Covent Garden , Japanese Restaurant Guide

Zooming up to the 38th floor of the Heron Tower in one of Europe’s fastest lifts… looking out with a cocktail on an open terrace overlooking the scrapers of the City, it’s easy to get swept up by the glamour of the original, “buzzy” branch of this US-based chain. And its popular WC2 spin-off is also “always a pleasure to visit”: looking out onto the back of the Royal Opera House from the huge terrace on the top of Covent Garden Market. Fans say the luxe, Japanese/South American fusion cuisine in both locations – taquitos, sushi, steaks, samba rolls, black cod from the robata – is “delicious and remarkably inventive” too. But ratings for it have sunk post-Covid, and while pricing here has always been toppy, there is a growing gripe that “food which is average at best is accompanied by a bill that’s distinctly not average!”

“Expensive, but high-quality yakitori skewers and sushi” are a “delicious and original offering that suit all ages”, and win little but praise for this “very consistent” chain, whose minimalist Scandi style reflects its origins in Copenhagen. Success continues to bring fast expansion, with recent openings in Westfield W12 (in December 2022) and Shoreditch (in March 2023) and more soon to follow in Richmond (October 2023) and Kingston (early 2024). Phew! Top Menu Tip – “truffle paste cauliflower side dish to die for (who knew?)”.

“Proper” Japanese food at a “very affordable price” (“the sushi is seemingly no more expensive than Yo! Sushi, but so much better quality”) ensures that these Tokyo-inspired pitstops are “always busy” and there are “often queues”. “The canteen atmosphere and sometimes inflexible service doesn’t make you want to linger” but no-one cares given the “extensive menu – made with fresh ingredients and served up super quick – that’s good overall value”. Top Tip – “the bento boxes are tasty and authentic”.

“A taste-tingling sensation of Japanese and other Asian delights” – the “most amazing bao buns”, plus “Korean wings, poke bowls and sushi that are all so good” – win a big thumbs up for this duo of “great Asian-fusion restaurants” (under the same ownership as Bone Daddies). If anything, their star has risen since they cut back to just two branches in Fitzrovia and Covent Garden.

2021 Review: Near Leicester Square tube and need a quick bite? – maybe grab a meal at this simple two-year-old: the first London outpost of Japan’s largest (1,000-strong) chain specialising in kare raisu dishes – curry and rice: over 40 different rice toppings are available, including hamburgers, scrambled eggs and fried oysters.

“The ramen is excellent” at this West End-based group from the Japan Centre’s Tak Tokumine – although “the rest of the menu is not as good” and the venues tend to be “too cramped and/or noisy to be ideal”. A drive to expand via franchise operations has apparently stalled since the summer 2022 opening of a branch in Kensington High Street – a possible sign that “we may have passed peak noodle”.

2021 Review: “I just love it: it’s so cheap ’n’ cheerful” chorus the many fans of this down-to-earth Japanese canteen in Chinatown, which has been for yonks “a great place for the freshest sushi and yummy tofu”.

2021 Review: “Top ramen with great broth and good combinations”, win fans for this genuinely Japanese chain (originating in Fukuoka), which has branches in Holborn, Embankment and Canary Wharf. Ratings, though, fall short of the top heights at the hands of those who feel its food is “not bad, but not memorable”. A fourth branch is to open in Fitzrovia in autumn 2019.