Masaki Sugisaki

Dining SW3, London, United Kingdom

Your menu focuses heavily on seafood. What are the challenges of running this in London?

-Japanese cuisine is all about quality, and that was the challenge. I’ve always experimented with high-quality ingredients. Like in Japan, the local seafood scene is rich, but I discovered that most of it was being exported to luxury markets in France or London.

Have you been able to overcome this?

Yes. I approached local fishermen to buy directly from them, but they weren’t initially interested since they were only getting about a third of the market price. So, I offered a higher bid. Through this, I gained a deeper understanding of marine life and the struggles these fishermen face. Large traders dictate the market price, making it difficult for small-scale fishermen to sustain their livelihoods.

Since then, we’ve built a strong partnership. Now, they send seafood straight to the restaurant, where we use the ikejime method—the only technique I allow—for a more humane way of handling fish. Everything is line-caught. Our shellfish supplier is a young fisherman committed to sustainable practices. He often catches massive 5.5kg lobsters but always releases the egg-producing ones back into the water to support marine conservation.