Londoner Life Dot Com

It was a pretty dreary day in London yesterday so I decided to treat myself to lunch at Bincho Yakatori.  It was my first time dining there and we were given a nice table overlooking the River Thames.  Bincho Yakatori is located on the 2nd floor of the OXO tower near Waterloo so it is perfect for great views overlooking the city.  The interior has a very modern decor however the tables are tightly packed in so not really the place for a quiet date.  The restaurant primarily serves Kushiyaki (barbecued meat/seafood/vegetables on skewers) so we ordered a variety of different types including scallop, tofu, aubergine, eel and corn fed chicken.  The kushiyaki was good, far better than the ones I had recently in Yakitoria, they were sweet and tasty although the scallop could have had more flavouring but the tofu and aubergine were well complemented with sweet miso paste.  We also had garlic buttered fried rice which was absolutely divine as well as some tori tatsu age (deep fried marinated chicken) which was fried in a very light crisp flour batter leaving the chicken succulent and juicy.  To finish, I had a layered banana cake which was nicely warmed and accompanied with green tea ice cream which was a bit to creamy for my liking but had a rich green tea flavour.  All-in-all I enjoyed the meal, however, having booked our table through Toptable we were supposed to get 50% off the food, but the restaurant forgot this so we quite embarrassingly had to ask them about it and to top it off, they only took 25% off so in the end I had to go up to the till to get it fixed!  But otherwise it is a very good deal and cost £26 for the two of us so I will definately be back there to sample the rest of the menu (they have soya milk donuts on their dessert menu which I am very curious to try)!

Click here for more information on my Japanese Restaurant Mission

Bincho Yakatori Address: 2nd Floor, Oxo Tower, Barge House Street, London SE1 9PH.
Telephone Number: 020 7803 0858
Opening Times: 12-3pm, 5-11.30pm (Mon-Fri), 12pm-11.30pm (Sat), 12pm-10.30pm (Sun)

Scallop, eel and corn fed chicken kushiyaki

Garlic buttered rice and tori tatsu age

Traditional layered banana cake and green tea ice cream

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I ordered a takeaway from Sushi World yesterday after feeling too tired to cook dinner after my street dance class.  Sushi World is one of my favourite local Japanese restaurants and has one of the best california roll (my favourite sushi roll! :-)) and ten-don (tempura on rice) that I’ve tasted.  The california roll is very tasty with a generous amount of tobiko (flying fish roe) and maybe even better than the ones at Matsuri and the tempura in the ten-don is always fried to perfection and accompanied with a delicious sweet tempura sauce on the rice.  The food is very authentic and cooked by Japanese chefs and the service is always fast and friendly.  I decided to get 12 pieces of california roll for £8 which is really good value for money.

Click here for more information on my Japanese Restaurant Mission

Sushi World Address: 58 Pitshanger Lane  London W5 1QY.
Telephone Number: 020 8997 6057
Opening Times: 6pm - 10pm (Mon), 12pm - 2pm & 6pm - 10pm (Tues, Wed), 12pm - 2pm & 6pm - 10.30pm (Thurs - Sat), 12pm - 2pm & 6pm - 9.30pm (Sun) 

California Roll

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Went to Yakitoria for my Japanese Restaurant Mission last Saturday with a booking through Toptable to get their 50% off the bill offer.  The restaurant is located in Paddington just near the station overlooking Paddington Basin.  The interior of the restaurant is very modern and the tables are nicely laid out for big groups as well as couples. Unfortunately the food did not meet the same standards, it was probably the worst Japanese food I have ever had.  My friend and I ordered some yakitori to share which included pork, duck, beef, lamb and bacon and also 3 different type of sushi rolls - california roll (crabstick, cucumber, avocado, tobiko), alaskan roll (salmon, prawn, tobiko) and cornish crab roll (crabmeat, avocado and smoked herring roe).  We expected to get large rolls that you would find in most restaurants but when the sushi came out, they had managed to fit 18 rolls onto one small plate.  This wasn’t really a problem for us as they were quite filling (partly because the rolls consisted of mostly rice), the main downfall of these rolls were that they had no taste and the rice lacked any flavouring.  The yakitori was a disappointment too as the meat was overcooked, dry and hard with again no flavour.  What saved the evening was the to-die-for desserts.  I had a green tea creme brulee which is something that I had never tried before (see other green tea foods that I have found in London here) and my friend had a nougat ice cream.   Service was very attentive when we first arrived but as the restaurant got busier the waitress was nowhere to be seen and we waited around half an hour to sort out our bill.  All-in-all, the food was below average and not very authentic but I think I will go back to Yakitoria just for the desserts!

Yakitoria Address: 25 Sheldon Square, London, W2 6EY
Telephone Number: 0203 214 3000
Opening Times: Mon-Fri 12pm - 3pm, Mon-Sat 6pm - 11pm

Yakitoria Restaurant Interior

Yakitori (skewered meat - pork, lamb, duck, beef, bacon)

California Roll, Alaskan Roll and Cornish Crab Roll

Green Tea Creme Brulee and Nougat Ice Cream

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One of my favourite Japanese restaurants in London is Donzoko (which I believe means “The Lower Depths”? - but don’t let this put you off :-)) and definately one of the best Japanese restaurants in town.  It is a small restaurant on Kingly Street just behind Regent Street which I have been visiting at least once a month for the past 4 years.  I made a last minute booking at Donzoko last Friday after feeling a little too lazy to cook and got to the extremely packed restaurant for 8pm.  I was lucky to be given a table as the restaurant only seats around 25 people and 8 at the sushi counter.  They have an extensive menu with a lot of dishes that you would not normally find in other Japanese restaurants around London.  The food is very authentic and cooked by Japanese chefs in an open kitchen in a corner of the restaurant. 

I would highly recommend the aubergine with garlic and miso sauce (see picture below) which is the best I’ve ever had in any restaurant.  The aubergine just melts in your mouth and the miso sauce and garlic complement each other well (very tasty!).  I also had a generous portion of pumpkin tempura which was perfectly cooked in a light crispy batter and tanuki udon (udon soup with tempura bits) which again I think is the best I’ve tasted as the soup is deliciously sweet.  I tend to stick with these few dishes everytime I visit as its so good that I can’t help but keep ordering the same thing!  However, what I’ve tasted from the rest of the menu has been excellent although the sushi is maybe not as good as other places.  The green tea ice cream is a perfect ending to a meal there and has a strong sweet green tea flavour with a bitter aftertaste as opposed to some green tea ice creams which I’ve had that taste like vanilla ice cream with green food colouring!

Staff are always polite and efficient and the owner is a lovely lady who will always greet you with a smile and thank you profusely when you leave.  Cost for a meal for 2 is around £30 which is excellent value for an authentic experience.

So that’s 2 down now for my Japanese Restaurant Mission, another gazillion to go!!

Donzoko Address: 15 Kingly Street, London, W1B 5PS
Telephone Number: 020 7734 1974
Opening Times: 12pm - 2.30pm, 6pm - 10.15pm (Mon - Fri) 6pm - 10.15pm (Sat)

Aubergine with garlic and miso sauce

 Pumpkin Tempura

Tanuki Udon

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