Open for just more than a year across the road from the Aldgate Pump Hotel, Yuki in the Hills strikes a graceful balance between family friendly dining and a respectful, well-informed reflection of Japanese cuisine.

From the outside, where it is clad in dark planks, the restaurant would look a bit like a mountain hut if not for the lanterns hanging from the veranda. Inside, the walls are lined in more timber, this time in bleached tones, so it can feel like being in an oversized sauna. At the centre of the room, two kimono-wearing chefs are on show as they prepare sushi and sashimi with quiet concentration.

Yuki does a bit of everything. As well as several pages of raw fish and seaweed/rice combinations, an elegant, ring-bound menu covers all the favourite snacks, tempura, stir-fries and stand-alone mains such as chicken katsu and teriyaki salmon.

Tempura soft-shelled crab, a gnarly mass of spindly legs, body parts and clumps of sweet white meat, is the pick of the starters. Wagyu tataki presents slices of chilled raw beef, their marbling of fat melting in the warmth of the mouth and melding with a mustard dressing. A special roll of eel, avocado and mushroom shows the artistry of the sushi chef, the key ingredients laid in a delicate arrangement on top, the rice just right.

“Sakana shioyaki”, traditionally a simple salted and grilled piece of fish, is expanded into a bumper plate of fried snapper fillets and a vividly coloured collection of vegies that are all in peak condition.

For dessert, a matcha and red bean cake, with only a whisper of sweetness and an intriguing firm bite, will not be everyone’s cup of sencha tea.