Growing up in London I was exposed to multitudes of food from all over the world; Southbank in London is host to such a place. You'll find an incredible market, filled with foods from any number of different cultures and people clambering over each other to try the newest addition to the stalls or simply have an old favourite. On one occasion, being particularly hungry but for nothing specific, I chanced upon a stall selling fresh homemade takoyaki. Being one of my favourite Japanese creations I grabbed a fresh one that had just been made, and spent the next 5 minutes in a moment of bliss. As I bit down on that first bite and the heat and taste from inside expelled out, I was in heaven. Usually takoyaki's are relatively small but this creation was double the size, piping hot, and the octopus was a delicious texture. I've been in love with this moment ever since, trying desperately in hope of finding a restaurant that could equal this memory.
So whenever I visit a new Japanese sushi restaurant I always snap up some takoyaki and attempt to relive my memory, I tend to use this as a benchmark.
Me and my girlfriend were desperate for some quick food and I remembered seeing this sushi restaurant. We grabbed some seats and began piling up the plates to give a try of it all. The selection is very limited unless you order from the menu, but at 3.80 per plate I'm not complaining so much.
Beginning with some katsu chicken sushi and some salmon nigiri we dove straight in, and then dove straight out in equal bits of disappointment. The katsu felt cheap and not fresh, the addition of sweet chilli on top was almost insulting to the taste. The salmon was tasteful but boring, and the takoyaki that finally arrived was obviously not fresh made. We did give a go to a few others but it was just as bad. We decided to brave a cheesecake but had to instantly return it as it was off, the cake had become a sticky crumbly mess and the only thing stopping the bad taste was the overuse of too much sweetness.
What I'ne seem to have done is create a menu that's not very varied but cheap, this means it lacks any real quality that you can't really feel too angry about because it's so inexpensive. If it was up to me and my girlfriend we'd rather pay for the quality, especially with the salmon. As far as a sushi train goes it's not really authentic, the amount of actual Japanese servers was incredibly low and I wouldn't be surprised if none of the chefs were Japanese either. This doesn't mean they can't cook Japanese food but having been to some amazing sushi restaurants with the whole staff filled with Japanese, nothing really beats the experience of it or the authenticity you feel towards it. (In saying that I have had some terrible Japanese from a Japanese run restaurant)
Overall it looks good, the interior is modern and appealing and the lighting adds an intimate experience to the seating. The food was worse than average but at least the staff were helpful. However if you're here for authenticity and quality sushi, you're best going somewhere else to find it. This is just a cheap imitation, even Coles does better fresh sushi. My hunt for my fabled takoyaki continues. read more