Japanese restaurant Kiraku Ealing changes menu for new owner Hiden Curry

One of Ealing’s top restaurants has new ownership, as Hiden Curry Lab takes over Kiraku, the popular Japanese spot opposite Ealing Common station. The restaurant, which is rebranding as Hiden Sushi Bar, has slimmed down its menu slightly, but thankfully decided not to scrap the noodle section that matches London’s best.

Hiden is currently best known in the city for his so-called “curry lab” in Coal Drops Yard, from which he serves only one dish: Japanese karē raisu. Osaka-born chef Hideaki Yoshiyama’s space is as simple and specialized as his menu, with its bright yellow interior – which once housed Missy Flynn and Gabe Pryce’s sandwich shop, Bodega Rita’s – contrasting with what Yoshiyama describes as his “surprisingly sweet, warm and salty, rich browny sauce.”

Yoshiyama is now a director of Asunaro Limited, a new company registered at Kiraku’s address; former co-owner Takeshi Nakamura, a diner regular and gregarious personality, resigned from former parent company Japan in the UK after taking over the business in 2018; it was originally opened by the Tago family in 2006.

Nakamura had bolstered Kiraku’s already considerable reputation for sushi during his tenure, in part through his connections to popular Yashin Bar and Yashin Ocean House, both in South Kensington. But it was the noodle section – sadly missing from the menu at the start of the transition to Hiden – that was the coup de grace. Now the people of Ealing can rest easy as some of the best udon and soba in the area aren’t going anywhere.