A new hotel opening in my home town is always going to excite me and when the hotel is from my favourite brand, Four Seasons, the excitement is even greater. And when I heard that the Four Seasons Hotel London at Ten Trinity Square would also house an Asian restaurant I couldn’t get there fast enough! Enlisting fellow Four Seasons enthusiast, Lauren, we headed to the hotel for a girls’ night and dinner at newly opened Mei Ume. 
Having visited the hotel for afternoon tea, Lauren and I had already fallen in love with the rose gold bar at Four Seasons Hotel London at Ten Trinity Square. The Rotunda Bar features a cocktail list inspired by the building’s past as the headquarters of the Port of London Authority but we skipped the maritime-themed cocktails and opted for a glass of champagne each. The champagne comes with a description around the stem – indicative of the attention to detail that made me fall in love with the Four Seasons brand.
Mei Ume can be found adjacent to the hotel’s magnificent Rotunda Lounge and the decor is just beautiful. It actually reminded me of some of the luxury hotels in Toyko that I visited with it’s beautiful silk screens and oriental artefacts. I actually came to the launch party of Mei Ume and they truly channelled the spirit of Asia with a Chinese Dragon to celebrate the new year. 
After ordering a bowl of edamame beans we consulted the menu which actually features both Chinese and Japanese dishes. Our waitress suggested ordering their signature Peking duck but I declined in favour of trying lots of little things rather than one big – Mr S would have been horrified. It’s served in two courses firstly with pancakes, cucumber, leek and second course with duck salad in lemongrass and plum dressing – definitely one to try next time.
Lauren and I opted for few things to share starting off well with this yellowtail carpaccio with truffle ponzu – a light and piquant dish that was one of the stars of the night. 
We were very pleased with the sommelier’s wine suggestion, a Rhone Valley white wine that paired beautifully with our seafood heavy meal. 
The soft shell crab at Mei Ume is excellent, quite possibly one of the best I’ve had in London and certainly a must order. 
The sashimi arrives in beautiful sets of three and quite honestly, it couldn’t be better, for me always a must order at a Japanese restaurant. The top notch quality is no surprise from a dream team of chefs, headed up by Tony Truong (from Royal China) with the sushi chef being ex-Sake No Hana and the dim sum produced by Yauatcha alum, Derrick Chen.
For sushi rolls, I opted for my favourite, spicy tuna and they arrived looking a little hairy. They’re actually served with a dusting of parmesan cheese which I found a little odd – it wasn’t actually as offensive as I thought it would be but I would still have preferred it without as the strong flavour of the cheese masked the delicate taste of the fresh tuna. 
San Pei chicken with Thai basil and chilli is served in a clay pot and is a great more substantial option. The chicken was cooked beautifully and a good whack of chilli made the dish a flavour sensation. 
Steamed Chilean sea bass with ginger and spring onion in soy sauce was another dish of the night for us. The fish was cooked so perfectly and the light flavour of the soy sauce was all the enhancement that it needed. 
I never used to be a fan of mochi but now I’m obsessed, especially with iced mochi! And we order a selection including yuzu, coconut and matcha which comes presented in this cute wooden block with chocolate dipping sauce – the perfect way to end an excellent meal.
It would be easy for Mei Ume to rest on the laurels of a fantastic location in a well-regarded hotel but it doesn’t. The food quality and preparation here is fantastic (cheesy sushi aside) and it’s the perfect location for a glamorous girls night or for a date.
Mei Ume
Four Seasons Hotel London at Ten Trinity Square
10 Trinity Square
London
EC3N 4AJ
Our dinner was complimentary.
