Tokiya Sushi Bar
74 Battersea Rise
London SW11 1EH
http://www.tokiya.co.uk

Reviewed on Sunday 14 June 2009

Tokiya Sushi Bar

 I was looking for a real Japanese restaurant near Wandsworth Common and I finally found it! The restaurant is run by a couple of Japanese people who are originally from Sapporo. The sushi chef has over 30 years of experience and I have to say the food was simply delicious. The design inside is mostly black and it feels like a Japanese diner. At the entrance there is a Maneki Neko – the welcoming cat.

We ordered as starters an Agedashi tofu (Deep fried tofu with tempura sauce – £3.80), the California roll (5 pieces) made of avocado & crab stick & small fish roe with mayonnaise (£4.50) and the spicy salmon roll (5 pieces) made of spicy salmon with mayonnaise (£5). The beers were a Sapporo and an Asahi (£3.20 each). The spicy salmon was indeed hot. It does not get you instantly like a wasabi but it burns the mouth lightly. The California rolls were also very good. With the mayonnaise these Japanese dishes aren’t completely authentic but they are still very good The tofu was yummy and very hot! Be sure to cut it instead of taking the whole tofu at once. You are warned  😉

As main courses we had tonkatsu (Deep fried pork fillet – £9) and salmon teriyaki (Grilled Salmon with teriyaki sauce – £8). We also ordered two bowls of steamed plain rice (£1.50 each). The salmon was very good, with a crispy skin while being tender inside. The taste of the teriyaki sauce was perfect, not too sweet. The tonkatsu was perfectly cooked, crispy and not greasy. With the bulldog sauce and the Japanese mustard it was a very good meal.

As dessert I had an ice cream with green tea and black sesame flavour. It was lovely, very smooth. I love the green tea sweet and bitter taste and the particular taste of the sesame was really good. It is easy to write a review when everything is good… If I’m picky, I can find a few downsides: the bowl containing the tofu was a little chipped, the beer could have been colder. Well, they are pretty minor.

Asahi and Sapporo beers

Excellent Agedashi Tofu (£3.80)

California Roll & Spicy salmon Roll

Tonkatsu (£9)

Salmon Teriyaki (£8)

Overview of the two main courses

Green tea and black sesame ice cream

Cost and conclusion: the total cost was just below £40 and there is no service charge as is the custom in Japan. We appreciate it. The food was excellent and the service friendly. I wish I had discovered this place sooner! We will be back!