Mai Story

Finding its feet on the streets of Tokyo, the idea for Mai Taiko was born in the heart Japan. We’re on a mission to capture the immersive experience of Tokyo’s street markets… and bring it back to London.

We’re on a Roll.

We travelled the world trying and tasting food, but nothing came close to what we experienced in downtown Tokyo. Immersive and mesmerising, the street food markets were like no experience you’ll find in the UK
— the taste, the aromas, the people.

We set off on a mission to bring that experience to Britain in its purest, most authentic form.
From traditional preparation methods to authentic flavours, Mai Taiko is about capturing

The real taste of Japan.

Since then, we’ve invaded London’s streets with brand new Japanese street foods with our Mai Truck…and even opened authentic, fresh sushi counters for your I’m-craving-proper-sushi-runs, in partnership with Waitrose. The rest is history.

What Does ‘Mai Taiko’ Mean?

Japanese cuisine is about culture as much as it is flavour and method. When you get sushi in downtown Tokyo, you taste more than the ingredients used — you taste years of tradition, music, art and life, rolled into every bite.

In Japan, ‘Taiko’ are a broad range of percussion instruments — combining our love for Japanese food, with our love for the Japanese music, lifestyle and art.

Overall, Mai Taiko is about capturing the real Japanese experience, because when you know what that tastes like… you won’t settle for anything less.