, including salmon and tuna, setting out the quality of the seafood before the menu becomes progressively more elaborate.
Uni served with Japanese sea vegetables is exceptional. The sea urchin is soft, sweet and saline, while the greens add a clean herbaceous quality that evokes the ocean without overwhelming its delicate flavour.
Scallop with bottarga achieves a similarly effective balance. The natural sweetness of the scallop meets the concentrated umami of cured roe, creating an elegant mouthful that perfectly showhouses the marriage between Japanese restraint and the southern Italian ingredients.
A bowl of miso soup arrives between the raw courses. Warming yet refreshing, it offers a welcome pause and feels particularly suited to the turning season.
From here, the chefs begin working through a succession of nigiri. Bluefin tuna aged for a week is finished simply with truffle and salt. The ageing intensifies its flavour and gives the fish a deeper, almost meaty character, while the restrained seasoning allows that work to remain evident.
Salmon topped with roe provides rich creaminess, tempered with saltiness. A lightly blowtorched prawn arrives beneath a sunny yellow dressing, its surface gently caramelised while the flesh remains soft and sweet.
One of the evening’s most luxurious combinations brings together yuzu-seasoned tuna, uni and caviar. The citrus provides the necessary lift, cutting through the richness and keeping the seafood in focus.
Otoro follows, its generous marbling allowing it to melt almost instantly on the tongue. A piece of Wagyu delivers a similarly yielding richness, marking the menu’s shift from bright raw seafood towards deeper, fattier flavours.
Eel with foie gras pushes that progression further. Sweet, smoky eel and velvety liver make an unapologetically indulgent pairing – and one that feels coherent within the increasingly decadent final movement of the meal.
The experience concludes with foie gras crème brûlée crowned with uni and caviar, accompanied by toasted brioche. It is a theatrical final flourish, collapsing the boundary between savoury course and dessert. The crisp caramelised surface gives way to rich foie gras beneath, while diners use the warm brioche to scoop up the crème brûlée, sea urchin and caviar together.
It sounds like a roll call of luxury ingredients, and in less careful hands it could easily become one. Here, the contrasting textures and the brioche’s warmth bring the elements together, closing the menu on a note of deliberate extravagance.
The Verdict
ALBA’s Italian and Japanese identities initially appear to make unlikely dining companions, but the connection becomes convincing once the food begins to arrive. Both traditions are rooted in coastal cooking, exceptional produce and the belief that good seafood needs confidence more than complication.
Kaneko’s skill is most apparent in the quieter moments: the sweetness of scallop against bottarga, the herbaceous freshness surrounding the uni and the concentration achieved by ageing the bluefin. Even when the menu reaches for truffle, Wagyu, foie gras and caviar, the chefs largely retain their focus on texture and balance.
The counter itself provides enough theatre without distracting from the food, while the view of Harrods creates an unmistakable sense of occasion. ALBA may not offer the silence or austerity of a traditional omakase room, but its combination of Japanese craftsmanship, Italian warmth and Knightsbridge glamour gives it a character of its own.
The nine-course option offers a concise introduction, while the extended 12-course menu allows the experience to build from delicate seafood to unapologetic indulgence. For a special occasion, particularly during the festive season, few seats in Knightsbridge come with a more striking view.
The Details
ALBA London
70 Brompton Road, London SW3 1ER
Omakase sittings: Tuesday to Sunday at 6.30pm and 8.30pm
Nine-course tasting menu: £130 per person
Twelve-course tasting menu: £190 per person
Prices include service. Drinks are charged separately unless a pairing is booked in advance.
Website: www.alba-ldn.uk