Westminster, Japanese Restaurant Guide

This top-class Japanese dining room in the monolithic former County Hall near the London Eye is “a surprising delight in an area largely devoid of good eating options”. Daisuke Shimoyama, previously head chef at Umu in Mayfair who began his career at 15 washing pots in Kanagawa, serves everything from “good-value lunch bentos to enticing main menus”, including a 13-course omakase with the chef’s sake pairing.

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.

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.

“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?)”.

“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: “Good quality Japanese comfort food” including “proper tonkatsu – rich pork served with cabbage” – is on the menu at this rather “cramped” venue off Leicester Square from the duo behind Kanada-Ya, Aaron Burgess-Smith and Tony Lam. “Also of note is the speakeasy bar in the basement”.

“The best ramen in London, IMO – the rich, porky broth is perfect”, say fans of former pro-cyclist Kazuhiro Kanada’s five noodle bars – in Angel, Piccadilly, Covent Garden, Carnaby and Ealing. “If you’re going to do one thing, do it well, and they do” – so they “deserve the frequent queues”.

“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?)”.

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!”

“This intimate little counter-dining venue” in an ancient pub that nowadays finds itself part of Chinatown “shows levels of skill and technique to compete with much better-known places that leave you with a far higher bill”. James Goodyear has taken over from Luke Selby (the latter departing to be head chef at Le Manoir), but all reports swoon over “a truly special experience” and a multi-course tasting menu that’s “absolutely exceptional”. “Love the counter-top layout of the restaurant and the chefs are very happy to talk, explaining in detail how things are made (important to me because I am a very keen cook!)”. “It has a buzzy vibe and is a bit of a squeeze (in both space and time), making it a very different formula than nearby Aulis. Having said that, the cooking is consistently delightful, imaginative and bold. The menu feels well thought-through, building and balancing as it progresses”. “File it under ‘one to watch’ as they plan to build out the ambition even further”: from mid-2023 they are opening on Monday nights and also incorporating their wine bar, The Mulwray, and the pub, The Blue Posts, into the overall offering at Evelyn’s Table.

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”.

“Well produced, tasty morsels of delight” including “ace lunchtime bento boxes” are served at these “pared down” Japanese canteens, which provide “good value for money for what is generally an expensive cuisine”. Founder Mr Taro is not one for fast food: he conceived the idea of opening an ‘everyday dining room’ on a visit to London in 1979 and launched it in Soho 20 years later. Two decades on he is in expansion mode, and in February 2023 opened a sixth branch in a former Manze Pie & Mash shop in Walthamstow, with a Grade II listed interior now restored to its previous glory.

2021 Review: “Always there to satisfy a Japanese food craving”: this conveyor-belt sushi-stalwart in Soho rates well for “fast, good-quality plates” – less so for the “uncomfortable stools and loud music”. But nobody is complaining with “fresh hand-made tempura and salmon rolls for £4 – a steal!”. It lost its spin-offs last year, though, in Covent Garden and South Kensington.