Shiro Broadgate Circle Liverpool Street: Review

I went to Shiro in Broadgate Circle on a sunny Friday night, and it seemed like lots of other Londoners had the same idea.

The circle was buzzing, it was heaving, it was lively and it was atmospheric – with almost every restaurant and bar full.

Just outside the main inner circle sits Shiro, with swanky holiday-like chilled vibes, two floors and an outdoor terrace.

Shiro features sophisticated white interiors and is a clean space reflective of Shiro’s ‘white’ namesake in Japanese – with a sushi counter and robata counter also.

It’s the Aqua Group’s fifth London restaurant, along with Aqua Shard, Hutong, Aqua Kyoto and Aqua Nueva.

It brings its unique offering from its restaurant in Hong Kong, and is inspired by the buzzing dining culture of Tokyo’s Ginza district.

The restaurant made quite a name for itself with its crystal sushi which is basically a jelly layer over its sushi roll – and I can confirm I can understand why.

It tastes good, looks good and makes Shiro something different.

We sat in the outdoor terrace as we were lucky with the weather, but there were people sat inside the restaurant as well so there was a nice atmosphere – not too busy, but relaxing.

I started off with a special Japanese-inspired cocktail which was pretty much a Japanese version of a lychee martini – it had a creamy, nutty flavour and wasn’t as sweet as the typical lychee martini but it was really refreshing, especially in the evening heat.

My boyfriend had a gin and tonic and we had some avocado tempura to share while we pondered over the lengthy menu with sushi, robata and ramen options to name a few.

For starters he had the hoji cha braised octopus and potato salad which was dressed with coriander miso, and I had the chargrilled aubergine maki with sweet potato and karashi miso.

I’d never had sushi where the seaweed was replaced with something different, like aubergine, before, but I liked it, and I’d definitely try it with different vegetables or fish now.

We shared a chef’s choice sushi platter which had some tuna, salmon, seabass and prawn offerings.

The fish was extremely fresh, melted in the mouth, and the presentation was good too – which helps, of course.

There was tuna and salmon sashimi, seabass nigiri, prawn nigiri and the major main event – the crystal salmon sushi.

It was rice, fatty salmon, and sake jelly which the waiter explained is made from a gelatine.

It was INCREDIBLE – it was almost like the salmon’s texture and taste was emphasised and heightened by the jelly, and it made it look and taste premium.

For main course I had salmon teriyaki which was marinated with yuzu kosho, and my boyfriend had the Australian Wagyu bavette with arima sansha and braised daikon.

Both came with a portion of sticky rice, which I really appreciated as some restaurants only serve this as a side, and both were really decently sized.

The salmon was really delicious, and had a harder, crunchy outside and a softer inside which I always like.

I eat fish in most restaurants I go to, and so I definitely know what I do and don’t like.

This was the former and was really fresh too.

I was full, but my sweet tooth can never resist a dessert, and I am so glad I didn’t.

On the menu was mango tempura – yes, you heard it right, mango, a fruit, in tempura.

Mango is my favourite fruit and I love anything fried (RIP arteries) so the two mixed together was bound to be interesting.

I was intrigued, and wanted to try it, but I have to be honest I didn’t actually expect to like it.

It went so well, the mango was hot, and it was absolutely delicious. It came with a soft vanilla sorbet too which was a perfect contrast for the hot fruit.

We ordered some mochi balls too which came in three different flavours, and enjoyed a glass of wine while watching the sunset over London’s city.

A lovely evening, a lovely setting, and some really lovely food.