Inamo: New Soho Restaurant Concept

An Innovative Pan-Asian Restaurant and Bar Opens in London's Soho

Jul 26, 2008

Inamo is an exciting and innovative Pan-Asian restaurant and bar that opens in September in Wardour Street, the heart of the movie industry in London's Soho.

Inamo is a totally new concept in restaurants. For a start, there are no real menus. No, this isn't the usual "the chef will give you what he feels like" gimmick, but the menus are virtual, projected onto your table. Each table has its own projector, housed in an individually designed cocoon, and the menus are projected onto a touch pad at your table, enabling the order to be sent straight to the kitchen. But there are waiters on hand to answer any questions about the menus.

At Inamo you get to choose your own tablecloth too. These are also projected onto the table so you can pick one that suits your mood.

Continuing with this innovative use of technology, customers can amuse themselves while they're waiting by browsing information about Soho, including taxi booking services, and also watch the chefs cooking in the kitchen.

The Inamo Chef

Head chef at Inamo is Anthony Sousa Tam, who worked at Nobu and Hakkasan and whose cooking at Atami had Fay Maschler describing it as maybe "the best Japanese food in town". He was Head Chef at both Atami and Tsunami, and at Inamo he'll be providing Asian fusion cuisine, with over 30 dishes on the menu from China, Japan, Thailand and across Asia.

Inamo: Restaurant and Bar

The Inamo restaurant is on the ground floor and provides 60 covers, while the basement bar is big enough to hold about 70 people. Inamo's food is also available in the bar, where there will also be an extensive cocktail list.

The Inamo Design

One look at the photos and anyone can see that the Inamo design is unique, and striking. The design team were Blacksheep, who have been responsible for Gordon Ramsay's "The Narrow", The UK head office of Hermès and the members' club The Cuckoo Club. Blacksheep's director Tim Mutton said that the keywords were "warmth, vibrancy, charm and theatre".

Gaining Attention

The two men behind Inamo are Danny Potter and Noel Hunwick. It's their first London restaurant and they say that the idea behind the virtual menus was their frustration at being unable to get the waiter's attention in busy restaurants when they were ready to order, and again when it was time to get the bill. At Inamo, you order your food when you're ready, and you get your bill when you want it.

Inamo: The Opening

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