Eastern promise in West Sussex

From May this year the residents of Horsham in West Sussex will be able to indulge their inner oriental at ambitious new Japanese restaurant Wabi.

Offering contemporary Japanese cuisine, Wabi is the brainchild of entrepreneur André Cachia. It will also include a cocktail bar and an aquarium which is said to be the biggest of its kind in the UK.

Cachia has taken on the Australian Scott Hallsworth as head chef, who spent six years at Nobu London, starting as chef de partie and finishing as head chef, before founding Nobu Melbourne in 2007.

Since then he has acted as executive chef at the Mirai Restaurant Group in Dubai and Bahrain.

Formal and casual Japanese dining will be offered on the restaurant’s two floors, with dishes such as slow cooked Enoki mushroom ‘risotto’ with fresh Sussex edamame and shaved truffle.

Hallsworth explained his vision for the new venture, saying: “Our goal at Wabi is to extend our years of passion and creativity to our guests.

"We will always continue to search for new and exciting ingredients and ideas and believe it is equally important for both guest and staff to constantly improve and evolve.”

The ground floor will house the cocktail bar, which will serve creations including Bonzai Kitten – a mix of sake, vodka, calpis and lime juice – and the Silver Fox, made up of gin, fresh shiso, ginger, cucumber and ginger beer.

The aquarium built into the wall will be home to a number of species including jellyfish, presumably off the menu.

The whole venue was designed by Studio 21, owned by Zoe Hui, to reflect the understated elegance of Japanese cuisine, with traditional dark and muted colours and clean, geometric lines.

Rupert Millar, 23.02.2010