Apparently Spring is the season for Japanese food. Having tried quite a bit of it in London but always hearing about somewhere better, the other half and I undertook a 16-day mission to find out about a few of the supposedly better places that offer Japanese food across the capital.
Our journey alternated between west
Yoshi Sushi – Tuesday 20th April, Hammersmith
Yoshi Sushi was a stop on the way home from
We wanted to try as full a sample of the restaurant without getting bogged down in the menu or spending too much money, and in the event we did a pretty good job. We shared a set of courses and also ordered another couple of dishes to flesh out the experience.
For the most part, it was lovely. Some excellent 
eel (left) was tender and rich like all good eel should be. Their tempura, sashimi and scallops (below) were also pretty fine: each one well-cooked and lightly flavoursome. We finished off with Tonkatsu, a fillet of pork coated in breadcrumbs and served with salad and sauce (right) which was quite as good as it sounds.
Abeno Okonomiyaki – Friday 23rd April,
Okonomiyaki cuisine is closely related to the teppanyaki style of cooking at the table that so many people associate with Japanese food. You know the one: chefs cooking on a hot grill plate serving to customers at the table fresh from the grill. Well okonomiyaki isn’t far off. Literally meaning “grill whatever you like”, the food consists of a savoury pancake made from various Japanese staples and flavoured with whichever toppings you care to try.
…It’s hard to explain. The idea is great, and the presentation and theatre (as you might expect) are terrific. The ingredients are combined at the table and moulded into thick patties which are then grilled on the table’s hotplate. After they are cooked, various sauces (Japanese mayo and ketchup, as far as I could see) get thrown on, and they’re served hot, fresh and promptly.
We tried a couple of pancakes; one with noodles, one with seafood. Both were pretty much on the money: crispy, flavoursome and nicely varied. The side dishes (some rice balls and noodles) were almost an irrelevance. Acceptable, but detracting from the main event. I suppose you obey the name: when you go to Abeno, eat okonomiyaki.
Abeno is most definitely worth a visit. It’s simply something a bit different when it comes to Japanese food. Inexpensive, authentic and a bit of table theatre thrown in. Very enjoyable.
Ribon had long been on my list of places to visit ever since a friend of mine told me it was the best Japanese food he’d eaten. A little online research seemed to corroborate with his testimony: everyone in
Myself and three others shared a few dishes on a Friday night: Asian food in general lends itself to the splendour of group eating, I find. Ribon is top-notch Japanese food, there’s no denying it. The okonomiyaki we tried for the main course was possibly better than that we’d tried at Abeno, which was surprising. The prawn tempura was exquisite: light, fluffy and succulent (left). Some breadcrumbed scallops were possibly even better. Perfectly formed within their surround, I couldn’t believe how good these tasted.
A bowl of udon noodles with meat ‘n veg was as comfortable as such fare should be, and some grilled beef tongue wasn’t half bad either. Most surprisingly, I found I could eat and tolerate the sushi, which is a popular delicacy I usually can’t get excited about. Their sashimi was really good though: tender, rich and flavoursome (right). (Those three qualities encapsulate perfectly to me why sashimi is generally better than sushi.)
Whilst some of my friends took a bit of convincing, Ribon is a great meal out, and yes, possibly the best Japanese food I’ve eaten in London. As with many Asian restaurants in the capital though, you have to pick to their strengths. Anything grilled comes with a very strong recommendation. Do try it out.
Kiraku – Saturday 8th May, Ealing
We had taken a trip to Ealing on a Saturday lunch time to try Sushi Hiro, which the other half had been tugging my arm about for weeks, only to find the place was closed for a staff holiday. Never to be denied, we turned right, walked down four doors and entered Kiraku, a local, friendly looking Japanese joint that was bubbling and busy.
As I say, it was a Saturday and I was a little bleary-eyed from a long week, so uncomplicated comfort food was in order. Half-intentionally, I decided to try whatever tempura Kiraku could throw at me. Fortunately, they know their tempura. Prawns, tomato and courgette: beautiful (left)!
The other half ordered a large bowl of udon noodle soup which was okay, but I just can’t get the hang of Asian soups; they don’t agree with me. Still, the noodles were good and the meal was right on.
Should you be in Ealing and you fancy some hearty Japanese lunch, go here. It’s unlikely to disappoint.
Sushi Hiro – Thursday 13th May, Ealing
So, one evening in the following week, we finally got around to trying the restaurant that – allegedly – offers the best sushi in London. Or used to. The old owner was renowned far and wide for putting the best raw fish on rice in front of you in our great city for some time. Unfortunately, the key word there is “old”: he’s not there anymore.
Now, I will absolutely not belittle the work of the chefs who work at the place currently. There is no doubt making sushi is a fine and refined art. Watching them lovingly prepare the dishes to order was impressive indeed. However (and I will get this right off the bat now): I just don’t like sushi.
There, I’ve said it. That most pretentiously coveted foodstuff which is piled high in supermarkets all over the place just doesn’t do it for me. It’s bland, stale-tasting, limited and a downright waste of fish. Sashimi is good, sushi is not.
On the topic of sashimi, we actually did try a very delicious piece of tuna at Hiro which, when extracted from the annoyance of the cold rice, was delectable. As it tends to be, the eel was lovely and firm, but the rest fell way short for me. The other half was also less than impressed in the main.
We were backed up by a friend who had often visited Hiro when the old owner was still in place, and he admitted the place had gone downhill since then. Either way, I think the sushi here is still pretty good (as long as you like sushi, which I don’t.)
So, there is a lot of good Japanese to be had out there in London, you just need to know what it is you're looking for. The highlight of this set of meals was undoubtedly Ribon, but apart from Sushi Hiro, there was plenty to enjoy about each place. If recent Michelin guides are anything to go by, we should all be eating Japanese at the moment. Get involved.
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