Tasty Food Ventures

Food is an adventure

Tuna Fight Club: Chaos, Luxury, and a 266-Kilo Bluefin Beast

The tuna would definitely win…

What a night!

For ages, my husband and I had been mesmerized by @eatingwithtod’s video, which offered a chaotic, loud, and utterly delicious glimpse into the Tuna Fight Club experience. As soon as we heard you no longer needed to charm a waiter or fly halfway across the world for a spot (though two determined ladies from California and Alaska did fly in—wow!), we knew we had to go.

As a late birthday present for me, we braved a tube strike and trotted up to London on a Monday night. The mission: incredible food, a fantastic show, and a truly wonderful experience that is absolutely worth the high price tag.

The restaurant is located in the famous Notting Hill area, near Holland Park and the Greek Embassy. It operates as ‘Supermarket of Dreams‘ by day and Urchin by night. The Tuna Fight Club experience takes place weekly:

  • Mondays: First-timers and visitors
  • Tuesdays: Regulars and VIPs

For £250 per person (drinks are on top), you get a nine-course meal and a welcome glass of champagne. By the end, I personally felt like it was very much worth the price. The food is exquisite, but the restaurant’s ambience, the service, and the show truly round it out to an incredible experience.

A photo of a restaurant table setting with chopsticks, a white napkin, a water glass, and the printed black-and-white menu for Urchin's Tuna Fight Club.
A brightly lit neon sign inside a restaurant featuring the word 'IZAKAYA' and 'OPEN' in white and pink neon, surrounding a blue neon sushi graphic.
A close-up view of the Urchin Tuna Fight Club menu listing all the courses and their key ingredients.

Getting the Best Seat

First things first, get there early! While you can book for groups of two or four, you don’t pick your seat. If you want a coveted spot in front of the chefs, you need to arrive before the time advised on your booking—we arrived at 7 PM and those seats were already taken! We were happy to snag a private table on the side, though the communal table in the middle of the restaurant looked lovely if you’re feeling more outgoing.

A word of caution: Seating is almost entirely high stools, so call ahead if you need different accommodations.

We started with a good selection of drinks, and just before the main event, we were served some lovely, absolutely delicious sea bream. I was already impressed by the freshness of the ingredients, the layered flavours, and the presentation. I was ready to drink the remaining sauce from the bottom of the bowl, but figured that wouldn’t look very dignified! It was obvious this was going to be a great night.

Interior view of Urchin restaurant showing a long wooden communal table with guests seated on high stools, enjoying the dinner service under dim, warm lighting.
A close-up of a small serving of raw, thinly sliced sea bream with white skin, presented in a deep white bowl with a bright orange-yellow sauce at the bottom.

The Main Event: The Fight Club

Then, it was time for the main event… I don’t think you can be fully prepared to see this beast of a fish in person. We actually had a male, which, as I understand, appears smaller and is a bit slimmer around the waist, and it was still massive: 266 Kilos!

While the restaurant team wrangled this giant fish, the host gave us fascinating information about tuna, which truly made us appreciate the whole experience all the more. Eventually, the tuna was out of the van (with great effort!) and ready to go up to the restaurant kitchen—through a dodgy-looking ramp and using a ton of momentum—to be cut up and served.

Once the tuna is placed on the large metal table, you are encouraged to touch the fish, and even give it a nudge to feel its weight, size, and outer ‘armor’. Right after that, you’ll be given a serious warning to stay clear of the range of the very large, Katana-like knives used to cut the fish.

Now, if you’re squeamish or blood makes you feel faint, it’s time to look away. The chefs, led by the head cutter, spend a good amount of time slicing the tuna, which is incredibly ‘meaty’. It’s a fascinating process, and they work with a precision and speed that might make you think this is easy (it is absolutely not!) If you listen closely, the crunching sound of the skin being cut (it’s the thickest and toughest part of the fish) will let you know this takes incredible strength and stamina to get through. Once the main cuts are made, two chefs portion the fish for the dry-aging shelves or… straight toward our meal!

Chefs and staff in black uniforms surrounding a massive Bluefin Tuna laid on a stainless steel table, preparing for the cutting demonstration. A crowd of guests is watching intently.
A chef points to the massive Bluefin Tuna, which has been partially cut to reveal the red flesh. The fish is on a metal table surrounded by guests and staff.
A chef in black chef whites and goggles stands beside the massive Bluefin Tuna, gesturing towards the fish with his hand on the metal table.
A massive Bluefin Tuna is placed on a large metal table in a commercial kitchen. A chef in a black shirt is adjusting the fish, and three guests are on the left taking photos.
A team of restaurant staff at the back of a white refrigerated van carefully moving the massive, dark-skinned tuna onto a wheeled trolley.
A group of restaurant staff in 'Supermarket of Dreams' t-shirts unload a massive, white-wrapped tuna from the back of a refrigerated white van onto a low trolley on the street.

The Dishes: From Scraping to Seared

The most fun part, which is a signature of this experience, is getting a delicate part of the fish next to the bone (Nakaochi). They scrape it up with a spoon and give some to each guest on a nori sheet, ready for a brush of soy sauce, a dollop of caviar, and some flavourful, fresh eating!

A blue metal tin of deep bronze-coloured N25 caviar sitting on a bed of crushed ice, with a small wooden spoon hovering over it.

This was followed up by a nine-day aged Nakaochi, with the same N25 Caviar. The dry-aging process gave it a deeper flavour, but it would truly be impossible to pick a favourite.

Two hands holding up small square sheets of dark green nori seaweed, each topped with bright red, scraped tuna meat (Nakaochi) and a mound of green-gold N25 Caviar.

Next up, ‘Clear Soup’ with matsutake and Jabara. I’m very partial to delicious warm broths, so I found this to be just the right, cozy interlude for this point in the evening, readying us for the excitement to follow.

A black bowl containing clear broth with slices of white mushroom, a piece of light pink meat, and a large green leaf garnish.

I can’t honestly say I have scallops often, however, this beautifully seared and lightly garnished scallop, sitting in tomatillo juices, was really delicious. If only there was a dignified way to lick your plate.

A single grilled scallop sitting on a small portion of purple puree and a pool of yellow-orange sauce in a wide, white bowl, garnished with green mint and sliced pepper.

A beautiful array of various cuts of tuna was served next:

  • Akami: Lean, dark red, and muscular meat from the loin, prized for its firm texture and bold flavour.
  • Chutoro: Meaning “middle fatty,” this balanced cut from the belly offers a richness between Akami and Otoro.
  • Otoro: The supremely fatty meat, usually cut from the belly. It truly melts in your mouth.
  • Kama Toro: A rare, very fatty cut from the collar, jaw, and gill area. It’s highly prized for its rich, buttery flavour and melt-in-your-mouth texture, similar to Wagyu beef.
A tasting plate of various raw tuna cuts: dark red lean Akami slices with a shiso leaf, and pink fatty Kamatoro and Otoro cuts topped with truffle shavings.

It was truly an incredible dish and impressive how different the same animal can taste depending on the cut you are trying.

Up next—while I’m not a huge fan of deep-fried dishes—the lobster tempura was surprisingly lovely, and the crispy corn on the side was delightful, and also one of my husband’s favourite foods of the entire night! The texture and crunch of the batter, combined with the soft, flavourful lobster meat, was a wonderful combination and a great break from all the tuna.

A white bowl containing pieces of golden-brown tempura with corn kernels, topped with shredded white radish and a green leaf. The dish sits in a clear broth.

A beautiful plate of Nigiri arrived next: Aburi Kamatoro (lightly seared), Chutoro nigiri, Akami nigiri, and Tamago sea urchin. All beautifully executed, and it was a nice touch to include sea urchin, calling back to the restaurant’s name, Urchin. (Although, I discovered I’m decidedly not a fan; the rich, fatty flavour and texture did not win me over).

Four pieces of nigiri sushi on a textured rectangular plate: a piece topped with caviar, a piece with a lime slice, a piece wrapped in kombu, and a piece of sweet egg (tamago) topped with bright orange sea urchin.

Finally, our last savoury dish, Kama Donburi. This Japanese rice bowl, topped with grilled fish from the first cut of the night, was slowly cooked during the entire meal, timed perfectly to be served as the highlight of the night.

A small, black ceramic bowl filled with rice and topped with shredded cooked tuna meat, cucumber, and a sprinkle of dried seasoning.

A very welcome surprise was the delectable dessert: Salted milk ice cream, sweet potato with shichimi. Truly absolutely delicious and the perfect end to our meal. It really impressed me how beautiful and tasty the dessert was, given I was expecting much less care to be put into it since the tuna is the star of the show.

A dark ceramic bowl holding a quenelle of white ice cream drizzled with dark syrup and a caramelized piece of sweet potato.

Truly, it was an unforgettable night. My husband would tell you I nearly teared up trying some of the dishes because of how absolutely breathtakingly delicious they were. It’s not often I think it’s worth spending this kind of money on one evening at a restaurant, but this would be one of the times. And the fact they sent us home with a tuna steak really put the icing on the cake! (I had to let the cat try just a little bit…)

A thick, square cut of raw, bright red Bluefin tuna steak sitting in a black plastic container lined with patterned paper.
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