Noren Mayfair: A Sake Bar Near Me on South Molton Street

Noren Sake and Sushi Bar sits at 56b South Molton Street, London W1K 5SH, about 50 metres from Bond Street station, and its cheapest way into the sake list is a three-glass flight for £16. If you are looking for a sake bar near me in Mayfair that feels more like a quiet counter than a hotel lounge, this is it: a short indigo curtain at the door, a wooden bar with sushi chefs behind it, and a list built around Japanese brewery pours.

Noren opened on 31 May 2025 in the room that used to hold Roji, the omakase counter run by chefs Tamas Naszai and Tomoko Hasegawa. When the couple left to open HIMI in Carnaby, the group behind Chisou took the space and turned it into an à la carte sushi and sake bar, trading at first only on Fridays and Saturdays, Hot Dinners reported. Harden's described the new room as dominated by a wooden bar.

The name explains itself once you reach the door. The restaurant's own page says noren is the traditional Japanese curtain, the split fabric panel that hangs across a shop entrance to show it is open. Chisou has been pouring sake in Mayfair for years and calls its own list one of the largest in London; Noren is the smaller, more focused offshoot, where the drinks are the main event rather than an add-on to dinner.

The January 2026 sake list sells most bottles by the 125ml glass, a few by the carafe and all by the 720ml bottle. Konishi Gold, a nama-chozo daiginjo from Hyogo, is the easy opener at £12.5 a glass, £36 for 360ml or £72 a bottle. Dewazakura Oka, a fragrant ginjo from Yamagata often used as a first sake for newcomers, costs £14.9 a glass or £86 a bottle.

For something with more grip, Tedorigawa Yamahai costs £14 a glass, and it is one of the bottles the bar will also serve hot, at £20 for 180ml. Tamagawa White Label, an unfiltered, undiluted yamahai junmai from the Kyoto brewery run by English toji Philip Harper, costs £24.1 a glass and £140 a bottle. The outlier is Golden Amber, an aged koshu from Gifu poured in 50ml measures for £12.6, with the bottle at £182.

The smartest first order is a flight. Noren sells three 50ml glasses under names taken from the banzuke, the ranking sheet of sumo wrestlers: Komusubi at £16, Oozeki at £18.9 and Yokozuna at £22. Moving up the ranks moves you up the list, so a pair can order one Komusubi and one Yokozuna and compare six sakes for £38 before committing to a bottle.

Our honest view is that the bottle list rewards people who already know what they like, while the flights reward everyone else. If you are new to sake, skip the 720ml bottles on the first visit and spend the money on two flights and a few pieces of nigiri; you will leave knowing whether you lean towards the clean daiginjo style or the richer yamahai pours.

The food menu is sushi-led and seasonal; the September 2025 version is the latest posted. The omakase sushi plate of six pieces costs £34, chutoro carpaccio £24.7, and single pieces of otoro sell at £7.6 each. Makazu, Noren's small sushi bites, include a saba oshizushi version at £7.8 and a lobster one at £11.9, which make sense alongside a flight rather than as a full dinner.

All prices include 20% VAT, and a discretionary 15% service charge is added to the bill, so a flight, the omakase plate and two extra pieces of otoro for one person comes to about £65 before service. Hot Dinners framed Noren as a little less high-end than Roji, and that is fair: you can drop in for a glass and two bites here without the commitment of a fixed tasting menu.

Seats are limited. The official page mentions both ten and twelve seats at the counter, and the group's August 2026 blog says twelve, so treat it as a dozen stools at most. Book through the ResDiary widget linked from the Noren page; whole-room private hire goes through noren@chisourestaurant.com. Noren is closed on Monday, Tuesday and Sunday, which catches out people who wander over after a Sunday shop on South Molton Street.

Hours are Wednesday to Friday 12:00 to 14:30 and 18:00 to 22:30, and Saturday 12:00 to 16:00 and 18:00 to 22:30. The weekday lunch slot is the quiet time to sit and talk sake with the chefs. If Noren is full, walk to Chisou Sushi and Izakaya at 22-23 Woodstock Street, open on Sundays too, where the same group runs a larger sake list over a full izakaya menu.

South Molton Street is a pedestrianised shopping lane running between Oxford Street and Brook Street, so the approach from Bond Street station is traffic-free. For a calmer hour before dinner, the Wallace Collection on Manchester Square, north of Oxford Street, opens daily from 10:00 to 17:00 and its permanent collection of armour, Fragonard and Canaletto is free to enter.

After a Saturday lunch flight, Grosvenor Square and the Mayfair streets south of Brook Street make an easy loop back towards Bond Street. If you still have room, Chisou's Woodstock Street izakaya is on the way back to the station and stays open later on Sunday than anything else run by the group, from 13:00 to 21:30.

Address: Noren Sake and Sushi Bar, 56b South Molton Street, London W1K 5SH. Nearest Tube: Bond Street (Central, Jubilee and Elizabeth lines). Hours: Wednesday to Friday 12:00 to 14:30 and 18:00 to 22:30; Saturday 12:00 to 16:00 and 18:00 to 22:30; closed Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

Budget: flights cost £16, £18.9 and £22, and glasses start at £12.5. Prices include VAT and a 15% discretionary service charge is added. Book on ResDiary, especially for Friday and Saturday evenings. Ask the Karpo APP for another Mayfair sake bar open on a Sunday or Monday, or for a cocktail bar near Bond Street to finish the night.