Sticks'n'Sushi Canary Wharf

A Copenhagen Concept in London's Financial Quarter

When Sticks'n'Sushi opened its first restaurant in Copenhagen in 1994, the premise was direct: combine the Japanese yakitori tradition of skewered, grilled proteins with the accessible format of sushi rolls, and serve both under one menu. Thirty years later, that dual-track structure has become the chain's defining identity across its European expansion, and the Canary Wharf location at 1 Crossrail Place sits within that same framework. In a city where the sushi market splits between conveyor-belt volume operations and high-commitment omakase counters charging north of £200 per head, Sticks'n'Sushi occupies a deliberate middle tier: table service, a broad menu, and a format built for groups and business dining rather than solitary counter devotion.

London's Japanese restaurant scene has grown considerably more segmented over the past decade. At one end, multi-course omakase experiences at venues with Michelin recognition demand months of advance booking and charge accordingly. At the other, fast-casual chains compress quality and price into high-turnover covers. Sticks'n'Sushi sits between these poles, a positioning that maps closely to what the brand established in Copenhagen and has since replicated in Stockholm, Berlin, and across several London neighbourhoods. The Canary Wharf outpost serves a catchment of office workers, Docklands residents, and visitors arriving via the Elizabeth line, all of whom benefit from the location's direct transport links.

How the Menu Is Structured — and What That Tells You

The menu architecture at Sticks'n'Sushi is the clearest expression of its concept. Rather than asking diners to choose between a sushi-focused experience and a grilled-meat format, the kitchen runs both tracks simultaneously. The sticks side draws from the yakitori tradition — small skewers of protein and vegetable, charcoal-grilled and served with dipping sauces or glazes. The sushi side covers the maki and nigiri territory familiar to most European diners, with rolls constructed for accessibility rather than technical minimalism.

This dual-column structure has consequences for how tables order. Sharing is implicit in the format: a table of four can spread across both protein skewers and rolls without either option feeling incomplete. That shareable logic is a deliberate design choice rather than an accident, and it positions the restaurant alongside European casual-dining formats where grazing and group ordering are the norm, rather than alongside the tasting-menu formats that define London's upper tier. For comparison, the structured progression of a meal at CORE by Clare Smyth or the precisely sequenced courses at Sketch, The Lecture Room and Library represent a fundamentally different contract with the diner, one where the kitchen controls pace and structure. Sticks'n'Sushi returns that control to the table.

The breadth of the menu also functions as a trust mechanism for groups with mixed dietary preferences. A menu that runs skewers, rolls, and typically a range of salads and small plates can absorb vegetarians, pescatarians, and meat-eaters at the same table without requiring a separate conversation with the kitchen. In the corporate dining context that Canary Wharf generates, that logistical convenience carries real weight.

Canary Wharf as a Dining Context

The Crossrail Place address is significant beyond its postcode. The Elizabeth line has restructured travel time across London's east-west corridor since its full opening in 2022, bringing Canary Wharf within 40 minutes of Paddington and under 15 minutes from Liverpool Street. That connectivity has widened the catchment for restaurants in the area, meaning the Sticks'n'Sushi Canary Wharf location now draws from a larger geographic radius than the pre-Crossrail years would have allowed.

Canary Wharf's restaurant economy remains dominated by the Monday-to-Friday lunch and post-work dinner rhythm, with weekends running at lower volume than comparable zones in central London. That pattern suits a restaurant format like Sticks'n'Sushi, where the group-friendly, shareable menu aligns naturally with after-work gatherings and team dinners. The venue's position inside the Crossrail Place development also places it within a curated retail and dining environment rather than on a standalone street, giving it the footfall and shelter advantages that come with integrated mixed-use schemes.

Readers planning a broader London dining itinerary who want to contrast the Sticks'n'Sushi format with more structured fine-dining experiences might consider Dinner by Heston Blumenthal for Modern British tasting formats, or The Ledbury for Modern European precision. For those extending their UK dining beyond the capital, L'Enclume in Cartmel and Moor Hall in Aughton represent the northern England fine-dining tier, while Waterside Inn in Bray and Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons in Oxford hold the classic country-house dining tradition. Regional options worth noting include Midsummer House in Cambridge, Opheem in Birmingham, and Gidleigh Park in Chagford. International points of comparison for Japanese-influenced dining at the formal end include Atomix in New York City and Le Bernardin for French-Japanese technique at the highest level.

Planning Your Visit

The Canary Wharf location is accessible directly from Canary Wharf station on the Jubilee line and Elizabeth line, with the Crossrail Place entrance putting diners within a short covered walk of the restaurant. Given the strong post-work demand in the area, booking ahead for weekday evenings is advisable, particularly for groups of four or more. Lunch slots on weekdays tend to be more accessible on shorter notice. For those comparing this visit against other London options, the full London restaurants guide covers the wider range of dining formats across the city, from neighbourhood bistros to Michelin-starred destination tables. Additional fine-dining options to consider include Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, hide and fox in Saltwood, Hand and Flowers in Marlow, and Restaurant Andrew Fairlie in Auchterarder.