As the evenings grow longer, Japanese restaurant Aqua Kyoto is offering Londoners a remarkable gastronomic experience to spice up hump day – namely, the brand-new Kyoto Nights menu.

Though its entrance is conveniently located on Argyll Street, the venue’s seductive interior is a world away from the city’s hustle and bustle. The space features a live DJ and a layout conducive to intimate conversation. Along one side of the restaurant is a marble-topped open kitchen, sushi bar and robata grill. Along the other is an abstract lighting installation with a mesmerising lattice of mirrors.

Aqua Kyoto’s sushi bar

And this striking décor immerses patrons in the spirit of Japan. Dark timber features recall Kyoto’s wooden townhouses. Between the spirits bar and restaurant are dividing screens with a shakudo finish, that dark alloy of copper and gold found on ancient samurai swords and Japanese art objects.

The menu is similarly evocative. In keeping with the country’s deep admiration for nature, for instance, one of the starters is a spectacular sushi platter floating on a sea of ice. Ginger and wasabi garnishes, meanwhile, blossom out of botanical decorations.

Each dish is beautifully presented

The platter’s flavours have been carefully curated to suggest these scenes, too. Broccoli and avocado uramaki conjure thoughts of Japanese gardens, while seafood counterparts recall the ocean. Salmon and tuna nigiri are unparalleled and the platter’s standout sees whitefish topped with gleaming red caviar.

Whitefish sushi topped with red caviar

Kyoto Nights is anything but frugal. It includes 90 minutes of bottomless prosecco and house wines. And other starters include Japanese aubergine with green chilli miso and crunchy genmai, rock shrimp tempura with garlic mayonnaise and sweet chilli, and chicken karaage combining the spice of wasabi furikake with the citrus notes of yuzu mayo.

There’s also a delicious miso soup whose melt-in-the-mouth tofu cubes and seaweed are counterpoised by the texture of salted edamame beans. Sweetness, meanwhile, emanates from the goma dressing of a refreshing spinach salad sprinkled with sesame seeds.

Just as the restaurant’s partitions nod to Japan’s sliding shoji screens and cultural notion, then, of division within unity, these dishes all marry strikingly different flavours, textures and temperatures with such balance as would impress a kendo practitioner. And it’s this harmony which truly defines the Kyoto Nights experience.

The Kyoto Nights menu is incredibly varied yet conveys a sense of perfect harmony befitting Japanese cuisine

Alongside options for vegetarian and pescatarian main courses, there’s the robata grilled sirloin. It’s beautifully presented with a tsuma salad on a box whose outer walls are adorned in Japanese calligraphy. Embers glow inside the box, keeping the steak sizzling for some time. It comes with a dipping bowl of Japanese wasabi salsa, fusing starkly different smoky and botanical flavours.

Afterwards, the dessert platter keeps your palate engaged. Fruitiness bursts from the yolk of a passion fruit cheesecake. And just when you think you’ve encountered as many flavours as one meal could possibly contain, a wasabi white chocolate parfait and matcha tea ice cream greet you with yet more delectable surprises.

The Kyoto Nights menu is on offer every Wednesday from 5pm; £85 per person; aquakyoto.co.uk/kyoto-nights