Marylebone yakitori bar Junsei relaunches as Japanese listening bar

Marylebone restaurant Junsei has reopened following refurbishment with a new identity as one of London’s few Japanese listening bars.

The restaurant, which specialises in yakitori – a Japanese dish of bite-sized chicken pieces – will now combine dining with curated vinyl sessions and late-night service, taking inspiration from Tokyo’s after-work izakayas. 

On Thursday and Friday evenings the venue will operate as a “hi-fi” listening bar, with DJs playing genres including Japanese city pop and soul alongside food and drink.

The drinks list focuses on Japanese spirits, including sake, shochu and wines, supported by a short cocktail menu using Japanese ingredients.

Junsei’s dinner menu centres on kushiyaki omakase, including more than 20 skewers cooked nose-to-tail over Binchōtan charcoal, alongside seasonal vegetable dishes and sharing plates such as wagyu beef rib cap, crab korokke with caviar, flame-seared salmon and diver scallops. Claypot donabe rice, cooked to order, is also available.

A late-night menu will run during DJ nights, featuring izakaya-style dishes including chicken nanban, crispy chicken skin chips and soboro don with minced chicken and shichimi. Desserts include milk purin with kokuto sugar, seasonal granita and grilled fruit with brown sugar ice cream.

Junsei also plans to expand its late-night programming through guest DJs and selectors.