A concept/lifestyle store with an attached restaurant is nothing new but restaurants with mini concept stores is an emerging trend, at least in Clerkenwell where two of this new breed, both Japanese, are rearing their heads in what seems to be pretty direct competition.

In the lifestyle corner we have the recently opened Life. And in the tasty treats and stationary corner we have Saki.

Life has an array of goods and homewares ranging from the quirky to cute. It also has the funniest 'toilet decoration' we've seen in quite some time - seriously, I no longer wonder where plastic soldiers go to die. The food at both places is good and oddly similar 'fusion' - think foie gras sushi and miso bagna cuda. It's all very exciting in theory, but in reality both places suffer a little from being quite spacious and sometimes empty.