Shoreditch, Japanese Restaurant Guide

Despite its famous brand, this chic Shoreditch-fringe boutique hotel has struggled to make waves since its 2017 launch (no survey feedback this year), and in summer 2023 relaunched (re-relaunched?) its basement restaurant with adjoining sunken garden as a ‘destination bar’, complete with ‘world-renowned Nobu signature dishes, small plates and sushi’ and a regular DJ. As well as the wizard Nikkei bits, options include the ‘newly launched Monaka… a lightweight flat rice crispbread, branded with the Nobu logo and stuffed with fresh toppings’.

2022 Review: On the sizable Shoreditch site that was Merchant’s Tavern (RIP), this mid-2021 newcomer is nowadays a 130-cover Japanese izakaya, with more of an emphasis on drinking (and DJs) than of old. It comes complete with open kitchen and robata counter, serving skewers, sushi and steamed buns to soak up the hot or cold sake, beers and cocktails.

“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”.

“Tasty, good-value noodles” in a “relaxed environment” make this 12-year-old London chain (14 branches, plus Brighton and Brum) “worth a visit”. The “ramen is deep and fabulous” if “limited in range (no fish-based dishes except prawn)”, and is augmented by “quite acceptable katsu curry”. Aficionados should head to the Haggerston branch to watch the noodles being made.

These funky (and noisy) ‘rock ’n’ roll ramen’ bars shook up the capital’s Japanese fast-food scene when the first outlet opened in Soho 11 years ago, spawning a small group now reaching as far as Richmond. Their “super ramen” is served with 20-hour pork bone broth cooked these days at a kitchen on Bermondsey’s ‘beer mile’. But the business has not been immune to the industry’s difficulties: a Putney spin-off only lasted a year before closing, and a long-touted outlet in the old Eurostar terminal at Waterloo has yet to eventuate.

“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”.

“There are so few dining choices near the Barbican, it’s worth knowing that you can get decent sushi and other obvious Japanese options here at Pham”, a short walk away; which particularly benefits from “fast and attentive” service. Some critics, though, feel that “evening visits without an expense account cannot justify the prices here”. There’s also a caution that “you should skip the house specials and stick to the simpler choices” as “several of the fancier options seem excessively performative”.

Neither its prime City location – overlooking Broadgate Circle – nor its experienced heritage (the Hong Kong-based Aqua group, with their Aqua-branded operations in the Shard and on Oxford Street) have helped garner huge attention for this glossy December 2022 newcomer: a minimalist Japanese, where chef Ken Miyake offers ‘crystal sushi’ (draping sushi rolls in coloured jelly slices with kimchi, ponzu or mint and sake favouring) plus robata-grilled meats and noodles. The exception is a January 2023 review from the Independent’s Lucy Thackray, who said the “dizzying” selection of dishes “hit the mark, when it comes to the trifecta [of] presentation, flavour, quality”. She also noted, though, that portions are “petite”; and that it’s “easy to rack up quite a bill”.