Ex-Zuma and Nobu chef to open Japanese steak house and pub

Australian-born Shonhan, who recently left Zuma London, plans to combine the cooking skills he's learnt in Japanese restaurants with his experiences of growing up on a cattle farm for the restaurant - thought to be London's first Japanese steak house.

Shonhan told BigHospitality he was currently looking at sites in the Mayfair and Knightsbridge areas of London for the restaurant which could cater for up to 130-covers.

The Izakaya would meanwhile operate from a more central area of the capital such as Soho or Covent Garden, catering for up to 30 covers with additional seating at the bar.

Own venture​

The chef, who first moved to London in 2001 to work at Asia de Cuba, said now was the right time to launch is own venture.

"It’s every chef’s dream to open a restaurant. I am young enough to still have the energy to do it, and old enough to have the maturity to do it," he said.

Shonhan spent four years working as a chef at European and Oriental restaurants in Brisbane before moving to London to work as senior chef de partie at Asia de Cuba in 2001. He worked at The Dorchester before moving to the US to work with Texan chef Stephen Pyles.

He was recruited by the Nobu group in 2005 and appointed head chef of the company's Dallas restaurant where he was personally trained by founder Nobu Matsuhisa before being headhunted by Zuma in London in 2007.