Japanese restaurant Tokyo Diner 2 Newport Place London WC2H 7JJ
Tokyo Diner
Tokyo Diner is probably the largest Japanese restaurant located in Chinatown. At first it looks small but there are rooms downstairs and upstairs. I used to go often there, especially from 2005 to 2007, then I had 3 not so good experiences and decided to go to Zipangu next door. I still go to Zipangu now named Akasiro but I wanted to check how Tokyo Diner was doing. We ordered 2 Asahi beers (£3.80 – that is a very good price) and 2 Kara Fry Bento boxes (£31.80). I used to take the Kara Fry Bento box in the past so it was a good way to use it as a benchmark. I was quite disappointed and it is sad to see this place going down. In the past the pieces of chicken were so large that I could have trouble eating it all. They were also freshly cooked with a nice crispy skin. Now they were not really warm with a chewy texture (even the skin) which makes me wonder how long ago were they cooked… The salmon sashimi used to be 3 larges slices. Now it was ridiculously small, like the size of a single slice in the past divided into 3 pieces. Worse, they were room temperature instead of being on the cold side. The only thing that did not change size was the rice but it was dry, and was long grain rice which really isn’t suited to Japanese cuisine. The pickles and the aubergine agé bitashi were good while the su-no-mono was not. The beer was not very cold too. They used to do so much better.
On the upside: the service is friendly and I like they give you the bill when they serve your meal so after eating you do not have to wait and can go directly to the counter to pay. Also, they give you green tea for free and refill it too. If you like green tea, you do not have to order any drink. They have a no tipping policy, like in Japan, which is nice.
Asahi beer and green tea
Kara Fry bento
Details of the bento box
Pickles and aubergine agé bitashi
Cost and conclusion: it was £35.60. The Kara Fry bento is way overpriced at £15.90 for what you get now. It is the price for two pizzas and two drinks at Franco Manca (in Brixton), it is currently the price for a two course set menu at Bellevue Rendez-vous (in Wandsworth Common) where the quality of food is high. It is also a lot more than the other Japanese restaurant Akasiro next door. It is now the 4th consecutive time I have had a bad experience at Tokyo Diner in the last 2 years. I have also friends who have noticed the same problem and we did not eat together. Also, they do claim they are open 365 days a year from 12 till 12 but we got refused at 11pm one night. There were still people eating and it was far from being full.
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!
Japanese restaurant Akasiro 8 Little Newport Street WC2H 7JJ London
Reviewed on Sunday 31 May 2009
Akasiro
View of the counter
This is my 6th review of Akasiro in 2 months! We really enjoy this basic but good Japanese restaurant and the staff are always very friendly and efficient. This time we had as first courses the age dashi tofu (£4.50) and buta kakuni (£5) followed by a tonkatsu (£9.50) and a sashimi set (£11.50). We were a little stressed by work so we had 4 bottles of Asahi beer.
First, the beer was very nice. Unlike many places the beer here comes really cold and it is very refreshing during this rare hot period of spring weather. The buta kakuni, which is a braised pork belly, was quite good and its taste reminded me the ones I used to eat in Japan when I was a child. The age dashi tofu was good but we think the portion has shrunk a little compared to the time this place was Zipangu. Still, it was hot and tasty. The tonkatsu was nice and crispy, maybe a little bit overcooked and personally we prefer to have the bulldog sauce to add ourselves than to have it already on the plate. The sashimi set was also good but I wanted a larger portion The tuna was excellent and the wasabi was fresh so seriously hot… The kind that hits your sinus instantly.
Great cold Asahi beer
Age dashi tofu
Buta no kakuni (one piece is missing, I ate it before taking the photo...)
Tonkatsu
Sashimi set
Overview
Cost and conclusion: it was £42.10 which is not bad considering beside the two first courses and the two main courses we had four bottles of beer and the Asahi beer isn’t cheap. We will be back! If you wish to read previous reviews of this restaurant, go to the list of restaurants by alphabetical order and at Akasiro you will find five other reviews.
Japanese restaurant Okawari 16 Lisle Street London WC2H 7BE
Japanese restaurant Okawari
Instead of going to our usual Akasiro we decided to try Okawari which is on the same street as Tokyo Diner and Akasiro. From outside (see photo above) it does not look great but inside it is a lot more spacious with a modern design, although a little bland. It is possible to eat on a tatami on the floor (see photo below). Despite the place having a Japanese name, the people who served us were not Japanese but Chinese.
Inside the Okawari at Leicester
We were quite hungry so we decided to take two starters plus two bento boxes. We ordered the Agedashi Tofu (5 pieces, deep fried brean curd with ginger and spring onion served in a sweet soy sauce – £3.80) and a Tuna Tataki (raw tuna lightly cooked on the outside served with ponzu sauce – £9.90). The tofu was very good, quite warm and even a little crispy on the outside. The tuna tataki was very good too, and nicely presented with the sauce stored in the red pepper in the centre of the plate with all the slices of tuna around it. See the photos below!
Agedashi Tofu
Tuna Tataki
The two Bento boxes we had were the Bento box B with pan fried fish, tempura, pickles, steamed rice and fried vegetables (£10.50) and the Bento box E with tonkatsu, tempura, pickles, steamed rice and salad (£10.50). We also had two Asahi beers (£5.60). I have to admit my choice with the Bento box B wasn’t the greatest as it had too many fried food. The grease got me quickly and I was not feeling very well. That said, my friend who took the Bento box B started with the tempura and the grease got her too and usually she can handle tempura quite well, so it was not just me. If you go there, take the Bento box A with deep fried chicken, sashimi (6 pieces), pickles, steamed rice and salad (£9.80) as it looks more balanced… The salad was full of mayonnaise, soaked in it in fact and it contributed to the grease factor. See photos below.
Bento box E
Bento box B
Detail of the way too greasy tempura
Fried fish
So few pickles and nasty salad overdone with mayonnaise
Bill and conclusion: the bill was a little over £44 including a service charge (not that visible since it was only written sc on the bill) but when I was handed the machine to pay with the credit card they dared to make it ask for a tip! I am already against the service charge automatically added to the bill but I never had a situation with a second service charge requested. Also, the waitress took my bill for putting the amount into the machine but did not give it back to me as I expected! When I asked, she just wrote the names of the dishes we ordered on a piece of paper. Another first time for us too!
Hazuki Japanese restaurant 43, Chandos Place London, WC2N 4HS 020 7240 2530
Reviewed on Friday 15 May 2009
Hazuki Japanese restaurant
We have been to Hazuki many times. We ordered, as usual unfortunately since there are so many other choices, the Menu A (£16) and the Menu B (£16). Both include rice and miso soup, the appetizer of the day and an assorted tempura. It is just for the last course (pork ginger, tonkatsu, chicken teriyaki, salmon teriyaki etc) that there is a difference between the two menus. We chose the chicken teriyaki and the salmon teriyaki, and two Asahi beers (£6.60).
The miso soup was good, better than at Toku, and similar to the one at Akasiro. The appetizer of the day was tuna and it was quite good. The assorted tempura had just one shrimp and the rest were vegetables. It was a little small but I think it is better that way since tempura can get you with all the fried stuff. Plus this was just the third starter after all. The salmon teriyaki was very good and surprisingly big too. Maybe it needed to be slightly more cooked to have the skin crispier but it was quite good the way it was. The chicken teriyaki came with pan fried soja. It was a little bland, and would have benefited from a more flavoursome teriyaki sauce (or just more of it).
Interior of the Hazuki on the first floor
Miso soup
Appetizer of the Day (tuna)
Details of the tuna. I already ate one bit before taking the photo...
Tempura
Chicken teriyaki
Salmon teriyaki
Overview of the two meals
Cost and conclusion: it was £42.50 including the “optional gratuity @10%” as written on the bill. I wish restaurants in London would stop pre-empting the customer with the “optional gratuity” in the total bill. It should be up to the clients to decide if the service was worth the gratuity or not, and how much too. By the way, the service was efficient here so I would have chosen to tip (I just hate being coerced).
