It’s chopsticks at dawn for the Gold medal for best sushi restaurants in Milan but Fingers is right up there.

Opened in summer 2004 by hip Japanese/Brazilian head chef Roberto Okabe, it has already hosted parties for Gucci, Calvin Klein and Armani. Its motto is ‘creative’ – there’s not a drab slab of sashimi in sight. Roberto mixes it up with Italian influences; his signature dish is carpaccio al gazpacho – essentially sashimi with sauce and flavour.

Forty different varieties of sushi are available, all loaded with lime, ginger, sesame, honey, etc. Desserts are bought in from Austrian maestro Ernest Knam and his Milan-based bakery Antica Arte del Dolce (the Milanese apparently haven’t taken to Japan’s more lightweight offerings).

For preferential treatment, sit at the sushi bar where Roberto’s regulars are guinea pigs for new creations; otherwise there’s the cocktail bar (where sake sours are sunk), a tatami area, lounge area, wicker chairs and tables, and summer seating outside. All in all a sexy, softened take on Japanese design with exotic flowers and candles: excellent taste all round.