Junsei Marylebone: Yakitori, Vinyl and a Sake Bar Near Me

Junsei, at 132 Seymour Place in Marylebone, grills chicken over charcoal and pours sake by the 180ml carafe, from £25 for a Gangi Mizunowa Junmai Ginjo. Since September 2025 it has doubled as a vinyl listening bar on Thursday and Friday nights, which makes it the sake bar near me pick for anyone who wants food, records and rice wine under one roof. Tuesdays it is closed.

Junsei opened in July 2021, The Caterer reported, on the site of the former Indian restaurant Romna. The founders are chef-patron Aman Lakhiani, who trained at the Tsukiji Sushi Academy and cooked at Dos Palillos in Barcelona and Locavore in Bali, and chef Zach Farr, who came from Torishin in New York. Business partner Rizwan Khan, formerly of The Cinnamon Club and Kanishka, backed the launch.

The name is written 純正 and the restaurant translates it as genuine, while early press gave pure; either way it signals a kitchen built around one craft. At launch Restaurant Online described 38 covers plus a five-seat chef's table at the open grill, light oak floors, grey leather chairs and brass details. A Tempus Magazine review in January 2022 called it a golden-hued yakitori bar, and that warmth is still the first impression.

Globetrender reported in September 2025 that Junsei relaunched as a yakitori restaurant and Japanese vinyl listening bar. On Thursday and Friday nights a hi-fi system takes centre stage, with guest DJs and a City Pop selection, and a late-night izakaya menu runs alongside. That is the moment Junsei works best as a bar rather than a dinner booking: a carafe, a few skewers and an album side.

On other nights it behaves more like a restaurant, with dinner slots from 6 pm. If you want the listening-bar experience, plan for Thursday or Friday; if you want a quieter counter and full attention from the grill chefs, Wednesday or Sunday makes more sense. Weekend lunch from noon to 3:30 pm on Friday and Saturday is a good low-key way to try the sake list.

Junsei's drinks menu, linked from its official site, prices most sakes per 180ml, per 300ml and by the bottle. Gangi Mizunowa Junmai Ginjo from Yamaguchi costs £25, £45 or £92, a clean pour that suits chicken breast and tsukune. Tamagawa Heirloom Yamahai Genshu from Kyoto, a richer, higher-strength style, is £26.50, £50 or £90, and it stands up to the sweet tare on wings and thighs.

For something unusual, Nishinoseki 1988 aged koshu from Oita costs £25 per 180ml or £92 a bottle, an aged style that drinks darker and deeper than the fresh ginjo pours. The trophy is Koshi no Kanbai Kinmuku at £250 a bottle. Shochu fans can order Daiyame imo shochu at £14.50 for 75ml. The bar's link with London brewers shows in the Junsei x KANPAI Sake Omakase pairing at £75.

Skewers are priced individually: a tebasaki chicken wing costs £6.50. The crab croquette is £16, and the short rib donabe, a clay-pot rice dish, costs £46 and needs 45 minutes, so order it as soon as you sit down. The seasonal omakase costs £88, with a drinks pairing at £70. Offal skewers such as heart and gizzard appear, and Foodepedia noted staff flag them so you can opt out.

Our honest assessment is that Junsei is not a cheap night. A 12.5% discretionary service charge is added, and diners on OpenTable have complained about high prices for small plates and about a long set menu that leaned heavily on chicken. If budget matters, skip the omakase, order four or five skewers à la carte and put the savings into a 300ml carafe of the Tamagawa.

Tables are booked through SevenRooms from the reservations page. The cancellation policy is strict by London standards: free up to 48 hours before, after which £35 per person is charged, though it is issued as credit usable within three months. Write the date in your diary, because a late cancellation for four people means £140 in credit.

Counter seats facing the charcoal grill are the ones to request, as they turn dinner into a show. Tempus described Seymour Place as a dark, unremarkable street, so do not expect a buzzy strip outside; the energy is inside. Junsei opens 5 pm to 11 pm midweek, noon to 3:30 pm and 5 pm to midnight on Friday and Saturday, and noon to 9 pm on Sunday.

The Wallace Collection on Manchester Square is the cultural pairing. It opens daily from 10 am to 5 pm and the permanent collection is free, so an afternoon among its armour and eighteenth-century French paintings, followed by a 5 pm walk across Marylebone to Seymour Place, lines up neatly with Junsei's opening. The walk takes you past the side streets between Baker Street and Edgware Road.

If Junsei is fully booked, central London's other serious sake rooms are a short Tube ride away: Moto at 7 Maiden Lane in Covent Garden for imported bottles, or Kioku Sake Bar inside The OWO on Whitehall for a 100-plus-label list. Both are better options for a drinks-only night, while Junsei is the stronger choice if you want a full meal from the grill alongside your sake.

Address: Junsei, 132 Seymour Place, London W1H 1NS. Email: info@junsei.co.uk. Hours on the official contact page: Monday, Wednesday and Thursday 5 pm to 11 pm; Tuesday closed; Friday and Saturday noon to 3:30 pm and 5 pm to midnight; Sunday noon to 9 pm. Nearest Tube stations: Marylebone and Edgware Road, both within walking distance.

Thursday and Friday are listening-bar nights, so book for those if the music is the draw. Ask the Karpo APP for a nearby cocktail bar for a nightcap, or for a sake bar open on Tuesday, when Junsei is closed. Add the 12.5% service to any budget you set, and if you order the short rib donabe, mention it when booking so the 45-minute cook does not hold up the end of your meal.