Japanese restaurant sushi bar Tokiya 74 Battersea Rise London SW11 1EH
Tokiya is one of my favourite restaurants in London. The food has always been excellent, its atmoshere is relaxed and it is truly an authentic Japanese restaurant: the chef has over 30 years of experience as a Sushi chef and he was trained in Sapporo, Hokkaido.
We ordered the agedashi tofu (deep fried tofu with tempura sauce – £3.80), the Prawn tempura roll (5 pieces of deep fried prawn tempura with mayonnaise – £5.00), the nabeyaki udon (white udon noodle with deep fried tempura on pot – £12.00) and the Tokiya special dinner box (assorted sushi, sashimi,spinach sesame,salmon teriyaki,chicken katsu, dobin mushi – £28).
Agedashi tofu
Prawn tempura roll
The agedashi tofu was its usual high standard, with a lightly crispy outside and firm inner. The prawn tempura roll was also excellent. Tokiya is one of the few Japanese restaurants in London that cooks the prawn tempura fresh in order to make your sushi – nothing is pre-prepared here! The end result is wonderfully fresh and flavoursome.
Tokiya Special Dinner Box
In details
The Tokiya Special Dinner Box is the most expensive of their set meal costing £28 which might appear expensive considering the location of the restaurant not far from Clapham Junction train station but actually you do get quite a lot for your money, and the quality was high. The assorted sushi and sashimi were very fresh and great. The salmon teriyaki was perfectly cooked and not overdone with teriyaki sauce as it happens often in “fake” Japanese restaurants, the chicken katsu was very nice too, crispy and light as made with real Japanese bread crumbs (panko). Really a nice set meal. I would gladly take it again despite the too large amount of food (even for me, and I am not a small eater).
The dobin mushi soup coming with the Dinner Box
Another view
The dobin mushi is a soup with mushroom, fish cake, spring onion and prawns as you can see on the photos above. It is part of that huge dinner box. It was delicious and very welcome with this icy forecast.
Nabeyaki Udon
The nabeyaki udon arrived steaming hot. This dish is fantastic for winter evenings and, thanks to the hot metal pot it arrives in, stays piping hot right to the finish. Along with tempura shrimps & vegetables, this dish has an egg poaching away inside it, which lets you choose how much to let it cook before eating.
The dessert
Cost and conclusion: it was £53 with no “optional service charge” added to the bill which is nice and unusual in London. The service was nice, the meal excellent so a very good value for money. Certainly my favourite Japanese restaurant in London! Highly recommended.
Le Bouchon Bordelais 5-9 Battersea Rise London SW11 1HG
Le Bouchon Bordelais
Inside
Le Bouchon Bordelais is a restaurant located on Battersea Rise, not far from the popular Pizza Metro located on the other side of the road. It has a terrace on the foothpath, useful for smokers. Inside, on the left side it is the bar where you can go support the French football team 😉 and on the right side, isolated from the bar, is the restaurant area. It is nicely decorated, feeling normally French and not overdone like in some restaurants.
We ordered as starters the Vol au vent garni de St Jasques et Trompette des Morts (Scallop and trompette des mort vol au vent) and La Frisee aux Lardons Oeuf Poche (curly Endive Salad with Lardons and a Poached Egg). As main courses we had the Filet de Loup de Mer, Pommes Ecrasees aux Cebettes, Pomery Beurre Blanc (Panfried Seabass Filet, with Crushed Potatoes and Spring Onions, served with a Mustard Butter Sauce) and an Escalope de Veau servie avec Cepes sautees et Pommes de Terres en Raclette (Veal escalope with garlic sauted ceps, potatoes with raclette). The desserts were a tarte tatin and a chocolate fondant. As drink we had a bottle of Badoit and a glass of red wine (Merlot) which was decent.
One thing to mention here. We both wanted the 2 courses mushroom based menu at £25 but my first choice for starter which was the Terrine de Campagne , servie avec Chanterelle et gelee de Porto (Farmhouse Country side terrine served with chanterelle mushrooms and port Jelly) was not available and the main course I first chose which was the Filet de Cabillaud servie avec Girolle Sauce (Pan fried cod filet, spinash with pan fried Girolles in garlic) was not available either. I was told they were not available 3 minutes after we ordered. More precisely I was told after 3 minutes the main course was not available so I chose another one (the panfried seabass) and then the waiter came back to tell me my starter was not available either. Well, in a normal restaurant they tell the clients about the missing meals when giving the menus so it was a messy start from the cook who should have told the waiting staff about it. At least the next clients were told about the missing meals early enough.
Not great bread
One thing I really find annoying is to pay for bread, especially in a French restaurant. It reminds me the cover charges in Italy for the bread and butter and I do not think I have ever paid for bread in a restaurant in France. Right, we are not in France but in the UK – but even in London most other French restaurants do not charge for bread… Well, here the bread was on the dry side which really was annoying. At Bellevue Rendez-vous or Le P’tit Normand you get excellent bread and they do not charge for it.
The starters
Scallop and trompette des morts vol au vent
Curly Endive Salad with Lardons and a Poached Egg
La Frisee aux Lardons Oeuf Poche was not bad, with nice bacon and a perfectly cooked egg but unfortunately there was too much dressing so some croutons were soaked with vinaigrette and not crispy at all.
The scallop and mushroom vol au vent was quite good, though the mushrooms weren’t terribly noticable (I think they were in the sauce). Actually it was a solo scallop inside a nice flaky pastry vol au vent. The scallop itself was a bit salty, but it combined well with the very un-salty pastry, so overall was a nice dish. It was accompanied by some steamed spinach, which went rather well with the mushroom sauce.
The main courses
Veal escalope with garlic sauted ceps, potatoes with raclette
Panfried Seabass Filet
The panfried seabass fillet was good, with a lovely buttery sauce. The flesh was firm and tasty. My minor complaint here is about the skin which could have been crispy, like at they do so well at Chez Lindsay in Richmond. Here it was somewhat soggy.
The veal dish was a little bit uninteresting. I can’t really say bland, since the mushrooms were a bit too salty and the veal had quite a strong flavour also. The potatoes certainly were bland though – in fact some boiled and halved potatoes held together in a circular arrangement with a small amount of over-grilled cheese (not at all what I had expected from something described as raclette). Overall, not offensive, but far from the best veal dish I’ve ever had (which is a shame, as veal can be a very nice meal).
The desserts
Chocolate fondant
Melting chocolate
Tarte tatin
The chocolate fondant was excellent. It was nicely presentated, the chocolate was melting well when the shell was broken and it was not too sweet. It was matching well with the ice cream.
The tarte tatin was quite good – a good choice of apples (neither too sweet nor too bitter) and a freshly made pastry base. I think just a little overcooked though, which was a bit of a shame as the pastry was thus a bit dry and hard on the edges.
Cost and conclusion: it was £83.50 including the 12.5% service charge. Average food, nothing outstanding and the prices on the high side. The service was friendly and polite but obviously the communication within the staff isn’t very efficient.
The Duck 110 Battersea Rise, Clapham London SW11 1EJ
The Duck
Inside...
TV scren for those into sports
We have noticed the Duck on our way to the excellent Japanese restaurant Tokiya. Actually, it is hard to miss the huge fire of their oven through the windows, especially in the evening. Inside, it is quite large and they have different rooms at different levels. It is basically decorated and it can feel even a little empty. There are tv screens for watching sports. The Duck is more a “real” pub than a gastropub. You go there for drinking mostly and food is essentially wraps (from £3.95 to £4.95), pasta, salads and pizzas (from £6.25 to £8.50 for 12″, they also have 6″ pizzas) which is fine since we were wanting to try their pizzas.
They have many different kinds of pizzas and beyond the regular Margherita or Quattro Formaggio some were more unusual, like the pizza Carne Fuego (salami, chorizo, Parma ham, pepperoni, spicy meatballs, mozzarella, fresh green chillies – £8.75), pizza Pesci ed Oliva (tuna, black olives, anchovies, red onion and mozzarella – 6.95), pizza Fajita Chicken (chicken, roasted peppers, fajita spice, red onions and mozzarella -£7.50), pizza BBQ Chicken (roasted chicken with red onion, mozzarella and BBQ sauce – £7.50), and pizza Formaggio di Capre (goats cheese, pesto, black olives, mozzarella, finished with rocket leaves – £7.25).
Their pizzas are stone baked and the dough is homemade and hand stretched as we could see from the cook making them in front of the fire. It is possible to have any of their 12″ pizzas served ‘calzone’ in a calzone way (folded) by just asking them when you place your order.
We ordered the classical pizza Romana (mozzarella, mascarpone cheese, Parma ham and red onion – £7.75) and a less classical pizza Crispy duck (with hoi sin sauce, mozzarella and finished with spring onions – £8.50) for curiosity. As drink we had a pint of Stella and a glass of grapefruit juice.
The two pizzas
Pizza Romana
The pizza Romana was basic but good. Nothing spectacular but nothing wrong either too. The pasta was thin and crispy. One thing that surprised me was the pizza arrived already sliced. I guess it is more convenient for the guests watching sport. The spicy olive oil was unfortunately missing but they had garlic oil which was ok.
Sharing the pizza crispy duck with the pizza romana
The pizza crispy duck was a bit strange, and rather too sweet with its hoi sin sauce. Well, it was always going to be an experiment, but its not one that I’ll repeat. Even with a different topping, this pizza base was a bit hard for my liking, clearly the pizza dough had not been left to rise for many hours prior to cooking. Overall, adequate but uninspiring.
Cost and conclusion: it was about £20 something. It is ok for watching sport with friends and beer but we would not go back just for the food, especially with Tokiya a few metres away and Pizza Metro 5 minutes walk away if you are into pizza.
The Banana Leaf Canteen 75-79 Battersea Rise London SW11 1HN
Prawn crackers
It has been a long time since we ate Thai food so we decided to go back to the Banana Leaf Canteen near Clapham Junction. Usually it is less crowded than the Pepper Tree located in Clapham Common and it was the case again.
We ordered some crackers (£2.50), then we both had soup based noodles as main courses: the vegetarian Kau Chi Dumpling Noodles (dumplings with yellow wheat noodles with vegetable broth, served with pak shoy, shitake mushrooms, coriander and crispy shallot – £6.95) and the chicken Ying Yang Laksa Noodles (mixture of wheat and rice noodles topped with their house special mildly spiced coconut broth laced with grilled aubergine, tofu and bean sprouts. Garnished with lime wedge, coriander and crispy shallots and chicken – £7.85). As drinks we ordered a Tiger beer (£3.25) and an apple and orange juice (£2.85). The beer could have been colder. The juice was quite good.
The two main courses
Kau Chi Dumpling Noodles
The Kau Chi Dumpling Noodles were quite good. The soup arrived piping hot – that is, with risk of burning your mouth if you’re not careful! It was very tasty, with noodles still “al dente” in the soup. The dumplings were also pretty good, something that is quite variable in this sort of dish (i.e. I have had some pretty nasty dumplings in my time), and the vegetables fresh. The only thing I don’t care for here, but that seem to be added to most dishes at this restaurant, are the corn chips. Corn chips are one thing, but soggy corn chips in soup is quite another. That said, it’s perfectly easy to avoid eating them, so overall a good dish and very filling.
Ying Yang Laksa Noodles
The Ying Yang Laksa noodles was quite good, creamy and spicy. Only one problem: it was just too hot! I managed to burn my tongue with this meal which kept its heat for a long time. The portion was huge, I had trouble finishing it and I am usually a “big” eater.
Cost and conclusion: it was £25.74 including the “optional service charge of 10%” (if it is optional, why to automatically add it to the bill?). If you are near Clapham Junction train station, the Banana Leaf Canteen is a decent place for a quick and cheap lunch. The value for money is good. The service, while friendly, could have been better: for example, the prawn crackers arrived only after the main courses. Somebody needs to train her memory 😉 You can read the previous review about this restaurant at http://www.trusted-gourmet.com/2009/07/thai-restaurant-banana-leaf-canteen-75-battersea-rise-cnr-northcote-road-clapham-junction-london. Other recommended restaurants in the area are the excellent Italian restaurant Pizza Metro (reviewed here and here) just across the road and the great authentic Japanese Sushi restaurant Tokiya (reviewed here and here). If you are into burgers, the Gourmet Burger Kitchen in Northcote Road is quite good (reviewed here and here).
Japanese Tokiya Sushi Bar 74 Battersea Rise London SW11 1EH http://www.tokiya.co.uk
Tokiya Sushi Bar
We have already reviewed this authentic Japanese restaurant almost two months ago and found it quite good. This time we ordered Agedashi Tofu (Deep fried Tofu with Tempura Sauce – £3.80), Makazushi 5 pieces each of Deep fried Chicken Roll (£6.50) and Grilled Salmon skin with spring onion Inside out Roll (£4.00), the Nabeyaki Udon (White Udon noodle with Deep fried Tempura in pot – £12.00) and a Prawn Tempura (Deep fried Prawn & Vegetable Tempura – £9.50). As drinks we had a cold green tea and a calpico. The cold green tea (in a can) was excellent and refreshing, the calpico which is a milky sweet drink, was good. It is a drink for kids normally but as I lived in Japan for 4 years as a child I wanted to get that drink again. In Japan, I knew it as calpis. This was the same though, so I guess either rebranded for marketing reasons, or a rival brand.
First to arrive was the agedashi tofu appetizer. It was nice and hot and well garnished with nori seaweed and green onions. One of my favourite light starters, Tokiya does this dish very nicely.
Makazushi 5 pieces of deep fried chicken roll
Close-up. Fresh hot wasabi at the left.
Grilled salmon skin with spring onion inside out roll
Close-up
The makazushi was also very good. We had ordered two types, both of which were inside out rolls. The first to arrive was deep fried chicken, which was nice and crispy and very tasty. A little later came the grilled salmon with skin rolls, which were quite nice as the skin was crispy.
Prawn Tempura (deep fried prawn & vegetable tempura)
The tempura was great: perfecly cooked, not too much batter so no greasy feeling, and the amount of tempura sauce was very generous. Often I find the sauce to be insufficient but at Tokiya it is more sauce than needed! The rice was good too.
Tokiya’s nabeyaki udon was a work of art. Many other Japanese restaurants do a cut down version of this dish, which basically means some tempura atop your udon noodle soup. At Tokiya, you get the full works – there is a bit of everything in this soup bowl. I recall egg, crab, bok choy as well as the usual tempura shrimp and vegetables. Really a meal in a bowl, and a mighty fine meal at that. Definitely a dish I will order here again.
Cost and conclusion: it was £40.30 and no “optional” service charge automatically added to the bill. We appreciate it. The food was great, nice atmosphere and service too! Highly recommended!
