“SAKURA AT SAKE NO HANA” - SAKE NO HANA CELEBRATES THE ARRIVAL OF SPRING WITH POP-UP JAPANESE CHERRY BLOSSOM SECRET GARDEN

March 2014 From 7th April to 19th May Sake no Hana, the Japanese restaurant by the internationally acclaimed Hakkasan Group, will be celebrating the arrival of Spring and Japanese cherry blossom season with the launch of “Sakura at Sake no Hana”, a pop-up cherry blossom secret garden. Taking over the bar on St. James’s Street, “Sakura at Sake no Hana” will be a spectacular display of an abundance of pink cherry blossom enveloping the bar from floor to ceiling, entwining above and around guests while they enjoy limited-edition cherry blossom sake cocktails, bento boxes and desserts.

Sake no Hana and renowned florist Veevers Carter designed the fantastical garden to capture the essence and ethos of Japanese cherry blossom season “sakura”, one of the most celebrated periods in the Japanese calendar. To enter the bar guests will step through a fairytale-like entrance, surrounded by interweaving branches and archways of lush blossom. Once inside, the creation focuses around two large cherry blossom trees - one either side of the bar - which reach up and encoil their branches above and around the bar creating an elaborate canopy effect, with blooms and branches intertwining the bamboo walls. Jo Malone blossom-scented candles will complete the sensory experience.

Inspired by “sakura” and “hanami”, the centuries-old Japanese tradition of celebrating the fleeting annual cherry blossom season, “Sakura at Sake no Hana” offers guests in Mayfair the chance to enjoy the transient beauty of the flowers by sipping sakura sake cocktails at the blossom bar or by booking a table in the pop-up garden to indulge in a Japanese lunch with friends. Limited-edition items include:

----------Hanami Bellini Cocktail - Prosecco, Luxardo cherry liqueur, Heering cherry liqueur, sake, lime,

Tanqueray gin (£10)

Sakuratini Cocktail - Maraschino cherry liqueur; sake, vodka, Cointreau, cranberry juice, lime, orange bitters (£10)

Sakura Cherry Iced Tea - Marasca cherries, jasmine tea, lime (£5.50)

Sakura Tea - pot of tea made from the leaves of cherry blossom trees (£4.50)

Sakura Crystal Double-Layer Bento Box - served with a miso soup starter, the first layer of the box contains seven-spice chicken kuwayaki and spring salad with sesame dressing. The second sushi layer

comprises salmon avocado, spicy tuna and California rolls, and chu-toro and salmon sashimi (£28)

Sakura Palet D'or - cherry-chocolate dessert with fresh cherries, nashi pear, almonds and ginger, and cherry blossom tea ice-cream made from the leaves of cherry blossom trees (£8)

Cherry blossom macarons - vanilla macarons with cherry blossom tea ganache (£1.60 each, 5 for £7)----------

Guests at Sake no Hana at midday on Saturday 26th April will view the spectacle of “Kagami Biraki”, a time-honoured Japanese ceremony which entails the lid of a sake barrel being dramatically broken open by a wooden mallet before the sake is served in traditional cups. This will be accompanied by Japanese Taiko drummers with their captivating, high-energy, carnival-like performance.

“Sakura at Sake no Hana” limited-edition menu items available in the bar and restaurant from 7 th April to 19th May, Monday to Saturday. Sakura crystal bento box available at lunch; sakura cocktails and desserts available at lunch and dinner. To book a table call 020 7925 8988 or email reservations@sakenohana.com.

For more information or images please contact Alix Leonard-Morgan on +44 207 297 8967 or alix@hakkasan.com

NOTES TO EDITORS:Name: Sake no Hana Address: 23 St. James’s Street

LondonSW1A 1HA

Website: www.sakenohana.comTelephone: +44 (0)20 7925 8988Twitter: @sakenohanaFacebook: www.facebook.com/sakenohanaInstagram: Sakenohana

ABOUT JAPANESE CHERRY BLOSSOM Hanami is the centuries old Japanese tradition of celebrating the annual sakura (cherry blossom) season by eating sushi and drinking sake beneath the cherry blossom trees. Each blossom tree is in bloom for just a few weeks, as the season travels northwards over Japan throughout April and May. Hanami is the custom of enjoying the transient beauty of the blossom by indulging in parties under the blossom trees.

The popular tongue-in-cheek Japanese proverb “hana yori dango” (“dumplings rather than flowers”) is regularly used throughout Japan and embodies how the Japanese embrace the cherry blossom viewing tradition, suggesting that Japanese are just as interested in the celebrations accompanying a hanami party as viewing the flowers themselves.

ABOUT SAKE NO HANAThe Hakkasan Group, founders of the highly-respected Hakkasan, Yauatcha and HKK restaurant brands, acquired Japanese restaurant Sake no Hana in 2011 bringing together Hakkasan’s efficient and intuitive service style with a carefully selected menu, delivering a Japanese restaurant experience of the highest quality. Housed in the Grade-II listed Economist building, Sake no Hana is a fine example of modernist 1960's architecture designed by Alison & Peter Smithson. A collaboration of food and design, the striking interior - designed by esteemed Japanese architect Kengo Kuma – is awash with linear bamboo that flushes the main walls, with each tree-like structure of cypress wood punctuating the space, giving a feel of a futuristic forest. Pseudo-screens ripple the windows providing a soft veil to the backdrop of St. James’s Street. Sake no Hana is open for lunch and dinner from Monday to Saturday. The Hakkasan Group also opened Sake no Hana in Dubai in 2013.

The Hakkasan group, owned by Abu Dhabi's property investment company Tasameem, has pioneered Chinese fine-dining globally, through its Michelin-starred Cantonese restaurants Hakkasan Hanway Place, Hakkasan Mayfair, HKK and Yauatcha, and with sites in the US, UAE, India and, as of March 2014, Shanghai.

ABOUT VEEVERS CARTERVeevers Carter launched in 1984 as a small flower shop in Chelsea and has grown to a large multi-faceted floral design business based in South East London. The company offers a full bespoke floral design service to many blue chip companies as well as VIP clients within the entertainment and sports industries. Their work has taken them to numerous overseas destinations within Europe, Asia and Africa where their designs have been used by royal families and corporate companies bringing both style and elegance to their events.