Aqua Kyoto

On the top floor of the old Dickins & Jones building on Regent Street you'll find a Spanish tapas restaurant called Aqua Nueva, a swish cocktail lounge called Aqua Spirit, and this ultra-designed and rather chic contemporary Japanese restaurant. There are great views over the rooftops of the West End from the terrace, plus a dining room that shimmers with style - huge, ornate light fittings, moody colours of red, black and gold, a sunken sushi bar and charcoal grill. The staff are more than happy to offer advice on the menu. Expect dishes of considerable flair and visual appeal, with very good produce at the heart of it all. Among appetisers, seared beef tataki with onion sauce or seaweed and cucumber salad with 'torched' baby squid get things off to a flying start. There are soups such as spicy crab meat with tofu and wakame, tempura, noodles (a green tea version, perhaps, with wagyu sashimi) and main courses such as whole red snapper with dashi sake soy.