Japanese Sharing Plates · Fitzrovia · £££
Restaurant Opening: November 2025
Go for the Full Experience
Food 4/5 Creativity ● Flavor ● Inspiration ● Provenance ● Balance ○
Atmosphere 4/5 Energy ● Lighting ● Interiors ● Soul ● Service ○
Table for Two Experience
On Monday morning I got a text from my friend Kristen. She and her husband had a reservation at Aces Foodcraft on Friday, were we in? Kristen and I had just got back from Menorca the day before and were still mid debrief on the trip. Obviously we said yes.
If there’s one thing about me: I will always say yes to a pre-booked reservation at a new opening. Particularly when it means I’m not the one who had to set the alarm to secure it.
Aces Foodcraft is the debut solo restaurant from chef Alex Craciun, formerly head chef at Jason Atherton’s Sosharu, who spent nearly a decade cooking in Singapore and Marbella before returning to London. The restaurant is named after his son.
We did the Friday 9pm sitting and the room was exactly what it should be at that hour: alive, considered, the kind of energy that only a late Friday night produces. The restaurant seats fewer than thirty people: nine around a slightly raised kitchen counter, twenty in the rest of the dining room. The intimacy ignites the room. And then there’s this: Craciun DJs while he cooks, adjusting the music to match the energy at the table. The room has a pulse because of it.
Before we had looked at the menu, the water arrived with a small tray of accompaniments: blood orange, lemon, lime, cucumber. A detail that costs almost nothing and communicates everything about how seriously this restaurant takes hospitality.
The concept is Japanese sharing plates, which means you need to go with people who have good taste in food and the instinct to order widely. We were there as a double date, still debriefing Menorca, and the format served us perfectly.
What to Order
We chose to order à la carte, but there’s also a tasting menu (if you want to read more about the tasting menu, I recommend Marshall’s review from Professional Lunch.)
The starters were the real standouts. Begin with the Chinese Man in France, a prawn dumpling served atop a test tube of garlic, mussels, and green juice, then move to the Temaco: a fusion of Mexican taco and Japanese temaki. The bluefin tuna temaco version was the standout of the entire meal, and I've been chasing that high ever since. Four temakis later in the three weeks since and nothing has come close.
The pressed tuna sushi with pickled chili, negi, spicy mayo, is also a non-negotiable. The starters and sushi were definitely the highlight. Load up here and keep the mains considered. One between two is enough.
A note on service: The service was attentive but occasionally tipped into over explanation. Instructions for dishes that didn't quite need them, the kind of thing that comes from a good place but lands as slightly unnecessary when you're mid conversation. A minor note, but worth knowing.
Occasion Double date · Girls dinner · Date night · Special occasion
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A chef that djs? What a vibe!
Sold me at the garnish plate of fruit