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Sushi - does it actually exist in London?


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Other posters have made the pertinent point that London is not close to the sea and thus transportation costs for seafood are high (if you want high quality, fresh seafood at least).

Someone told me that our best tuna caught off Scotland/English coast goes to Tokyo... sucks, doesn't it?

Fresh from London. Eating as always.

http://www.artisanedibles.blogspot.com

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I recently discovered Yoshino in Piccadilly Place, just by the Meridean. You can see the "Sushi" sign from Picadilly. It was pretty good and somewhat reasonable.

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We're thinking about going to Momo this weekend with a friend who - doesn't eat sushi or sashimi, doesn't usually like sweet/savoury sauces so I'm not sure about teriyaki....

Does anyone know if Momo has yakisoba/yakiudon, donburi, and or ginger beef/pork on the menu?

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Chosan in Putney is a pretty good Japenese - sushi good (not as good as sushi hiro but still good quality) and a wide range of other interesting Japenese dishes. Plus it has a really good atmosphere - v small and intimate and the staff incredibly helpful, you pretty much always need to book in the evenings.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Popped into Sushi-Hiro for lunch yesterday (interestingly, its three doors down from Ealing Strings where I used to get, er, violin strings)

Minimal (zero) external decor - from the outside it could be an estate agents. Or shut down. Thankfully it wasn't.

Sushi really good, staggeringly good in fact. Had the 12 pc deluxe set (good stuff - no cheapy-cheapy egg or cucumber in there. Included toro tuna and salmon roe too. Also had singles of uni, crab, geoduck, abalone, toro, eel, scallop, egg and inari, chilli cod roe.

Highlights were eel (really nice, sweet-savoury, melting), scallop (thick slices, lovely texture), abalone (at three quid a pop surely the cheapest abalone in the uk!), uni (tastes of the sea! had two of them) and salmon roe (really overflowing with eggs). Only downer the geoduck (tough and tasteless, but probably due to the product rather than the chef). Only other comment is perhaps a touch too much wasabi for my taste.

Bill thirty five quid so twice as much as dim sum or the same as hakkasan

Eating factory/packaged sushi you forget how good the realy thing is til you try it - just warm rice, hand-moulded (rice doesn't fall apart when you pick them up!) - in fact a reminder sushi is as much (more?) about the rice done proper as the fish done fresh.

J

Edited by Jon Tseng (log)
More Cookbooks than Sense - my new Cookbook blog!
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Jon - 35 quid for 1 or 2? If it was just one, you must've been going for a record!

Kate and I were absolutely stuffed at 36.50, including extra portions of toro.

"Gimme a pig's foot, and a bottle of beer..." Bessie Smith

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"111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321" Bruce Frigard 'Winesonoma' - RIP

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  • 2 months later...

I "popped" to Sushi Hiro a couple of weeks ago. Although to be honest it's not really that easy to pop here, is it? It's totally and completely in the middle of nowhere (apologies to all the people who live in Ealing) That said, the sushi was seriously good. Best I've had in the UK, but still not up to Chicago standards.

*ducks to avoid being smothered to death with toro by all the Californian sushi fans*

I had absolutely zero expectations for my visit to the new sushi bar near Centrepoint, above London's new Korean supermarket. I was completely blown away and strongly suggest a visit. I was sat next to a young chap who has just started working at Nobo (they won't let him touch the fish) and we were the only two diners on a wet Tuesday night. I had some excellent flying fish roe, mackeral and yellow tail. The scallop was to die for, totally melting. The menu is quite limited and very traditional, but I got them to make me a spicy tuna roll (not on the menu) and it was fantastic. Not sure what this about my sushi knowledge, but I love spicy tuna rolls and this was sweet, fresh and zingy all at once. This is my new favourite place and we should all go so it does well.

On a final Japanese note, Jan Moir reviews Umu, London'd first Kyoto style restaurant this week. But I don't think I'll be going there unless it gets better press than this...

Suzi Edwards aka "Tarka"

"the only thing larger than her bum is her ego"

Blogito ergo sum

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I had absolutely zero expectations for my visit to the new sushi bar near Centrepoint, above London's new Korean supermarket.

Tarka/Anyone

Looking to go this evening. Do you have a name or address or directions ? As a graduate of the Mark Thatcher school of navigation I need all the help I can get. Hell, I'll be lucky if I find Centrepoint !

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i'm with you on the navigation thing. so i;ll do what i wlays do and navigate you via the shops.

exit TCR station by the dominion theatre, walk onto new oxford street keeping dorothy perkins on your left. cross the road when you get to starbucks, towards the bar called point 101. continue walking away from new oxford street, effectively past point 101 and towards a small row restaurants that includes a cafe called something like "the out cafe" and there's also a korean place. however, do not cross the road to those restaurants.

you'll notice the road you're on curving away from you towards the left, the supermarket is just there.

hope this helps. say hello if i am there. i work round the corner. today is a seaweed day for me so i might pop in.

Suzi Edwards aka "Tarka"

"the only thing larger than her bum is her ego"

Blogito ergo sum

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This place seems to getting some good reviews (especially compared to Umu, the other new Japanese in town)

It's actually called Centre Point Sushi and the address is 20-21 St Giles Street and the number is 020 7379 3369. There are open from 12.00-10.00pm Monday thorough Saturday.

The supermarket downstairs is my new favourite place. Have become obsessed with food I don't recognise in brightly coloured packaging.

Suzi Edwards aka "Tarka"

"the only thing larger than her bum is her ego"

Blogito ergo sum

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Time has passed and I have found that Kiku on Half Moon Street really does quite satisfactory sushi.

Kiku is Japanese owned, apparently with the ownership also owning an inn in Japan - which I take to be a good sign.

I've only gone there for sushi, though the menu includes a variety of Japanese cuisines - tempura, noodles, various starters.

tends to have a mainly Japanese clientele.

Not cheap, but not overly expensive.

The sushi itself ranges from satisfactory to really quite good. as usual depends on what's good that day.

so, as the starter of this thread, that's my recommendation for sushi where those preparing it actually know what sushi is.

so, yes, sushi does exist in London after all

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It pains me to say it, especially after Tarka was kind enough to let me have the directions, but I’m afraid I found Centre-Point sushi a real disappointment. The fish was tired; the rice a little ‘wet’; the portions quite small.

We ate a lot – just to give a fair test, you understand (interests of science etc, etc). We also drank a lot – beer, saki; more beer; more saki (in the interests of medicine etc.). All in it came to £35 a head.

So pricing-wise I have it in my medium cost (for sushi category). And, to be fair, quality-wise it was a cut above the low-cost sushi benchmark. But I struggled to find it good value, simply because I’d prefer to pay the £50-£60 a head for bigger, better pieces of brighter fish than pay thirty and just think, well ‘blah’.

Sorry Tarka – still nothing ventured etc. and the spirit of exploration is always half the fun.

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Afraid I'm in the noes on this one

Dropped in last night. Sweet shrimp and the prawns in the prawn tempura notably lacking in taste. Tuna had a mushy texture. Chicken kara-age lukewarm (although the potato croquettes were hot, crunchy, pillow-soft inside). Scallop nigiri was nice, service was good and the supermarket downstairs was engaging (excellent selection of kimchee. also some interesting ready-marinated ready-to-braise pork ribs)

I suspect I was spoiled, having been to sushi-hiro on sat but this wasn't even close

J

More Cookbooks than Sense - my new Cookbook blog!
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hhmmmm........ sushi hiro :wub:

actually have any of you tried the sushi bar at the karaoke box on Frith street lately?

http://www.streetsensation.co.uk/soho/fs_east.htm

the one in the middle in between the chinese school and cafe emm

they quite schizophrenic in there

some times the sushi is amazing sometimes it complete crap :huh:

"so tell me how do you bone a chicken?"

"tastes so good makes you want to slap your mamma!!"

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Just got back from CPSB and i quite like it. :smile:

review brief version:

reasonable prices, pretty good quality (actually probably the best quality in central london in that price range), comfortable place, waitresses friendly but very inexperienced, only one sushi chef so he's very slow during the dinner rush, its a good start but plenty of room for improvement.

Review extended version:

Ok this place feels to me like a typical far east sushi restaurant as in has quite a japanese feel to the place, as opposed to the minimalist stuff you usually get in london.

The room is small but spacious ( does that make sense :unsure: ) anyway it comfortable it looks like a 40 seater restaurant. On arriving tonight at 9pm the place was almost full. The 3 waitresses and 1 chef looked a little outnumbered.

So we order our food and a minute later the waitress informs us that the large party in the corner had just made a massive sushi order and as such our order would be a little slow in arriving she asked us if this was ok, we replied in the affirmative.

So about 15 minute later our starter arrives. We start with a £10 assorted sashimi set 2 slices of 5 different fish: salmon tuna, snapper, sea bass, snapper.

Then we had 4 piece of eel, 2 piece of salmon, 2 piece of scallop, 2 piece tuna, 2 piece sweet prawn, 2 piece snapper and 1 california roll.

Well after this we are actually reasonably satisfied but in the name of greed we order an unaju(eel on rice)£13 and a bento box £12.50. :laugh:

So the bill for this little lot and a beer and a tea was £73 inc service which to me is pretty reasonable for the quality we got.

This place should do pretty well, as IMHO it has the best sushi out of all the mid ranged sushi restaurants in zone 1. Admittedly it doesn't compare with sushi hiro or cafe japan :wub: . But compared to Noto, ten ten tei or Sakura i think this place can hold its own. You can get better sushi in central london but not at that price range.

They also get brownie points for having service included and do not have a tip section on the receipt. (afterall you don't tip in japan) :wink:

The only grumble is the service is bordering on london underground :raz: yes they are slow but you can see that the waitress are very inexperienced, i think this place has only been open a month or so and there is only one sushi chef!! :blink: even sushi hiro has 3 behind the bar and they only have a 20 seater!!!

So all in all CPSB is a good addition to london i'm sure/hope the service will improve with time and they have to get an extra chef in to help the old geezer behind the counter at the moment.

So i think we would all agree its worth giving them a try and hopefully with the extra business they get, they will hire more and better experienced staff.

Edited by origamicrane (log)

"so tell me how do you bone a chicken?"

"tastes so good makes you want to slap your mamma!!"

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David - forget the conveyor belt places, the fish is always dried out and the machine moulded rice is terrible.

Zuma, Roka and Nobu etc. have their place but on the whole they are more about "see and be seen than the food". London seems to excel at this type of expense account design palace (though these have their place on the right occasion).

For good, reasonably priced sushi try Aki in Clerkenwell (Japanese Bar style). Reallyvery reasonable and beautifully fresh. I had some fantastic razor clam sashimi the other day for just £4. Or Donzoko behind Carnaby Street. Donzoko sushi not quite as good since their great young sushi chef left to open his own place near the National Gallery. haven't been to his new place yet.

BTW - I love a big plate of sushi as much as the next man but I found that the sushi I had in nearly all the US restaurants was in far too big pieces. Sometimes it would be about twice or three times the size of what I was used to from Tokyo sushi bar experiences. Sometimes too much is worse than not enough! Sushi at the counters near the Tokyo fish market is sublime.

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Welcome to eGullet joesan. I'm with you on the size of US sushi. I often felt like a snake, dislocating my jaw to munch on a piece of crab roll. Maybe that's another reason why I like CPSB, the pieces are the right size for me.

Suzi Edwards aka "Tarka"

"the only thing larger than her bum is her ego"

Blogito ergo sum

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For good, reasonably priced sushi try Aki in Clerkenwell (Japanese Bar style). Reallyvery reasonable and beautifully fresh. I had some fantastic razor clam sashimi the other day for just £4.

Sounds interesting - I didn't know there was any Sushi in Clerkenwell (unless you count Pham in Whitecross Street). Where is Aki?

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Don't know if it has been mentioned here yet (I am having a bit of trouble with the search function) but Chisou, on Princes Street off Tottenham Court Road) is great. Not cheap, not outrageous but very good food. I've been once, it was packed with Japanese diners.

I also hear good reports from people who work at the Japanese National Tourist Office about "moshi moshi", but haven't been, myself.

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