Sake no Hana, the Japanese restaurant by Hakkasan Group, is celebrating the arrival of spring with the return of the sakura cherry blossom garden in the Sake no Hana bar.
By day, the bar will be transformed with intertwining cherry blossom branches, falling petals, a grass floor, and blossom entrances, while by night lights will twinkle within the blossom to create an intimate yozakura atmosphere, yozakura literally meaning ‘night sakura’.
A limited edition seven course menu has been created for guests to enjoy whilst being surrounded by moving cherry blossom images projected onto the bamboo behind the bar.
Sake no Hana will become a beautiful oasis in St James, the stunning blossom taking over the grass-floored bar, and branches weaving throughout the inside and outside of the restaurant. Arched over the iconic escalators, a cherry blossom tree will form a tunnel for guests to ascend into the restaurant, and cherry blossom will be threaded through the wooden ceiling of the upstairs dining room. As evening sets in sparkling lights will appear amongst the blossom branches – traditionally the Japanese hang lanterns in the blossom trees during yozakura and socialise by feasting and drinking beneath the blossom throughout the night.
Inspired by hanami, the centuries-old Japanese tradition of celebrating the fleeting cherry blossom, Sakura at Sake no Hana offers guests the chance to enjoy the transient beauty of the flowers in the heart of Mayfair. Hanami literally means “flower viewing”, and it is customary to sit beneath the blossom to read and write haiku poetry. To tie in with this expressive tradition, guests who order the Sakura at Sake no Hana menu will be gifted with a haiku written by one of the famed haiku masters and printed onto a paper petal.
Many haiku poets were inspired by the cherry blossom and spring as the sakura season lasts only a few weeks in Japan, thus symbolising the fragility of nature and of life. Throughout the day, the cherry blossom will naturally fall onto the grass floor of the Sake no Hana bar, showcasing the fleeting beauty of the blossom, the season, and of time.
A limited edition menu has been created for Sakura at Sake no Hana featuring a cocktail, a bento box created by Executive Head Chef Hideki Hiwatashi, a dessert and macarons.
The menu features:
Kaori Arpège cocktail – Beefeater 24 gin, yuzu sake, cherry liqueur, peach bitters, grapefruit juice and agave. The cocktail comes complete with three atomisers to spray onto the cocktail, including red cherry, black cherry and cinnamon; elderflower and jasmine; and violet, each completely altering the taste of the cocktail with each spray.
Bento Box – served with a white miso soup starter, the bento box contains a selection of sushi and hamachi, akami and salmon sashimi.
Main Bento – a choice of Salmon miso yaki with egg mustard sauce, Sumiyaki chicken with spicy shichimi sauce, and Crispy yasai katsu.
Cherry Chocolate Sake Mousse – Cherry chocolate mousse and a cherry sake mousse, chocolate crumble with sake jelly.
Cherry blossom macarons – vanilla macarons with cherry blossom tea ganache.
Sakura at Sake no Hana’s limited edition menu is available for lunch and dinner in the bar and restaurant sushi counter from 21st March to 18th June, Monday to Saturday, for £34 per person. To book a table call 020 7925 8988 or email reservations@sakenohana.com.
