UCHI

"At Uchi you’ll sit on a wooden stool, hear the reassuring clink of your Asahi on the industrial metal tables, and order a load of sashimi, nigiri, and sushi rolls. The menu is vaguely izakaya-inspired: dotting around from sushi, to yakitori, to tempura, alongside pickles and whatnot. It is, by and large, all solid. The sashimi options are only salmon and tuna, but the yakitori goes from meat, to mackerel, to aubergine. The back area, with curtained-off dining rooms complete with sunken cushioned seats, is great for a group celebration." - jake missing

"Uchi is a relaxed and airy Japanese restaurant off Lower Clapton Road that serves reliably tasty sushi. This is the perfect place for a post-sunny-day-drinking dinner especially as everything here—from chicken kara-age, to miso aubergine skewers, to nigiri and sashimi—is great. It’s a popular neighbourhood spot with cool plaster walls and floaty linen room dividers, so call ahead before you take cover here because everyone probably has the same idea." - jake missing, sinead cranna, rianne shlebak

"London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. The UK is an island that’s between the North and Atlantic Seas. In the sea, there’s loads of fish. We’ve got two seas. So, all our fish-based food should be good right? As we’re the capital of two seas? Wrong. You’re wrong. Despite being sea lords, our sushi is mostly either good or terrible. There are few middle grounds. 90% of Londoners probably eat sushi they’ve bought in a train station. A train station without any water features. There are anomalies though, and Uchi is one of them. It’s off the Lower Clapton Road, which is hardly Billingsgate, and it’s turning out solid Japanese fare in its own quietly confident way. The menu is small, which is reassuring—sushi, yakitori, karaage, and tempura—but the room is large. It’s basically a big izakaya. You’ll sit on a wooden stool, hear the reassuring clink of your Asahi on the industrial metal tables and order a load of sashimi, nigiri and sushi rolls. It’s all nice. The fish here isn’t the isn’t the rarest or most extravagantly presented, but that’s not what Uchi is about. It does simple things well with good produce at a reasonable price. And it’s exactly what London needs more of." - Jake Missing

"Anata No Uchi is the name of Uchi’s delivery service in Hackney. You can order sashimi, sushi, and tempura here." - Heidi Lauth Beasley, Jake Oliver, Rianne Shlebak