Twenty-five years on Voltaire Road.

Tsunami opened on a Tuesday in March 2001. The first booking was for two; the second was for six and didn't show up. We took thirty covers in our first week and lost money for nine months. The kitchen has been here ever since.

Twenty-five years is a long time for a restaurant to be in one place, especially in London where the average independent lasts under five. We never planned to be here this long — the original lease was a six-year break clause. By the time the break came up, we were the kitchen Clapham booked for anniversaries, and moving felt like betraying that.

The neighbourhood has changed under us. Voltaire Road in 2001 was quieter than it is now, with more local pubs and fewer chains. The High Street has cycled through three major refurbishments. Battersea Power Station went from derelict to luxury, and Clapham Junction became one of the busiest stations in Europe. We're the same kitchen.

What we've learned. Don't chase trends — make the food you'd want to eat. Don't expand for the sake of it — the room is the room. Don't compromise on suppliers — the fish that lands at 7am is what's on the plate at 7pm. Don't be precious about the menu — if a dish doesn't sell two months running, it goes. Don't be precious about the team either — the people who've stayed five, ten, twenty years are what make this work.

The black cod has been on the menu every day since the second year. The signature dragon roll has been on since 2003. The yakitori tare in the kitchen has been topped up with the same starter for two decades. There's a kind of consistency a kitchen builds when nothing in the building has been thrown away.

If you've eaten with us at any point in the last twenty-five years, thank you. If you haven't — we're still on Voltaire Road, still cutting sushi to order, still firing the binchotan at 11.30am for a 5pm dinner service. Come and find us.