London · Sushi · Heron Tower, 110 Bishopsgate · Dinner for One on a Work Trip
The elevator at SUSHISAMBA is made of glass, so the whole City of London is at your back the entire ride up. Then the doors open, you step out and turn around, and suddenly it is dark. In front of you is a long hallway of gold palm arches, lit from the inside, and behind you, through the glass, is late afternoon London. Bright city on one side, a glowing tunnel on the other. That contrast was the moment I knew this was going to be a different kind of sushi dinner.
I was in London on a quick work trip with one evening to myself, and I ended up ordering a roll I was half hoping to hate, just so I would have something to complain about. It did not work out that way. Here is how the night went, what I would order again, the one thing the photos oversell, and whether I would bring Vika and the kids. The bill is at the bottom.
This article is not sponsored. Nothing was comped by the restaurant, and I didn’t tell them I was going to write about them.
How a Four and a Half Star Filter Found It
I was in London Monday through Friday for work, and one evening happened to be all mine. I really wanted sushi. So I did what I usually do in a city I don’t know well. I searched Google for sushi near me and filtered out anything under 4.5 stars.
SUSHISAMBA came up less than a ten minute walk from my office. The reviews were great, and the pictures of the outdoor terrace, with a big orange tree growing over the bar, pretty much made the decision for me.
The name rang a bell, too. I was fairly sure Chicago had a SUSHISAMBA at some point, and it did. SushiSamba Rio sat on Wells Street in River North and closed years ago. I never made it there, so this was my first SUSHISAMBA anywhere.
The Glass Elevator Is Part of the Meal
It wasn’t until I walked up that I realized where SUSHISAMBA actually is. It sits at the top of Heron Tower, 110 Bishopsgate, the same building a lot of people know as the Salesforce Tower. I had been in that building before, through the office side. SUSHISAMBA has its own street entrance, its own door and its own elevator, so the two never really meet.
And that elevator is the first thing you will remember. It’s a glass express elevator on the outside of the tower, and the best way I can describe it is the glass elevator in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. It gets you to the 38th and 39th floors in a matter of seconds, and you watch the whole city drop away the entire time. Coming down is the same show in reverse. If you are afraid of heights, I would say this might be a little scary. If you’re not, it’s a great way to start dinner.
A Gold Tunnel, Then the Belly of a Whale
Out of the elevator you walk straight into that hallway of lit gold arches. It reminded me right away of KOMA at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, which has its own dramatic hallway on the way in. Completely different color scheme, same idea. Both restaurants want you to feel the show start before you ever see a table.
Looking at the photos afterward, I can see what the designers were probably going for. The arches look like trees, so you’re walking into a forest. Standing there that night, though, it felt like being inside a whale, or maybe a shark, and the hallway was its belly. The main dining room carries the same feeling, with super high ceilings, a wooden lattice overhead and really tall windows letting in a lot of light. It’s very different from any sushi restaurant we have near home, and I mean that as a compliment.
No Reservation on a Tuesday, and a Seat by the Bar
I didn’t book. I checked online on the way over and they had tables later in the evening, but I figured I would just walk in and see. If they could seat me, great. If it was a twenty minute wait, I would wait. If not, I would find somewhere else. They said yes right away.
They didn’t put me in the main dining room. Once you’re in, you go down a set of stairs into a bar area with high tops and lounge style seating, and that’s where I ended up, by the bar, though not at it.
I would have loved a seat at the sushi bar, but every one was taken, and the room kept getting busier while I ate. Later I asked if I could take a picture of the main dining room, and they were happy to let me walk in and shoot it.
The Roll I Was Hoping to Hate
All of SUSHISAMBA’s signature Samba rolls had what I would call weird ingredients, at least for me. The one I wanted, the Samba London, is tuna, salmon, yellowtail and avocado with sweet potato inside and a passion fruit truffle miso on top. It was the sweet potato that was turning me off. I sent Vika a photo of the menu and we went back and forth about what I should get.
So I asked them to leave the sweet potato out. The answer was no. It’s one of their signature rolls, and you either get it the way it is or you don’t get it. Nobody likes hearing no, and it did turn me off a little. But I thought, fine, I’ll try it. And if I’m honest, part of me was almost hoping I wouldn’t like it, so I could tell you the sweet potato ruined their signature roll.
It didn’t. The opposite happened. The sweet potato gives it a sweet note, the sauce gives it a citrusy one, and the two go really well together. I didn’t just like it more than I expected to. I really liked it, and I would order it again in a heartbeat. I even told Vika, who is more turned off than I am by things that don’t traditionally belong in sushi, like fruit, that she should get this roll. I think she would like it, maybe not as much as I did, but I don’t think she would walk away regretting it.
Looking back, the no made sense. They knew the roll worked the way it was built.
The Nigiri Held Its Own Next to It
The seven piece nigiri omakase absolutely held up next to that roll. All of the fish was super fresh, and the fatty tuna just melted in my mouth.
What surprised me was how generous it was. Some of the pieces had two slices of fish over the rice. At the places we usually go at home, it’s one slice per piece. Some pieces had wasabi tucked on the rice, some didn’t.
The rice was very good too. Fresh, with the right balance of vinegar and sugar, and it didn’t taste like it had been sitting around. That makes sense, because the restaurant was busy and got busier. Extremely clean, very tasty, and each piece tasted a little different from the one before it.
I also had a classic spicy tuna roll, and I would put it in the same bucket as everything else that night. Every roll was fantastic.
I washed it all down with two Asahi Super Dry. Nothing fancy, and exactly what I wanted with sushi.
The Terrace Looks Like Dinner, but I Ate Inside
Here is the one thing the photos set you up for. The terrace with the orange tree is gorgeous, and when you look at pictures online you think, maybe I could sit out there and have dinner. The night I was there, that wasn’t how it worked. The terrace was the bar, and dinner happened inside. It isn’t a complaint, it’s just worth knowing before you get your heart set on it.
One more thing about the terrace. There is no roof or canopy over it, so if you want a drink out there, check the weather first.
In fairness, SUSHISAMBA’s own website says the Tree Terrace serves sushi rolls and bar bites alongside the cocktails, and takes walk ins. So it may depend on the night, the weather or where they seat you. If eating under that tree is the whole point for you, ask when you book.
Would I Bring Vika and the Kids?
Vika, one hundred percent. This is a date night place, and it would be a great one. We could have a drink or two on the terrace, weather permitting, and then head inside for dinner.
The kids, I’m not so sure, and it isn’t about the food. Josh would eat everything I ate. For Emily we would find something, and the menu does have simple classic rolls like a cucumber roll. SUSHISAMBA also lists a SAMBA Kids menu on its website, which I didn’t know about when I was there. It’s the atmosphere. When I looked into the main dining room it looked like business dinners and a lot of couples on dates, and I didn’t see anyone with kids, although that may have just been a Tuesday night. If we were already there as a family and all wanted sushi, sure, we would go. I just wouldn’t plan a family night around it.
What Dinner for One Cost, and What It Would Cost Us
The Samba London roll was £26, the seven piece nigiri omakase £35, the spicy tuna roll £17, and two Asahi came to £16. That’s £78 in food and £16 in drinks.
A 15 percent discretionary service charge of £14.10 was added to the bill, and the receipt says so right at the bottom. The total came to about £110 for one person.
That’s a real dinner out for one, and I thought the food was worth it. If it had been Vika and me, I think we would have added one more roll to split, and I would guess the bill would land somewhere around £160. For the four of us, with Josh easily putting away two or three rolls on his own and something for Emily, I could see it going over £200 without trying.
SUSHISAMBA London, address and hours
Address. 110 Bishopsgate, London EC2N 4AY, on the 38th and 39th floors of Heron Tower. Look for the SUSHISAMBA entrance, which is separate from the office lobby.
Phone. +44 20 3640 7330.
Hours. The restaurant is open every day from 12 pm to 1:30 am, according to SUSHISAMBA’s website.
Reservations. Bookable online. I walked in on a Tuesday evening without one and was seated right away.
Does SUSHISAMBA London have a dress code?
The booking sites list it as smart casual, and that matches what I saw. Dress nicely. Shorts are fine if they are nice shorts, with a dress shirt, a polo or a nice t shirt. Skip sweatpants, graphic tees and slides, and try to leave the baseball cap off at dinner, because this is a proper evening out.
What floor is SUSHISAMBA London on?
The 38th and 39th floors of Heron Tower at 110 Bishopsgate. You get there in a glass express elevator on the outside of the building, and it takes a matter of seconds.
Is SUSHISAMBA London in the Salesforce Tower?
Yes. It’s the same building. The tower’s official name is 110 Bishopsgate, also known as Heron Tower, and Salesforce Tower is the name a lot of people use for it. SUSHISAMBA has its own street entrance, door and elevator, separate from the office side.
Can you walk in to SUSHISAMBA London without a reservation?
I did, on a Tuesday evening, and they seated me right away in the bar area. Online they only had tables later that night, so walking in worked out better than booking would have. Every seat at the sushi bar was taken, though, so if you want one of those, I would book.
Can you eat on the SUSHISAMBA London terrace?
The night I was there, the terrace was the bar and I ate inside. SUSHISAMBA’s website says the Tree Terrace serves rolls and bar bites too, so ask when you book. There is no roof over it, so weather matters.
Is SUSHISAMBA London good for kids?
It isn’t unfriendly to kids, and there is a SAMBA Kids menu listed on their website. It’s more that the room is business dinners and date nights, and I didn’t see any kids the evening I went. I would bring Vika here in a heartbeat. I wouldn’t plan a family dinner around it, but if we were already there and all wanted sushi, we would go.
Is SUSHISAMBA London worth it?
Yes, as long as you know what you’re paying for. It’s about £110 for one person with two beers, and for that you get very fresh, generous sushi, a roll I would fly back for, and a glass elevator ride and a room you won’t forget. For a date night or a work dinner in the City, I would go back. For a family sushi night, I would save the money and find somewhere more relaxed.
More from London: we have written up citizenM London, the Montcalm East and the United Club at Heathrow Terminal 2. And if a lit hallway and a big room are your thing, our KOMA Singapore review is the other half of this story, with a very different verdict on the sushi.
Nothing was comped at SUSHISAMBA London. Prices come from my own itemized receipt on the night, not from a menu site or an aggregator.
Another London dinner we have reviewed: The Ivy Asia St Paul’s, crispy duck with a cathedral view.
