Every December, the same email goes round the office. Someone has to book the Christmas party, and the options all start to look alike: a function room, a set menu, a plate of turkey nobody really wanted.
This year, there is a different option. Bamboo-Mat cooks Nikkei, the Peruvian-Japanese cuisine born when Japanese cooks settled in Peru more than a century ago, at two East London restaurants: our original in Stratford's East Village, and our new two-floor site in Wood Wharf, Canary Wharf, the only Nikkei restaurant on the estate.
This guide is for whoever has been handed the job of organising the team party. It covers both restaurants and how each works for a big group, what you will eat and drink, and how to get your date confirmed before December fills up.
Canary Wharf: two floors, two moods
The restaurant has 82 covers across two floors, and the split works well for a party. Most good office parties have two halves: the bit where people mingle with a drink, and the bit where everyone sits down together. Here, each half has its own floor.
Downstairs: the raw bar and the cocktail bar. This is where the evening starts. Counter seats run the length of the raw bar, so guests can watch fish being cut and a tiradito dressed right in front of them. It is the natural place for arrivals, a first pisco sour, and a few plates of ceviche while the last people make it out of the office.
Upstairs: the robata grill and the long table. The upper floor is calmer and built for staying longer, with banquettes along the windows, a VIP cocktail lounge overlooking the water, and one long table that seats many. This is where the charcoal grill is, and where dinner happens.
Stratford: our East Village original
Stratford is where Bamboo-Mat grew up, and it suits a different kind of Christmas party: a neighbourhood restaurant in East Village, close to the office and easy to get home from.
Close to the office. For teams around the Olympic Park, Here East or Westfield, the party is a few minutes' walk away. Nobody crosses London on a December night, and the first round is on the table while the last people are still logging off.
Food for the whole table. This is the menu our Stratford regulars know best: ceviche and tiradito to start, maki to pass around, then chicken anticucho and slow-cooked ox cheek with yuzu gravy for something properly wintry. Signature cocktails like the pisco-based Nikkei Punch, sake and Japanese whisky carry the toasts.
For a team of 20 or more, tell us your numbers when you enquire and we will suggest the best layout.
Food made for the middle of the table
Nikkei is built for sharing, which is exactly what a party needs. Instead of everyone staring at their own plate, dishes land in the middle and get passed around. Conversation starts on its own.
A typical spread moves through three parts of the kitchen:
- The raw bar: ceviche, tiradito and our signature salads, bright with citrus and chilli.
- The sushi counter: maki and nigiri made our way, including the Dragon Maki and the Vulcano Maki with salmon, seabass and asparagus.
- The grill and kitchen: chicken teriyaki, chicken anticucho over mashed potato, and slow-cooked ox cheek with yuzu gravy for something properly wintry, cooked on the charcoal robata at Canary Wharf.
Finish with mochi or the chocolate fondant. For groups, we will talk you through a sharing menu that fits your numbers and budget, so the food keeps coming without anyone having to order.
A proper bar for the year's last toast
The pisco sour is the house drink, and it is the right way to raise a glass to the year you have had. Beyond that, the bar pours signature cocktails, sake, Japanese whisky, Champagne and wine, including bottles from Moldova that most of your colleagues will never have tried.
Not everyone drinks, and nobody should be stuck with a lime and soda. Our mocktails get the same care as the cocktails, so the non-drinkers on your team have something worth ordering too.
Every guest covered
In a group of 20, someone is vegetarian, someone is vegan and someone avoids gluten. Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free dishes are marked across our menu, so building a spread that works for everyone is straightforward. List any requirements or allergies in your enquiry and we will plan the menu around them before the day.
Book in three steps
- Send your enquiry. Date, numbers and venue. It takes about two minutes.
- We reply within 24 hours. Our team confirms availability and talks you through menus and drinks.
- You're booked. Once everything is agreed, your table is confirmed by email.
Sending the form does not commit you to anything. It just starts the conversation.
One piece of advice: do not leave it late. The Fridays in December go first, and the earlier you get in touch, the more dates and times are open.
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