Thesleff Group expands London portfolio with launch of Japanese concept MA/NA

London-based restaurant operator Thesleff Group has announced it is to open a new Japanese restaurant in Mayfair.

The group, which operates restaurants including Japanese-Mexican restaurant Los Mochis and Italian restaurant Sale e Pepe, is scheduled to open MA/NA in January on Upper Grosvenor Street in the site formerly occupied by Turkish restaurant Ruya.

MA/NA will be a 156-cover restaurant and bar serving Japanese dishes alongside a cocktail, wine and sake list. Executive chef Leo Tanyag will curate a menu including tiger shrimp tempura with creamy wasabi, teriyaki edamame with black truffles, and king crab with Asian leaves, yuzu masago and caviar pearls.

There will also be a private dining room for up to 20 guests and an open wine room and sommelier station for four seated guests.

MA/NA will also offer a contemporary cocktail bar featuring resident DJs.

In a reel on Instagram posted yesterday (28 October), Markus Thesleff, founder and chief executive of Thesleff Group, wrote the new restaurant will be “where modern Mayfair meets late-night Tokyo”.

He added: “MA/NA celebrates the craft of Japanese cuisine. The quiet mastery of precise cuts, the patience of fermentation, and the connection between earth and ocean. Every detail is intentional, with each dish capturing a comment in its purest form, revealing the extraordinary within the simple.”

In a separate post, he added the concept has been in the works since 2020.

Earlier this month, Thesleff appointed Mark Sansom as its new marketing director. At the time of his appointment, he told The Caterer that the group will be announcing “another super-exciting restaurant in Mayfair” before the end of the year.

Sansom added that growth was “one of the key drivers behind my move to Thesleff Group”.

Last month, Thesleff Group announced its international debut with the launch of Los Mochis Beverly Hills in 2027, a 12,103 sq ft site to open its doors in time for the LA Olympics. Earlier this month, the group announced the launch of a second Sale e Pepe outpost at the Langham, London, set to open at the end of November.