The Bamboo Mat Stratford: Serving up flame grilled sushi

The Bamboo Mat in Stratford is a popular Japanese and Peruvian fusion restaurant located a short walk from Stratford station.

The menu serves a range of sushi, ceviche and other Asian dishes with a Peruvian twist, along with a large selection of cocktails.

The menu serves a range of sushi, ceviche and other Asian dishes with a Peruvian twist. (Image: Emily Davison)

It’s also a great spot for anyone with dietary needs, with a broad range of plant-based and gluten-free dishes too.

Recently the restaurant also announced that it would be hosting regular Latino music nights on certain Thursdays, where diners can sit and enjoy a meal accompanied by popular songs performed by a live Latino band.

Diners can sit and enjoy a meal accompanied by popular songs performed by a live Latino band. (Image: Amy Williams Consultancy) I recently went to try it on its first Latino night and as an affirmed sushi lover I was excited to see how their sushi compared.

We first began with some cocktails, they had quite a big selection of classics and Asian-inspired drinks, and we started off by trying a classic Pina Colada and Yuzu Blossom, which we devoured.

The cocktails here were definitely among some of the best I’ve tried in East London and I’d revisit just to try more of them alone.

They had quite a big selection of classic cocktails and Asian-inspired drinks. (Image: Emily Davison) For starters we got the Salmon Tataki and Seabass Ceviche to share, which consisted of lightly seared salmon with passion fruit and mango milk and red onion, and seabass cured in passion fruit and mango with sweet potato.

Both were really delicious, and you could really taste the freshness of the flavour with the mango and the passion fruit.

We also went for some of their famous sushi, which was actually finished at the table when the server used a blow torch to sear the sauce as you would a crème brûlée.

Their famous sushi was actually finished at the table when the server used a blow torch to sear the sauce. (Image: Emily Davison) We tried the Volcano Maki, which consisted of seabass and salmon, along with cucumber and avocado served in Maki rolls.

This was one of my favourite things from the whole evening, with a delicious creamy sauce on top, and as far as sushi goes I don’t think anything I’ve had in London so far could top it.

At this point we tried our second round of drinks as the music began at around 7:30pm, which definitely added to the vibe of the evening.

The music definitely added to the vibe of the evening. (Image: Amy Williams Consultancy) This was then followed with mains including the Chicken Anticucho – chicken thighs served with a chive mash and anticucho sauce, and Grilled Octopus served with lentil mash.

I really enjoyed the chicken, which was like the perfect comfort food dish with an exotic twist with the spices and sauce, the portion size was also huge so you could easily share it or get a few dishes if you wanted to try a mix like we did.

Mains included the Chicken Anticucho and Grilled Octopus. (Image: Emily Davison) Despite being stuffed, we were determined to get dessert, and I was surprised to see they had a range of classic desserts like Crème Brûlée and Chocolate Fondant, as well as a selection of ice creams.

The Chocolate Fondant was definitely a decadent dessert, served with a salted caramel ice cream, and the Crème Brûlée had a very satisfying caramelised layer.

They had a range of classic desserts as well as a selection of ice creams. (Image: Emily Davison) Everything was so delicious and definitely a gem of the East London food scene.

If you’re a fan of Japanese fare or just want a good night out with a fun vibe, this place is well worth the visit and is somewhere I want to visit again soon.