The Araki, a sushi restaurant in the Mayfair district London, England, has been stripped of all three of its Michelin stars in the 2020 ratings.
The Araki, which is one of the smallest restaurants in London, lost all of its three Michelin stars in this year's annual Michelin star ratings.
The sushi restaurant, opened in 2014 by Mitsuhiro Araki, has a seating of just 10 people at the chef's counter while accommodating another six people in a private room for regular guests. The restaurant is popular for its omakase or tasting menu, which costs £310 per head.
Araki, who had previously owned a three-star restaurant in Tokyo, earned his first Michelin star in London within a year of opening the restaurant. However, in March 2019, he had to move to Hong Kong to open another restaurant.
His protege Marty Lau replaced Araki as chef after he left for Hong Kong. Lau has worked with Araki since 2015 and in early 2019 was described by GQ magazine as "phenomenally capable".
In response to the loss of the Michelin stars, Lau said that it was "a shame" to have been taken off from the 2020 guide. However, he also said: "But we take it as a fair judgment and a fresh start following the departure of our master Mitsuhiro Araki. We believed it placed Michelin in a difficult position to make a decision on how to score The Araki, as the master was here during half of the inspection period for 2020's guide."
The Araki has not sought for an explanation from Michelin and Lau argued: "It's their guide, and we're in total respect of how they want to do it. I'm taking it on the chin and getting on with proving myself. Lots of chefs are devastated when they lose stars, but you'll get nowhere with that attitude. You have to dust yourself off and try again."
