Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay doesn’t hold back when restaurants get it wrong as viewers of Kitchen Nightmares are only too aware of. But there were no nightmares when he visited one of Nottingham’s top-ranking restaurants.
The fearsome chef, known for his sweary tirades, had only praise for award-winning Kushi-ya, the home of Japanese-style skewers and small plates. Ramsay, who was eating with his family at lunchtime on Wednesday (1 May) happily posed for a photograph with staff afterwards.
Chef and owner Simon Carlin said: “He said it was all delicious. They ordered from our main menu selection of snacks, small plates and skewers.
“It was slightly surreal him eating here after watching him on TV for years. All the team was excited that he was in and he was really nice and happy to have a couple of pictures with us.”
Simon posted the photo, taken in Kushi-ya’s small kitchen with a hatch looking out over the restaurant, on his Instagram account ChefinNotts with the caption: “Had Rambo in today”. The restaurant is known for its punchy flavours and twists on Japanese flavours, including the famous” furikake prawn toast – a must-have dish for any diner.
Last year Kushi-ya was constantly in the spotlight after gaining Michelin’s Bib Gourmand for good quality food at a reasonable price, swiftly followed by a review by food critic Jay Raynor in the Guardian, in which he described it as a “blissfully good place”.
Big news was announced in February this year about the restaurant’s planned move from its tiny 33-seater spot in Cannon Court, off Long Row, to bigger premises at Enfield Chambers off Low Pavement. The larger space will allow Simon and fellow owner Tom Clay to amalgamate the restaurant with Japanese bar Yokocho, currently based in Hurts Yard.
