Itsu Ltd, previously Tsu, is a chain of sushi

Sushi

is a Japanese food consisting of cooked vinegared rice combined with other ingredients . Neta and forms of sushi presentation vary, but the ingredient which all sushi have in common is shari...

 eat-in and take-away restaurants in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. There are restaurants at Canary Wharf

Canary Wharf

Canary Wharf is a major business district located in London, United Kingdom. It is one of London's two main financial centres, alongside the traditional City of London, and contains many of the UK's tallest buildings, including the second-tallest , One Canada Square...

, Chelsea

Chelsea, London

Chelsea is an area of West London, England, bounded to the south by the River Thames, where its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and Chelsea Harbour. Its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above...

, Notting Hill

Notting Hill

Notting Hill is an area in London, England, close to the north-western corner of Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...

 and Soho

Soho

Soho is an area of the City of Westminster and part of the West End of London. Long established as an entertainment district, for much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation for sex shops as well as night life and film industry. Since the early 1980s, the area has undergone considerable...

, plus a further twenty eight branches, with many providing a delivery service. The chain's registered office is in the Sumner House in Chorley

Chorley

Chorley is a market town in Lancashire, in North West England. It is the largest settlement in the Borough of Chorley. The town's wealth came principally from the cotton industry...

, North West England

North West England

North West England, informally known as The North West, is one of the nine official regions of England.North West England had a 2006 estimated population of 6,853,201 the third most populated region after London and the South East...

.

The chain was founded by Julian Metcalfe, co-founder of sandwich chain Pret a Manger

Pret A Manger

Pret a Manger is a British sandwich retail chain based in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom. The name "Pret a Manger" comes from the French prêt à manger, meaning "ready to eat", a reference to prêt-à-porter .The company was founded in London in 1986 by friends Sinclair Beecham and...

.

Currently owned by founder Julian Metcalfe and fast-food mogul Clive "The Colonel" Schlee.

In 2006, Itsu opened a branch in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

's financial district at the World Financial Center

World Financial Center

The World Financial Center is a complex of buildings across West Street from the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan in New York City, overlooking the Hudson River. This complex is home to offices of companies including Merrill Lynch, RBC Capital Markets, Nomura Group, the Wall Street...

. This store, however, is now under new ownership under the name Yushi Sushi.

Itsu shot to international notoriety in November 2006 when it became mixed up in the Alexander Litvinenko poisoning

Alexander Litvinenko poisoning

Alexander Litvinenko was a former officer of the Russian Federal Security Service, FSB and KGB, who escaped prosecution in Russia and received political asylum in the United Kingdom...

 affair. The Russian spy was poisoned with the radioactive element polonium

Polonium

Polonium is a chemical element with the symbol Po and atomic number 84, discovered in 1898 by Marie Skłodowska-Curie and Pierre Curie. A rare and highly radioactive element, polonium is chemically similar to bismuth and tellurium, and it occurs in uranium ores. Polonium has been studied for...

 before going on to eat at the Piccadilly

Piccadilly

Piccadilly is a major street in central London, running from Hyde Park Corner in the west to Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is completely within the city of Westminster. The street is part of the A4 road, London's second most important western artery. St...

 branch, which was designed by Afroditi Krassa

Afroditi Krassa

Afroditi Krassa is a British Product Designer and Interior Designer and founded her own design consultancy Afroditi Krassa LTD in 2002 in London. Krassa was educated at Central St Martins College of Art and Design and later on, the Royal College of Art, under architect Ron Arad.-Early...

. Krassa designed the original butterfly logo, original store interiors and itsu brand.

Itsu is currently expanding rapidly with further stores opening across London on a frequent basis. The new stores are design by architecture firm CADA and incorporate feature lighting by Cinimod Studio

Cinimod Studio

Cinimod Studio is a London-based design studio involved in various architecture and lighting design projects. Projects undertaken typically involve a wide mix of media and technologies, and often involve interactive design.-Beginnings:...

.