Eat Tokyo is always a safe choice for reasonably priced standard Japanese affair. Although the Soho branch is usually the one I tend to avoid in the weekends being always busy, slow in service and very loud. Over the years it has became so popular that it kind of has lost it's Japanese feel to it. Staff are mostly Chinese who cannot speak good English and the place seems to fail at keeping clean, especially the toilet which is disguising with it's poor water pressure to flush properly. Still, decor remains authentic to the traditional Japanese culture with it's wooden decor. It is a big restaurant too, with separate rooms to drown out some sound and we were placed in one of those rooms, sharing it with other diners.
Service was a mix and match. Some staff seems to be affected by the stressful atmosphere showing signs of frustration and unhappiness. However we were fortunate to be given a more relaxed and friendly staff who looked after us well and came back to make sure our food was okay.
Yasai itame
Mainly Chinese leaves, beansprouts and the occasional carrot, generously portioned and stir fried well with garlic, salt and pepper. Seasoning was spot on allowing the sweet flavours of the vegetables to come through. A bit oily which can be seen by how shiny it was.
Age-gyoza
Being deep fried, it produced a really crispy skin surrounding the outside yet a lovely chewier texture as you continue to chew on it. It was satisfying and a lovely filling of pork that was flavoured nicely with the accompanied diced greens inside.
Takoyaki
These were nice and plump although the perfect golden crust around it may suggest that they were pre made and then deep fried again to reheat them. Nevertheless the ratio of dough and octopus inside was good, crispy on the outside whilst soft and doughy on the inside. The octopus was nice and tender, all flavoured nicely with bonito flakes for an extra depth of seafood flavour and mayonnaise for a creamy finish
Unagi avocado roll
Nicely assembled using good quality ingredients that gave out satisfying flavours and texture. It had a lovely sweet savoury note, a tender buttery texture which was accentuated by the soft avocado. Garnished with black sesame seeds to give it a smokey nutty finish.
Alaskan roll
This was more moist and softer in texture filled with a nice oily salmon piece and a juicy bit of prawn. The tobiko surrounding the roll gave burst of saltiness as well as a richer depth of flavour.
Pork cutlet curry
We ordered a large and it could have probably feed four. Beautifully panko fried pork, crispy and golden brown revealing a lovely juicy tender pork cutlet inside. Curry sauce was generous along with the fluffy potatoes and soften carrots. It has all the nice savoury and sweet notes we're used to and enough of it to mix in with the rice given.
Oyako jyu
This has never failed me. The chicken is always cut into big chunks to keep it moist and tender, always the thigh too which my favourite part. All cooked with lovely caramelised onions in a lovely sweet soy, mirin and dashi sauce before pouring a beaten egg to give it a velvety creamy texture.
Buta kakuni
This was the only disappointing dish of the day being very tough, stringy and dense. You can say it wasn't fatty enough so the meat didn't marbleised. The soy marinate was nice just shame about the meat itself
Sapporo Ramen
Genuinely surprised with how good the ramen was. Described as miso soup ramen it had depth and umami from the underlying chicken broth which also gave it the sweet flavour. Greater depth of flavour was achieved by the toppings of fatty tender pork belly, sweetcorn, bamboo shoots, wood ear fungus and garnishes of spring onion. Sadly the egg was not the soft boiled ones you usually get. Noodles were from a high quality supplier though being fresh and bouncy.
I do love Eat Tokyo but sadly the atmosphere and hygiene lets it down and so for that it loses 2 stars. Depending on where you are you might not be able to hear the person next you due to the high noise level. Only use the toilet if you have to as it says toilet paper should not be flushed so you see all sorts in the bin next to you. Half the time it is blocked anyway for those who do not follow. But it is a great place to organise a large group meeting as large portion sizes caters for sharing and lots of small dishes too. Prices are pretty decent too. I would recommend to make a reservation on the weekend or turn up early as it can get really busy and you might have to queue. read more