Lisa C.
Yelp
For Saturday nights, I often can't imagine going out to dinner without a reservation, let alone in Soho. But my friend suggested this place, promised the queue moves fast, and despite arriving at prime dinner time around 7:45 PM, we were seated within half an hour. I think you can book a table as well, but it wasn't like a reservations mandatory type of place, and the tables turned around surprisingly fast. There is also a little stand outside with a book of authentic Japanese restaurants in London, and of course Eat Tokyo's locations are recommended in the book. It's funny that such a book exists, but Japanese cuisine has become so mainstream that it is refreshing to come to a more low key, almost hole-in-the-wall place like this.
The menu is a little overwhelming; it is basically a book of laminated pages with pictures. And there is so much choice. A bento ranges from 10-15 pounds, but there are also endless options of sushi rolls, ramen, and appetizers. We ordered a sushi roll, edamame beans, and gyoza for the table, and then the others each got a bento / ramen and I got a eel and ikura hand roll, fried oysters, and black cod with miso. I enjoyed everything, but I must say, the fried oysters impressed me because it was an extremely generous portion with 5 large oysters served with salad. The others struggled to finish their meal and a lot of rice was left over at the end, but we all left very full and content. For all that, including three pints of beer and a tea, and tip, it was only 25 pounds a person - what a bargain!