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    Hare and Tortoise

    3.9 (44 reviews)
    ModerateJapanese, Asian Fusion
    Closed 12:00 pm - 10:30 PM

    Hare and Tortoise Photos

    HARE AND TORTOISE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for kids
    Good for groups

    Recommended Reviews - Hare and Tortoise

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    Steven H.

    Very decent sushi for lunch. Had hamachi, unagi, snow crab and ikura - all were fresh and nicely prepared, washed down with a refreshing and sushi-friendly Tsingdao beer. All of this cost £19. Not cheap by any means! Service was friendly and swift. Americans beware - their mobile credit card readers do not accept US cards that do not contain the smart chip. Bring cash!

    Kristine T.

    The Hare and Tortoise is a venue that I have often overlooked, as it doesn't look like much on the outside. A simple sign and windows covered in grey, hide behind them a downstairs area filled with delicious food smells. When you go down the place may feel a little dark due to the lack of natural light and the darker toned furniture but the minimalists in my group really liked that simple decor. To be honest I prefer Japanese restaurant with obvious Japanese vibes and slightly more traditional decor. Then it was time to try the food. Being me I could not resist the chicken katsu curry, as it's one if my favourite dishes ever, and this one certainly did not disappoint. The chicken was juicy and delicious, the curry sauce was amazing and the rice was cooked to perfection. I also tried my friend's duck and rice dish and it was also excellent. My other two friends said that their dishes were great too and we all found that the portion were massive and it was actually quite hard to finish them. I was very pleased with the food overall because it was really good, quite a lot of it and it was under £8! I would certainly go back there to try more things from their menu, as they also have a great selection of sushi and sashimi and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is looking for a good Japanese meal around Blackfriars.

    Katsu Curry
    Jing Shyang Y.

    I've wanted to visit this place for a while, after walking past many times over the past few months. As you enter, you walk down the stairs where you reach a small and sparsely furnished dining area in full view of the sushi kitchen. The decor is modern and stylish, and the place feels quite spacious and inviting. Onto the food which is the reason we're here. Portions sizes are quite varied. The Wakame is tasty, the fried vegetables a little bland. Edamame beans hard to get wrong. Katsu curry, good portion, but again nothing special. I would highlight the pistachio ice cream dessert which was amazing and quite the surprise. Molten chocolate cake oozing with warm chocolate sauce with a nice scoop of pistachio ice cream in the middle. Superb. Service was excellent, staff were attentive and never felt overbearing as happens in some restaurants. Some dishes like the katsu curry were good value for money. Some sushi dishes were a little pricy and personal preference, not vinegary enough for me, but this is more a state of sushi in the UK, rather than a food quality issue. I'd probably try this place again simply for the divine dessert.

    Laksa
    Alex D.

    The Hare & The Tortoise falls into the 'ok if you're in the area' category. They churn out food and I can imagine it would be quite popular with nearby corporates but when in London for a week, I reckon you can give it a miss. Technically, the food is Japanese but they have other Asian dishes too. I ordered the laksa (perhaps that's where I went wrong...). It was passable but pretty sweet and heavy-handed on the coconut cream. Again, ok for a quick, relatively cheap corporate lunch but no wow-factor.

    A slightly underwhelming Phad Thai

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    7 years ago

    Got the tantanmen ramen and it was delicious!! Tried some of the phad thai too, also delicious. 10/10 experience

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    8 years ago

    They serve good sashimi and sushi. Noodles are also pretty good. Highly recommendable.

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    11 years ago

    Best value ramen I've found in London - and huge portions.

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    11 years ago

    Good selection of the menu, fast paced service without rushing too much and a nice location. We'll come back soon!

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    10 years ago

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    12 years ago

    This is a great place for lunch if you work in the area, quick service, reasonably priced and very tasty! Try the Pad Thai, yummy!

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    Page 1 of 2

    Hare and Tortoise Reviews in Other Languages

    Review Highlights - Hare and Tortoise

    I was very pleased with the food overall because it was really good, quite a lot of it and it was under £8!

    Mentioned in 2 reviews

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    Ribon

    Ribon

    4.1(16 reviews)
    0.2 miBlackfriars
    £

    Thanks to Katie B for stepping in as interim Yelp Ramen Club organiser in Josy A's absence…read more Ramen Club 8.0 took place at Ribon and Katie went to great lengths to make our booking and also to make sure that they had ramen available - for large parties, it's best to warn them as they only make a limited amount of broth each day When you get to the restaurant, don't be put off by the fact that the ground floor looks shut because it is shut! Descend the stairs to the subterranean dining room. Our party of 15 took over most of the main dining area though there are private rooms, which also offer karaoke The starters were my favourite part of the meal with the black cod and chicken karaage being top of my list even though the portion size was tiny for the cost. As far as ridiculous prices go though, I think my glass of orange juice from a carton for £3.30 was criminal - I can get 2 litres of Tropicana for less. Other starters like the pork and kimchi were rather bland The ramen was a disappointment. The broth was rather bland and the chashu was dry. Perhaps in keeping with the rather mean attitude to the volume of food served, there was no egg. In an age when Bone Daddies and other ramen joints in London have raised the bar, bowls like this won't cut it any longer It was a really fun evening but the food wasn't up to scratch, especially the ramen. Roll on, Ramen Club 9.0!

    Thank you Katie B for being a star and getting such a huge crowd of us involved in ramen club!!…read moreRibon was a strange ramen experience...ramen is only listed as a side note on the specials menu, but after seeing a photo of their ramen in the magazine "zoom Japan", I was keen to try it. Ramen: The miso soup was really good; hot and delicious... BUT my noodles seemed like over-cooked, squidgy cup-ramen noodles. I liked the toppings, but I was sad not to have an egg, and the cha siu was forgettable. So all in all the ramen isn't as good as many of the other ramen-joy-lands in London. Plus they took aaaaages to make, even though Katie had told them in advance that we would order lots of noodles. Izakaya menu: We also tried the agedashi dofu (really nice, but without much dashi!), the karaage and the gyoza. They were all lovely, and the general izakaya menu sounded full of tasty dishes. I'd be up for trying more of them. Other: A group of my friends from Japan have been here several times, and they all really liked it... so I know this place could be amazing. I'll have to come back to try non-noodle items, and to have a sing in their karaoke booth.

    Photos
    Ribon
    Ribon
    Ribon

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    Sushi Tetsu

    Sushi Tetsu

    4.8(23 reviews)
    0.7 miClerkenwell
    ££££

    For his birthday, my friend's only wish was to come here for an omakase and I cannot stop thinking…read moreabout it! I had to make about 200 calls to get a reservation but it was worth it. There are two sittings for omakase each day, one at 5:30PM and one at 8:30PM. The interior is very intimate and each sitting serves 7 people only. Bookings are made at least two weeks to one month in advance depending on their policy which changes from time to time. They only accept reservations through phone calls and based on my experience, it was pretty hard to get through so I'd definitely recommend reading through their website for what to do to secure yourself a reservation. My friend and I both got the sushi & sashimi omakase, which comes with three plates of sashimi, 7 pieces of sushi (all seasonally selected!) and a sweet tamago at the end. The sashimi and sushi are all seasonally selected and exotic! I got to try gurnard and turbot sushi which I've never had raw before! The fish is not only high quality and delicious but prepped and presented beautifully too. The variety of condiments selected for each sushi was carefully thought out, elevating each mouthful. The service was impeccable as was the food. The chef's wife and the waiters always came to check-in with us and walk us through the proper dining etiquette. Under the chef's wife's recommendation, we also shared some sake and plum wine. It was lovely watching the chef prep and make each piece of sushi, exhibiting his intent and passion with every movement. The whole session lasted a little over 2 hours and we enjoyed every bit of it! I highly recommend checking out Sushi Tetsu at least once in your life! Not to mention the omakase was only for £96 (excluding alcohol and any service charge), which is cheap for the amount of food you get and cheaper than many other omakase meals found in London.

    Went for dinner with a friend, who had to call 139 times to get a reservation. But it was worth it…read moreall. She had omakase, whilst I had a la carte. I had a combination of octopus sashimi, tuna sashimi, squid nigiri, sweet shrimp nigiri, jumbo shrimp nigiri, scallops nigiri, tuna rolls, razor clam rolls and yellowtail hand roll. Everything was remarkably fresh and perfect, down to every ratio of sushi to rice and the temperature. Afterwards, we commented whether we would ever be able to have sushi elsewhere. Ambience was very cozy and intimate. Maximum seating of seven seats, hence very difficult to get a spot. Felt like I was in a local restaurant in the heart of Tokyo. Perfect for an intimate date or professional meal. Service was also top notch. At times, I felt they were a bit too mechanical, but I guess precision and propriety are part of the Japanese experience. Would go back in a heartbeat.

    Photos
    Sushi Tetsu
    Sushi Tetsu
    Sushi Tetsu

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    City Miyama - Sashimi and edamame

    City Miyama

    3.9(8 reviews)
    0.2 miBlackfriars
    ££££

    This restaurant was one of the best Japanese restaurants I've never been in my life ! I went there…read morewith my work team to welcome one of our Japanese guests. We ordered a lot of different stuffs and sake and everything was good. The sashimi and the sushi were perfect, fine and savorous; the karaage was as good as the one I ate in Japan; the tempura soba were pretty good but not my favorite dish of this dinner. We ordered sake as well which was nice ! It's an expensive place but it worth it. I totally recommend it !

    Quick glance: + great quality ingredient…read more+ authentic taste and flavour + personable and happy staff - very pricey - venue needs a new lick of paint The unassuming entrance to Miyama is tucked away in a narrow street. If you do manage to find it, don't be put off by the lack of decor, particularly in the downstairs dining area in the windowless basement, where the off-white paint is starting to chip and crack in places. Miyama offers set lunch menus which look much better value than their a la carte and sushi selection, which includes miso soup to start and a dessert to finish, although still costing £20-30 a person, depending on which ones you choose. Bento boxes are also available, which looked amazing as I stole glances at our neighbouring table... The quality of food is unquestionably superb - very tasty, fresh, and with authentic flavours. Service was great too, with very personable staff, although food took a bit longer to deliver than the usual pace of life in the City. The high price tag means the restaurant should easily attract city banker clientele, but I think the lack of decor in the dining area makes it a bit incongruous for long city lunches.

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    City Miyama
    City Miyama - Sushi

    Sushi

    City Miyama - Gyozas, my favorite!

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    Gyozas, my favorite!

    Hare and Tortoise - japanese - Updated May 2026

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