Japanese restaurant Miyajima
196 Lavender Hill, Battersea
London SW11 1JA
0207 223 1144
Miyajima
Red!
More red...
Miyajima is a Japanese restaurant located near Clapham Junction. At night you can recognise the place quite well because of its red display. The door is solid wood and does not really look like the entrance so first you wonder how to get in. Inside, it is black and red. Black for the tables and the ceilling. The rest is red, and deeply red. Put a chamaleon on that red wall and I believe it will die… The tables are canteen-like which is fine as they are quite large. Like at Franco Manca you choose-your-own cuttlery (chopsticks here) from a wood tin in the centre of the table. It’s a bit classier than the recycled tin at Franco Manca of course, but the same principle. The menu is large and thick. Not like a phone book of course but there are many pages. I did not take the time to read everything.
As starters we ordered the salmon rolls (£3.60) and the California rolls (£4.10). They were followed by a tempura bento (£9.50) and a yakitori bento. As drinks we had two Miyajima juice (£2.50 each) and two Tiger beer (£3 each).
Miyajima juice
Good Tiger beer
Californian and salmon rolls
The salmon rolls and the California rolls were nicely presented and good, but not as good as at Tokiya which has better sushi. The wasabi was very fresh and quite strong.
Yakitori bento
Details of the yakitori
Tempura bento
Details of the tempura bento
The bento boxes were quite good, with generous servings. The tempura bento had 5 good size shrimp. Considering it cost less than £10 it was a very good value. The fried vegetables were good too. The only thing I did not like was some sweet confit stuff that was put into the salad. Also, the sauce provided here is not the usual tempura sauce. It was more like a lightly sweet soy sauce. The portion of rice was huge.
The yakitori bento was excellent too. There were three skewers with plenty of chicken bits. They were tender and well marinated. Same reserve about the salad: it is fresh but it could do well without the sweet stuff. Actually it is quite amazing how much food they managed to fit into the box. Everything is densely packed.
Cost and conclusion: it was £41.31 with a service charge of £3.76 included in the bill. Without the two beers and the starters it would be around £25 which is good value for money because the bento boxes are quite large. Friendly staff, reasonable prices and good food can resume Miyajima. I find it better than the other Japanese restaurant Ukai Sushi located accross Lavander Hill street but if you are into sushi mostly, Tokiya Sushi Bar not far on Battersea Rise is the best in this area and more authentic.
