Josy A.
Yelp
I LOOOOOOVE ATARIYA!!!
Seriously! This is the best shop for Japanese food in London (I am shocked that I did not review it yet!!) It is tiny...so expect to queue around the whole shop for sashimi/ fish if you come here at the weekend!
The sashimi is amaaaazing! The shop is busy, with a high turnover, so the fish never has a chance to rot or become smelly. This means when you enter the shop, you'll be greeted with a lovely smell of rice vinegar. It never smells fishy, despite all the fish.
They cut the sashimi for you freshly, so you can ask for it to be cut sushi-style or sashimi-style. I like Sashimi-style better as you get larger chunks of fish.
I recommend the following if you'd like to try their sashimi:
- Hottate (Onmygoodness the raw scallops here are soooo good!)
- Amaebi (sweet little shrimps)
- Saba (mackerel)
- Tamago (I really like their dashimaki, eggrolls - they'll slice as much as you like for sushi)
- Salmon
- Hamachi - yellow tail tastes lovely, and has a slightly 'bite-y-er' texture than salmon
- The toro (tuna) is good (melts in your mouth) but to be honest, I love the other sashimi more.
Other mouth-watering food available:
* Frozen gyoza - we always have some in our freezer for tastey-fast-food emergencies
* Frozen edamame - much cheaper than eating out!
* Kabocha - a bit like butter nut squash...only better!
* Croquettes - I love the curry-flavour ones :)
* Huuuuge bags of rice (if you ask nicely, they'll open a bag, and just sell you part of it)
* Frozen unagi and the sauce to serve it with
* Cup ramen/udon and all the noodles to cook yourself!
* Sooo many happy Japanese sweets
* Essential speedy food like furikake (the yummy food to shake over rice to make an instant meal) or packets of ready-to-go miso soup.
There is lots more...you'll have to head West to explore Atariya yourself!! The staff are all really nice, so if you need help in choosing, just ask for their advice. The Japanese bloke with a moustache is an absolute legend!!
*Damn writing this review has made me hungry!!*