Castelo's Brand New Baby: Sushi O

In my four years in Hong Kong I don't think that anyone's taken more money from me than Castelo Concepts.

If I added up the cash I've dropped on the numerous glasses (make that bottles) of Prosecco sipped on the pavement outside Wagyu; all the seabreeze-soaked Jaspas junks; the hungover morning-after brunches in Oolaa; the lazy Jaspas Beach Club bank holiday lunches; the cous cous salads gobbled and the cocktails downed in Wagyu Lounge and the Sunday roasts gorged on at Harringtons, I think we'd all be pretty horrified at the grand total. I have a feeling it could buy an obscene amount of ridiculously beautiful shoes (even at over-inflated Lane Crawford prices...). And having just tried out the Group's newest opening, Sushi O, I reckon by this time next year we can probably chuck in several extra pairs of Louboutins and a Celine Luggage Tote to boot...  

I don't want to hype it too much, but Sushi O really is that good.

Mid-week last week, having seen an advert in the loos at Wagyu (super glam but very effective advertising!), I googled Sushi O, but couldn't find any information anywhere... Did it really exist or was it just a fantastic myth?! Two calls to Harringtons and another to Ooola later, I got confirmation that it did indeed exist and although they weren't currently taking bookings, there was a bar table in my name reserved for 8:30pm on Friday evening - Score!

Nestled snugly between Oolaa and Yardbird on Bridges Street, Sushi O is a small space with just a handful of seats (mostly at the bar) centred around a large open sushi kitchen. The decor has a touch of the Castelo cookie cutter about it - lots of gleaming stainless steel and marble, softened by low lighting and dark wood paneling on the walls. But quirky touches liven up the space and give it a little twist - a neon pink Japanese pinball machine glows in the corner and a slatted wooden screen reminiscent of a railway departures board is set above the kitchen displaying the menu.

Dashing between taxi and doorway to avoid the pelting rain, we were ushered into the restaurant and seated straight away despite being twenty minutes late. The Australian Sushi Chef, Percy, immediately introduced himself while chopping and slicing behind the counter. Meanwhile Percy's girlfriend and uber-efficient front of house, Kate, was pouring us both large glasses of perfectly chilled Sauvignon Blanc. It was official, the weekend had started. 

After some serious chat with Percy and Kate about their favourite dishes on the menu we glugged on our wine and wildly over-orderd (as always).

A procession of incredible dishes followed - crunchy crab and mango rolls; paper-thin slices of kingfish with a fiery chili kick; finely chopped tuna tartare with a side of crispy tacos; meltingly tender scallops pan-fried to perfection and served in their shells...Japanese with a little Aussie twist. There wasn't a single dish that we didn't devour with gusto. Even the eel sushi, which we would never usually order, was plate-lickingly good.

If you're thinking that it doesn't look like that much food, rest assured that there were plenty of dishes gobbled far too fast for photography and that a few too many glasses of wine were supped to allow accurate recall of exact components of each creation that the camera wasn't quick enough to capture. Booze haze aside, what I am absolutely certain of is that every last mouthful was delicious and that we'll be back very soon indeed. In fact, I may just go and spend a heel of Louboutin in there this evening...

Sushi O

Ground Floor,

CentreStage,

Bridges Street,

Soho,

Hong Kong.

Tel: +(852) 2480 0009