Does Tobi Masa serve the best omakase in London?

Takayama, now 71, is reminiscing in front of the Chancery Rosewood on Grosvenor Square. Inside the hotel is his restaurant Tobi Masa, which opened in late 2025. While Carbone in the basement drew more attention, Takayama was arguably the bigger get: there are Carbones all over the world, but this is the only place to eat Takayama’s food outside New York (he moved to America from Japan, he says, “because of golf! One of my customers, he told me, come to California and you can play golf every day!”). His name was once attached to a short-lived counter in Harrods, but Tobi Masa is considered his first “proper” London venture. What finally got him across the pond? “A few times I had the chance to do something in London, but it didn’t work out,” he says, shrugging gently. “But here, we sat down and I thought, well, Rosewood is well known for its quality, and I’m kind of known for that quality so…” He meshes his fingers together.