What to Order at Dozo Sushi: Six Dishes to Try on Your First Visit

London is packed with Japanese restaurants, but Dozo Sushi has staying power. The original branch on Old Brompton Road in South Kensington opened in 2011; the Soho outpost on Old Compton Street followed in 2013. Both have built loyal followings by doing simple things well: properly cooked rice, fish that actually tastes of something, and a room that hums without ever feeling frantic.

First time in? The menu goes on for pages, and all of it sounds good. I’ve eaten at both branches more times than is sensible: once after a long museum day in South Ken, once before a play in Soho, once just because a sudden craving for maki hit at 9pm. These are the dishes I keep coming back to. Consider this your cheat sheet.

Start with the Sashimi and Nigiri

The sashimi at Dozo is the best way to see what the kitchen can do. The salmon is cut thick enough to give you something to chew, but it still melts. It’s served cold – not icy – with a dab of wasabi underneath, and the texture is spot on. If you’re not sure whether raw fish is for you, this is the plate to try first. It won’t scare you off.

Tuna sashimi is the one to order when you want something brighter. It tends to sell out on Friday and Saturday evenings, particularly in Soho, where the counter seats let you watch the chefs at work. There is something weirdly calming about watching someone slice fish with that kind of focus. In South Kensington, the lunch crowd is quieter, so you can take your time.

Then there’s nigiri. Ask for the chef’s selection and you’ll get three or four pieces with no decisions required. You’ll eat whatever came in that morning – often tuna, prawn, mackerel – and the rice is the star. It’s loose enough to fall apart gently in your mouth but holds its shape on the plate. A good, simple piece of nigiri has nowhere to hide, and Dozo has been getting this right for a decade.

If you want to eat it the proper way, pick up the piece with your fingers, turn it over and dip the fish into a little soy sauce – not the rice. The rice should hit your tongue dry. It sounds fussy, but it makes a difference. Dozo’s chef’s selection comes with pickled ginger and a small lump of wasabi. Don’t dive straight into the wasabi; it’s there to cut through the fish, not kill it.

If you’re around South Kensington on a weekday, the South Kensington lunch sets are the easiest way to try a bit of this. They come with nigiri, a few maki and a bowl of miso, all for a price that makes sense. It’s the sort of lunch that doesn’t leave you needing to loosen your belt.

The Maki Rolls Worth Cancelling Plans For

Maki rolls are the fun part of any Japanese menu, and Dozo’s are made with a heavier hand than most. The spider maki – soft-shell crab, avocado, cucumber and a streak of spicy mayonnaise – is the one I always point first-timers to. It’s crunchy, creamy and messy in the best way. You’ll eat it in two bites and stare at the empty plate, wondering where it went.

I first tried it on a busy Saturday in Soho, squeezed into a corner table while the room filled with theatre-goers. The couple next to me were sharing the same roll and arguing about whether to order a second plate. They did. Waiters move quickly, plates come out at the right moment, and the spider maki stays crisp even when you’re busy talking.

The spicy tuna maki is the other reliable. It has a proper heat, not just a smear of sauce, and it goes excellently with a cold beer. For something a bit different, check the specials board near the counter. There’s often a yellowtail or tempura roll that doesn’t last long. If you’re in a group, do what the restaurant does best: order three or four maki plates, put them in the middle, and share.

I always start with a bowl of miso soup, because if a Japanese kitchen can’t get that right, it’s a bad sign. Dozo’s is dependable – light, salty, with proper tofu and a few wisps of wakame. It’s a quiet way to begin, and it doesn’t fill you up before the rolls arrive.

Dozo isn’t a grab-and-go sushi spot. It’s a proper restaurant with proper cutlery and a proper drinks list. The rolls are cut with the same precision as the sashimi. If you want a casual sushi dinner in Soho that doesn’t treat you like cattle, this is it. The full sushi and maki menu in Soho shows the extent of it, and the weekday lunch menu in Soho is a sensible way to taste a few things for less.

A Hot Pot for the Driest Months: Beef Nabe

Sushi might be the reason you walk in, but the kitchen also knows how to handle a pot of bubbling broth. The beef nabe is the dish I want when London is dark at 4pm and the rain hasn’t stopped since the morning. It comes with tender beef, tofu, mushrooms and vegetables in a savoury soy-based broth, and it arrives at the table still simmering. It’s not elegant. It’s better than elegant.

I first ordered it on a miserable February night after a long walk through South Kensington. I’d spent hours on my feet between exhibitions, and the last thing I wanted was cold raw fish. The hot pot landed with its own little burner, the broth bubbling away and filling the air with ginger and soy. I let it cook longer than I should have, but the beef held up, and the tofu had soaked up all the flavour. By the end I was spooning the broth straight from the bowl, and I don’t normally do that in company.

If you’ve never had nabe, it can seem odd to order a boiling pot when you came for sushi. Give it a chance. The sweetness of the cabbage and the umami of the mushrooms make the broth dangerously drinkable. It’s the kind of dish that turns a solo meal into something that feels like a proper dinner, even if you’re eating alone at the counter.

This is the dish people forget when they tell you what to eat at Dozo. It’s not raw, it’s not light, and it’s not Instagram pink. But on a damp evening, nothing on the menu hits the same way. Pair it with something from the sake, Japanese whisky and cocktails list, and you’ve got a meal that sticks.

What to Drink at Dozo Sushi

Once you’ve chosen the food, you need something to wash it down. Dozo’s drinks list is compact, which I like – no fifty-page wine book to flick through. If you’re having sashimi or nigiri, an ice-cold Japanese beer is hard to beat. The bubbles clear your palate between pieces. For the maki, a dry sake makes the spice spread out instead of hitting you all at once. And when the beef nabe is on the table, consider a glass of Japanese whisky with a splash of water. It stands up to the broth without shouting over it. Ask the staff for a suggestion; they’ll point you to something that fits what you’re eating rather than pushing the most expensive thing behind the bar.

End with Green Tea Ice Cream – No Exceptions

You could finish with the nabe and walk out feeling full. But you’d miss one of the best closers in the area. Dozo’s green tea ice cream is not the artificially bright, toothachingly sweet thing you get at many places. It’s pale, slightly bitter and exactly the right thing after all that soy and wasabi. It comes in a simple bowl, with no garnish and no unnecessary drips of sauce.

There’s a particular moment at the end of a good meal – after the plates have been cleared, when the tea is cooling in its cup – that needs something small and precise. This is that something. If you’re sharing, order two. It’s too good to ration.

I’ve also seen regulars order a pot of it after their weekday lunch sets in Soho, especially on warm afternoons when they’ve skipped the hot food. The lunch set and the green tea ice cream add up to a meal that feels light but complete. You can see photos of the restaurant and dishes on the gallery page, which is helpful before your first visit. And if you want background, there’s a fuller explanation of the Dozo story since 2011.

Your First Visit to Dozo – Practical Questions, Straight Answers

Does Dozo have a lunch menu? Yes. Both branches offer weekday lunch sets from Monday to Friday, 12–3pm. The South Kensington lunch set and the Soho lunch set give you a bit of nigiri, a few maki and a hot dish – enough to understand what the place does well without ordering everything.

Which branch should I choose? If you’re seeing something in the West End, Soho is the one. The counter seating there means you can watch the chefs as they work. If you want a quieter meal, South Kensington is the safer bet – especially at lunch, when the museum crowds are busy looking at art instead of sushi. The menu is largely the same at both, so you can’t go wrong.

Do I need to book? It depends. Weekday lunch at either branch tends to be walk-in friendly, but evenings are another story. Soho especially fills up after 7pm. If you don’t want to stand by the door watching other people eat, call ahead or use the directions and opening hours on the contact page. A ten-second phone call beats a twenty-minute wait.

One more thing: take your time. Dozo isn’t the sort of restaurant that tries to turn tables quickly. No one will rush you out. Sit down, order a few dishes, share them, and leave when you’re ready. That’s how the regulars do it.