New on Wine List Confidential: Sushi Samba

Sushi Samba – Wine List Confidential Score: 89.2

On floor 38 of the Heron Tower, Japanese, Brazilian and Peruvian culture and cuisine brightly meet in a posh nest of a dining room overseen by bespectacled chef ambassador of Portuguese cuisine, Claudio Cardoso (formerly at Ritz Carlton, Sintra).

Like at Duck and Waffle above, a special relationship with the Bruno Paillard Champagne house, including exclusive expressions such as the magnum of 1990 Blanc de Blancs Le Mesnil, and begins to look particularly good in value terms when compared with Armand de Brignac’s Ace of Spade Gold.

Bubbles cut through the char and fat of small plates, including teriyaki poussin, shrimp tempura and wagyu gyoza. Note, the crockery is a thing of beauty in itself.

A small selection of wines by the glass, including entry level Viognier by Yves Cuilleron, pales when compared with the stunning wealth of sakes presented to collaborate with ‘samba rolls’, nigiri and sashimi.

Vinously, matters become much more interesting when purchasing by the bottle. Here is the final work of Didier Dagueneau, grown-up Italians and, in a nod to one part of the gastronomic métier, the occasional Brazilian bottle.

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