Art Sushi is a small, serious Japanese restaurant tucked into Westbourne's main shopping street, next to the old 1920s cinema. Behind a stark grey frontage is a counter-first dining room built around the theatre of sushi preparation, and a chef-owner whose credentials are hard to match on the Dorset coast.
The chef and the food
Kamil Skalczynski is an adviser to the World Sushi Skills Institute and holds an International Sushi Kuro-Obi Certificate from the Japanese government, alongside finals appearances at the World Sushi Cup and Global Sushi Challenge. He trained at Atelier Amaro, a one-Michelin-star kitchen in Poland, before bringing that discipline to Westbourne. The signature move is omakase, a six-piece chef's-choice menu built from whatever's freshest that day, but the wider menu runs to nigiri, chirashi platters layered with glazed kanpyo gourd and soy-marinated egg, and California-style tempura rolls such as king prawn with mint or salmon with mango. Sundays switch to a dedicated chirashi sushi feast. Seats at the counter, where you can watch each piece being cut and formed, are the ones to ask for.
Recognition
Art Sushi has held a place in the MICHELIN Guide for consecutive years, sits in The Good Food Guide's top 100 UK restaurants, and made OpenTable's Top 100 UK Restaurants list in 2023, unusually heavyweight recognition for a small suburban sushi counter, and a fair sign of how seriously the kitchen is taken.
Good to know
It's a compact space, so book ahead, particularly for a counter seat or the omakase menu, via artsushi.co.uk or by calling 01202 082328. Beyond dine-in, Art Sushi also offers Deliveroo delivery, catering and chef-led sushi masterclasses. It's closed Monday and Tuesday, with dinner service Wednesday to Saturday and a separate Sunday sitting.
Art Sushi makes a good excuse to spend an afternoon in Westbourne before dinner, browse the shops and cafés, then finish with sushi. For more places to eat nearby, see our food & drink guide, and for the rest of the neighbourhood, our things to do guide.