High-tech but low brow food? London’s restaurant scene is very crowded to say the least, so newcomers often need a gimmick just to get noticed. Inamo’s trick is that instead of ordering via a human waiter, you order using a computer with the screen beamed onto your table from a projector sitting above each table. … Continue reading »
Sometimes smaller really is better Compared to the barren dessert of a year ago, London’s Soho is now awash with dedicated ramen restaurants – namely Ittenbari, Tonkotsu, Bone Daddies and Shoryu. The latest is Kirazu, a very small restaurant on the former site of a Lebanese cafe. Small is the key word in every sense – … Continue reading »
This review of a Taiwan restaurant is a break from The Picky Glutton’s usual London-based coverage Sometimes the best restaurants are the ones you stumble across completely by accident. I hadn’t originally intended to visit Moe Yakiniku, a small Japanese barbecue restaurant in one of central Taipei’s backstreets, but stumbled across it after finding that … Continue reading »
All that glitters is not gold. Update June 2013 – this restaurant has now closed. There’s no shortage of expensive Japanese restaurants in London and Wabi is one of the latest. This offshoot of the Horsham original is located on the eastern side of Kingsway next to a branch of Pitcher and Piano – don’t … Continue reading »
Ramen-ya or Ramen nah? Ramen restaurants are like buses – you wait ages for one, then three come along all at once. I’ve visited Tonkotsu before, but that little Soho gem has now been joined by Bone Daddies and Shoryu and all three are within easy walking distance of each other. Although all three serve … Continue reading »
Because you’re worth it I’ve been to more than my fair share of Japanese restaurants in London, but none of them can hold a candle to the oddly-named Dinings. This Paddington stalwart is highly regarded and for very good reason. Despite its vaunted reputation Dinings’ premises are surprisingly spartan and cramped with a sushi bar … Continue reading »
Piccadilly Japanese is just going through the motions There’s a curious glut of Japanese restaurants on Lower Regent Street, a short walk away from Piccadilly Circus. If you have a lot of money, the hilariously small branch of Japanese department store chain Mitsukoshi has its own high-priced restaurant. If you’re on a budget, then the … Continue reading »
Just roll with it For most people sushi either means nigiri or maki rolls, but there’s another type – temaki sushi. Here, a large sheet of nori seaweed is wrapped into a cone and then filled with fish, rice and other ingredients. Although the Lensman isn’t a fan of temaki sushi, I’ll happily gobble up … Continue reading »
Noodle kaboodle Thanks to the instant noodle convenience food that shares its name, ramen isn’t the most glamorous of dishes, but it can be surprisingly difficult to get right. The imaginatively named Tonkotsu on Dean Street is a new restaurant that eschews sushi and katsu curries, concentrating solely on this underappreciated noodle soup dish. Tonkotsu … Continue reading »
Ra-ra-ramen-ra In London’s increasingly crowded restaurant scene, new eateries often need a hook or some unique selling point to pull in the punters. For restaurants drawing on the rich culinary heritage of a foreign country, one easy hook is a dish or regional cuisine underrepresented in the UK. Ittenbari is a new Japanese restaurant specialising … Continue reading »
