Although finding sashimi in London is easier, you can have excellent sashimi delivered to your home throughout the UK.
In this post, we start with our list of where you can buy the freshest fish and seafood in London. You will find introduction for 5 stores and Billingsgate market below, followed by information on how to prepare sashimi and where you can buy sashimi knives. We would also recommend checking out our Best-Japanese Supermarkets post for those looking for sushi rice or ingredients for Japanese dishes.
If you are located outside of the London area don’t worry! You can still order sashimi online with Soldeli and they can deliver nationwide within 2 to 5 business days.
Where can you find the best sashimi in London?
For the freshest sashimi in London, head to Atari-Ya Foods, Japan Centre, or Natural Natural. They all offer high-quality sashimi made from fresh fish and have a wide selection of sushi-grade fish. Whether you’re a sashimi pro or just starting out, our guide will show you where to find the tastiest bites in the city. So, get ready to discover the vibrant world of London’s sashimi scene!
1) Atariya – Impressive Sashimi selection
Atariya boasts four shops across London located in Golders Green, Kingston, Swiss Cottage, and West Acton. Each Atariya outlet is a treasure trove of fresh fish and seafood delights. Atariya’s commitment to quality and freshness, ensures you can experience some of the best sashimi in London firsthand. You may even have tried some of the best sushi in London at one of their restaurants such as Tokimeite in Mayfair, Cafe Japan or its nearby sister restaurant Atariya Hendon. Going back to their stores, you’ll find an impressive selection and variety of top-notch options at all, including:
- Scallops
- Boiled Prawns
- Squid
- Hirame (Turbot)
- Tuna Sashimi
- Salmon Roe
- Mentaiko (Seasoned Pollock Roe)
- Tobiko (Flying Fish Roe)
After a quick look around the store, you will find that’s not all. Ataiya have a small deli area with sushi, bento boxes, and very reasonable Chirashi (assorted fresh seafood) rice bowls. The staff are also friendly and happy to help you choose the weight and introduce various options for your sashimi and seafood.
2) Natural Natural – High Quality Tuna Sashimi in SakeSakana
Natural Natural is located in Ealing Common and Finchley Road. They have a pretty good online presence so you may have come across some of their discounts for first time buyers. Most importantly, they offer high quality sashimi in London including popular choices like Salmon and Blue Fin Tuna. Their fantastic wide range includes scallops, surf clams, boiled prawns, and sea urchin.
After you have checked our the sashimi and seafood, make sure you take a look at their sake and the Natural Natural supermarket which has everything ranging from miso soup to ready made tempura to fresh vegetables. However if you are after the best sashimi, remember to go early before it all gets snapped up. We should also mention that Natural Natural provides free delivery to mainland UK address on all orders over £50.
3) Japan Centre – Sashimi in Soho
Japan Centre’s current flagship store is just off Leicester Square, but they also operate Ichiba in Westfield London near White City, and UMAI in Stratford Westfield City. As a result, you have several options to buy sashimi in London depending on which area is most convenient for you. For example, if you are in the centre you can visit their Panton Street store close to Leicester Square and pick up some sashimi from the counter. Or if you are in Westfield, check out Ichiba where they also have a selection of ready made sushi bentos. Another thing they are great at is providing DIY kits which include easy to follow instructions for making sushi at home.
4) Soldeli – Tiger Prawns, Bass and Tuna
We originally knew Soldeli for their ability to deliver fresh sashimi in all areas across the UK. However, they now offer sashimi in London in-store at their Southall branch in West London where you can buy a selection of fresh sashimi including Tuna Otoro, Chutoro and Akami along with Salmon and Hamchi. Soldeli also have frozen seafood such as tiger prawns, black cod, and scallops too together with other Japanese food, snacks and drinks.
While it’s slightly off the beaten path, what’s great about Soldeli is that you can get various sashimi cuts and slices going up to 1.4 kgs for a sashimi grade salmon fillet. You do have to slice this yourself however this can be part of the fun if you are a sushi lover. The other reason to go is Soldeli have a sushi bar open on Saturdays from 10am to 3pm where you can order sushi or take home a prepared sushi or sashimi bento box.
5) Billingsgate Market
Billingsgate is where buyers from the best restaurants and fishmongers source their fish, seafood and sashimi in London. Although it is a professional fish market, it’s also open to the general public. The market opens at 4am and the serious buyers are in and out before half five if not before. Stalls start shutting up at 6:30 which is when prices start going down and bargain hunters arrive. You can easily get seafood and fish for prices you don’t see in a supermarket – for examples 4 rainbow trout for £10. As it’s the largest fish market in the UK, expect everything from sea bass to fish eggs to tiger prawns available for a bargain.
So how about the Sashimi? You will need to carefully ask the traders if the fish they are selling is sashimi-grade. We have a separate article with extra details on what you need to ask which you can read here. Remember that at Billingsgate you have to bring cash, as there are no ATMs nearby and traders often don’t have card readers. Also, you won’t be able to buy small quantities. You’ll be buying by the kilo or by boxes or in our case with sashimi-grade salmon, you have to buy the whole fillet.
Here’s a photo of the Salmon Sashimi-Grade fillet we bought once we got it back home. We paid £26 for 1.75 kgs of Norwegian Salmon. Although this fillet was not descaled, this only took two minutes to do and then it was onto slicing and eating a delicious Sashimi breakfast!
6) Primrose Hill Sakanaya – Omakase Ready Made Sashimi Sets
We discovered primrose_hill_sakanaya on Instagram a while back and have been following ever since. They are one of the stores where you can pick up an already sliced assorted plate of sashimi in London. Note that the posts are all in Japanese so if you can’t read Japanese you may need to rely on the Instagram translation tool.
Saturday is the only dedicated day for sashimi sets which cost £13.50 per set including tax. These are Omakase sets of 5 sashimi such as Salmon, Tuna, Ikura or Scallops, Seabass and Yellowtail. You can pre-order these sashimi sets through the email address you’ll find on their Instagram. Alternatively you can turn up on Saturday morning and get the sashimi sets before they run out. When we went shortly after their opening time at 11:30 it looked like there was still plenty of sets left.
Primrose Hill Sakanaya also has other special offers throughout the week. If you are interested in understanding how to prepare fish or looking for recipes, there are plenty of posts and reels for you as well. Aside from the sashimi, they have an excellent range of fresh fish and seafood. Finally in the refrigerators you’ll find other treats like ready made Japanese seaweed salad dishes, some fresh octopus, and salmon roe.
That’s all of the places we know for now! We hope that this list of recommendations will help you to source high-quality and delicious sashimi in London for sushi making or enjoying by itself. Please feel free to comment below.
If you are now in the mood for looking for authentic Japanese restaurants please have a read through our restaurant reviews. For ramen lovers we have our best ramen in London list, while our top 10 Japanese restaurants in London list covers Sushi, Tonkatsu, Udon, and Okonomiyaki restaurants.
How to prepare sashimi & make sushi?
Yes probably the first thought is why buy a book when I can watch on YouTube? But in our minds, if you are going to go out of your way to get the freshest sashimi, surely you would want to have a reference guide with step-by-step instructions and extra background on preparation. Here are 3 books that are worth considering buying before heading to Billingsgate. Even if you don’t buy them, we would suggest at least taking a peak inside each one – you can see how to slice sashimi as well as what ingredients and equipment you need.
Sushi Made Simple
Our first choice would be this fantastic guide to making sushi by Atsuko Ikeda, who is a Japanese chef and food consultant who’s been running Japanese cuisine cooking classes in London since 2008. You’ll find the book a masterclass proving authentic knowledge and skills with innovative ideas to give 60 recipes for rolls, wraps, and moulded sushi. You’ll learn the basic cooking methods and step-by-step techniques with all the recipes put together in a way that is easy-to-understand.
THE SUSHI COOKBOOK: A Variety of Sushi Recipes by M° Haruto Nakamura
Haruto Nakamura’s Sushi Cookbook provides the secrets to sushi preparation even for those who have never made sushi before. Inside the book you can discover a wide collection of 35 sushi recipes selected by Master Nakamura. These includes the traditional sushi recipes as well as vegetarian and modern variants including 9 sushi desserts!
Sushi Cookbook for Beginners: 100 Step-By-Step Recipes to Make Sushi at Home
There are many variations of sushi, and Japanese author Chika Ravitch goes through a diverse collection in the Sushi Cookbook for Beginners. Here the classic like Tuna Rolls are covered before the non-traditional choices like Spicy Fried Mozzarella Rolls. You can get information on kitchen must-haves like a sushi-rolling mat as well as how to select high-quality ingredients for the perfect sashimi and sushi rolls.
Nobu Sashimi Salad Recipe
Looking for a quick recipe from none other than the Nobu restaurant? Indulge in a culinary masterpiece with this Sashimi Salad featuring an iconic dressing. The recipe combines the freshest sashimi with vibrant greens and a tantalising dressing that’s sure to elevate your dining experience. Crafted by the renowned chefs at Nobu, this salad offers a harmonious blend of flavors and textures, creating a dish that’s as visually stunning as it is delicious. Whether you’re hosting a special dinner party or simply craving something extraordinary, this Nobu-inspired creation promises to impress. Follow the link below to discover the full recipe and bring the flavors of Nobu into your own kitchen: Nobu Sashimi Salad with Matsuhisa Dressing Recipe.
Where to buy Japanese sashimi knives
There are quite a few Japanese sashimi knives you can purchase online but not all are actually made in Japan. If you are looking for a Japanese sashimi knife that has both good reviews in Japan and is respected by Japanese chefs in the UK, we would recommend Kai’s 18 cm Japanese sashimi knife from their Magoroku Ginju collection. The blade is stainless steel so it’s easy-to-clean and rust resistant. Also the knife handle is made from high grade water-resistant wood.
You can buy Kai’s Magoroku Ginju Sashimi knife at ZakZakka.com which is a unique online store in the UK for those who love authentic Japanese products. We found that you can get the Kai Magoroku Ginju Sashimi knife for £36.69, and you can receive a 10% discount if you subscribe to their email newsletters. Then you can have it delivered across the UK by Royal Mail for £7 with 48 hour tracked delivery. We bought one last month and this is how it looks after unboxing. Apart from being aesthetically pleasing, the knife is light and very sharp. In fact, cutting through sashimi with this knive requires little effort and you can create beautiful sashimi slices.
Sushi College in London
For those looking to progress from basic sushi making to advanced nigiri and maki preparation, you may want to consider taking a course at the Tokyo College of Sushi and Washoku in London. This is the first culinary college in the UK dedicated solely to Japanese cuisine, and in the sushi cooking classes, expect to learn authentic techniques and various roll preparation such as hosomaki, futomaki, chirashi, gunkan, inari and vegan sushi.
The full 6 month Diploma courses provide students with professional qualifications and the skills and knowledge for working as a chef in a Japanese restaurant. Following successful passing of related industry tests, there is even the possibility to apply for a work permit visa as a Japanese chef in Japan with maximum validity of 5 years.
If a one-day class is more of what you’re after, the college offers Sushi Crafting classes every Tuesday. During these immersive classes, top Japanese chefs will take you through the essential techniques of sushi making, from selecting the finest ingredients to more delicate skills like cutting sashimi, rolling and working on presentation. Whether you’re a sushi lover or a curious beginner, this class in West London is a must for perfecting your sushi skills.
Registration is required to secure your spot on the class, and by using the code BESTJAPANESE at checkout you’ll get a 10% discount on the class or course you choose.
At Best Japanese, we independently select and write about Japanese food and culture we love and think you’ll like too. If you buy a product we have recommended, we may receive a small affiliate commission which in turn supports our work.
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[…] We hope that this list of Japanese supermarket in London will be helpful and we will be sure to update and further add onto the list once we have found other supermarkets in London and the UK. If you’re looking for places to buy Sashimi in London, please check out our article on where to find the freshest Sashimi in London. […]
[…] market vibe. If you are not willing to lose out on sleep, please check out our list of alternative Japanese supermarkets and shops selling sashimi grade fish in the London area and across the […]
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