A surprisingly good yakitori restaurant in the heart of Brighton. Probaby closer to a 4 than a 5…read morerating but given the relatively slim options for this classic Japanese cusine in England it is absolutely worthy of your attention. Upon entry the interior will already give off some good signals - it looks and feels like you'd expect a proper yakitori place would be. It's also quite busy so clearly this is not a hidden gem for the locals. The food and drink was really good. Chicken was juicy, tender, and cooked to perfection; normally I don't like sauce on my yakitori but here what they used was subtle and tasty. The typical asparagus and bacon sticks with bacon however were were really, really good and may be the best versions of these classic skewers that I've ever had. Sake selection was also on point and not outrageously expensive like it is at other locations around the country. The server recommended a great one to me and was very well informed on the selection. What's not to love? This place appears to be often packed and if you're sitting at the bar expect to be squeezed in amongst other patrons. Very recommended if you're in Brighton!

There has been a lot of hype surrounding Bincho Yakitori, and my god do they live up to it!…read more They have a great bar which you can sit by and watch the chefs work, sadly there was no space (we luckily got a last minute reservation on a saturday night at 9pm) so we were seated at the back of the restaurant, quite a tight fit as our neighbours pinged their lemon slice over to our table, but no problem, the atmosphere was great! The concept is all small plates with the idea to share with the rest of the table. I definitely over ordered. My eyes were certainly bigger than my belly! To start we had pickles & kimchi - I always order these at other asian places. We then proceeded to order pretty much every vegetarian dish (my partner had the pork belly and chicken thigh skewers and said both were amazing). I asked our waitress how many she suggested, she told us 2-3 dishes each to start with then we can aways order more if hungry. But we are greedy greedy people so ordered an astonishing 9 dishes, it was definitely too much! Luckily I took it all home in a box and had it for lunch the next day. My favourite dish was the miso aubergine and the green salad. The green salad came with crispy lotus root and tamarind. Great sake selection, I opted for the nigori cloudy sake which was served traditionally in a glass, which is inside a masu - which is essentially a little wooden box. You may think this is strange, but the wood adds to the flavour of the sake. You can either drink straight from the box, or pour into your glass when you've finished the glass. Also had a great selection of Whisky which we of course sampled. Our bill came to just over £100 for 2 of us, and I am not ashamed to say £50 of it was all on whisky! I will definitely return, and maybe order less dishes, but still the same amount of whisky!

Not gross but not good either. I was really surprised at how unimpressive this food was.read more

Poor, poor service. Walked in and saw a sign that said additional seating is upstairs. I proceeded…read moreto walk upstairs before being stopped by a taller man with graying hair who gave me a stern look before handing me a menu, telling me "I'd need it." Ok, I thought. Seemed like he was overwhelmed by amount of people in the restaurant. I walked upstairs with my friend and it was completely empty. I sat down, waited for what seemed like forever before the waiter came upstairs to start setting the table beside me. He did not ask if I was ready to order, or if I needed water. He just walked back downstairs. Then, after another few minutes another woman walked upstairs, sat down, and he hurried up to give her her food. She was shocked at how quickly her food arrived. At that point, it became clear he was purposefully ignoring us and had no intention of serving us. My friend and I left, but they need to get rid of him. He lacks customer service skills and basic human decency.

Not bad but with one caveat: skip the sushi and try the typical izakaya stuff instead…read more When you walk in here you will recognize this kind of place instantly if you are a global traveller who has spent time in neighborhoods outside of the major cities: at one time it was the only sushi restaurant in town and it has maintained its ways throughout the years. The quality is not bad, not good but it will do if you need your fix and have no other option. Sushi itself is OK. Tuna nigiri was strangely colored and not too flavorful whereas seared salmon belly was a bit better and close to standard. Much better was chicken katsu curry and the gyoza, both of which were perfectly fine preparations of the comfort food classics. The vibe is a little weird. All families and some classical music on the sound system. This is not a date night place or a hip venue - go across the street to the yakitori place for that.

At last! A decent sushi restaurant in Brighton. I've had two really annoying Japanese meals in…read moreBrighton, one in a restaurant owned by a certain famous DJ and another at a well known sushi chain (I honestly think a BigMac would've tasted better than the food in there). First of all, in Sushi Garden, you actually feel like your in a Japanese restaurant, the decor, smell and staff all really make the senses jump! We had a fantastic lunch there one Saturday and found it a lot more relaxing as it wasn't as packed out as the evening time. I started with some nice warm saki to get things going and then ordered a mix of tuna and salmon sashimi and nigiri (I always over order this as its so moreish). For a main I had some pork gyoza with a pork shabu salad on the side which was more than enough for me for lunch. Japanese restaurants aren't the cheapest places to eat but when they're as good as this who cares.

Successfully converted my girlfriend to the religion of Ramen! 5/5!…read more Arrived at 8pm without a reservation and it was pretty busy. Two other groups were waiting for tables. Always a good sign! Made a reservation for 8:45pm and went out for a drink. Make sure to make a reservation on Fridays! I ordered a Tokyo Tonkotsu (large with no extras) and a Kirin beer and my girlfriend ordered a Wakame Ramen (medium with extra pickled ginger) and a plum wine! The ramen was really really good. It looked like Jason Pollock splattered my t-shirt with Pork Bone broth afterwards! The large portion for more than enough (and we had just finished a long walk and we're starving). I would recommend adding extra pork but that's the only thing I would change. The extra pickled ginger also supposedly went really well with the Wakame (chicken) ramen. I will be coming back here soon and bringing the rest of the family!

Not bad for a random ramen spot on the English seaside…read more The Tokyo Tonkotsu bowl is less like the complex, thin broths at self-aware ramen shops across NYC and more like the hearty, no-frills ramen I had in Japan (e.g. Tenkaippin!) - so unctuous and flavorful that the broth is undrinkable at the end. I was expecting something more watery and clean-tasting from the vegetarian soy milk ramen. What came instead was thick and rich, nearly as heavy as the tonkotsu (minus all that salt). It had no soybean flavor, but I can see it being a holy grail for vegetarians who want to experience the luscious guilt of a fatty pork broth. I'm still conflicted (my palate wanted soy milk!) but it was certainly tasty. The karaage was not what I expected either. It's more a boneless tebasaki - fried chicken morsels given the Japanese chicken wing treatment, coated in a thin, sweet soy glaze. I liked it but was craving the typical, dry karaage fried lightly in starch. I do wish the bowls had been served hotter. They use thin noodles (apparently made in-house?!) and wanting to retain the noodle consistency is one excuse for serving a broth less than boiling hot, but the noodles got soggy quickly anyway. Manager and staff are friendly. Actual Japanese people come here willingly! 10% student discount helps with the £8 pricetag.

I used to be a loyal Murasaki customer for years, ordering curry udon and curry rice with karaage…read morechicken. But in the last year, quality and taste has gone downhill. It seems like the restaurant has changed hands as the sauce and chicken is different and they've reduced the portion sizes however maintaining prices. Might just depend on Wagamama for my Japanese takeaway from now on.

Undoubtedly one of the best Japanese restaurants in Brighton. That's quite an assertion to make,…read morebut if you've been there yourself you'll know what I'm talking about. If you like your sushi then perhaps try the Sushi Bento (5 pieces of nigiri sushi: salmon, tuna, prawn, mackerel & squid, 3 pieces of vegetable hosomaki, 2 pieces of futomaki, fishcakes plus edamame & pickles & a drink). However, since this is an Isakaya restaurant and not strictly sushi, there are plenty of other items on the menu to choose from including udon noodles and their tapas choices. My personal favourites have to be the Daikon & Seaweed salad in a Plumleaf dressing and Hash Browns in Teriyaki sauce. These is Japanese diner cuisine at its best.

I'm spoilt. As well as having a Yo Sushi and Wagamamas within walking distance, I also have the…read morebest sushi take-away on my door-step. Murasaki Bento is closed Mondays but for the rest of the week, I can impulsively order great sushi, noodles, rice or tempura dishes. Or even better, I can treat myself to a bento box that combines all of the above! The food is fresh and delicious, the prices reasonable - around £4-£6 for individual dishes and £10-£12 for a bento box - and they deliver. I haven't tried the satsuma age fishcakes, the vegetable gyoza or the sukiyaki udon yet but the terriyaki don salmon, pumpkin korroke, prawn katsu, veg tempura and futo-maki sushi are all finger-lickin' good.

Murasaki Bento is our dependable takeaway here in Brighton. Although their sushi isn't…read moreaward-winning, their curry dishes are delicious. My husband and I always order the curry rice and curry udon with karaage chicken and we have not been disappointed! Delivery service also is pretty good - usually arrives between 45-60 minutes after it's ordered.

The young man at the counter was NOT pleasant. We were in to celebrate the birthday of a friend…read more The broth was bland, at best. Limited options and NO willingness to deviate from the menu. We ordered hot sake and it was ice cold. Then he had an attitude when asked to make it right. NO apology or sincere concern about our enjoyment. Please avoid this place. AND they ran out of proper sake glasses and offered a water glass so gauche!!

Not the biggest place, but I think that is part of it's charm. Squeezed into the The Lanes in…read moreBrighton, the menu is simple and tasty. The service is efficient. Just the kind of place you need when you just want something hearty to eat. I'll let the photo do the talking. try it, you won't be disappointed.

This place is really popular and it's easy to see why!The budae jiggae portion was insanely big, so…read moremuch so that my friend and I had to take almost the entire pork udon home. The soup broth was so flavorful and they add a lot of different things in too :) I remember hearing a bunch of other customers pass our table and talk about how good the budae jiggae looked haha

This food was AMAZING!! We happened to stop by on a day trip to Brighton and I am so glad we did…read more We ordered the budae jjigae and udon with pork. The budae jjigae was so flavorful and I often dream about it. There were so many things in it including dumplings, rice cake, spam, mushroom, onions, kimchi, ramen, and so many other things! And the serving size was HUGE. The udon was great as well and the noodles were super soft. The sauce on it was immaculate!!

By now, everybody knows why high end Japanese cuisine is lovely - delicacy, craft, freshness,…read moresubtlety - the adjectives come tripping freely from the teased and delighted tongue. E-Kagen serves the other thing - the big, robust unsubtle Japanese food that fills you up and isn't nearly so polite about it. As such, despite being older, it is still among the more exciting places to eat Japanese food in Brighton. Wonderfully cheap, the ramen has punch, depth and comes beaded with soul-nourishing grease. I'm obsessed with Kimchi and the Kimchi ramen is orientalist soul food: hot, filling, spicy and with half a boiled egg in it. The perfect Sunday breakfast with the second best people watching in North Laine. Don't bother with the Sushi - I'm sure it's fine, but it feels like a necessary addition to a menu forced to court expectations - go for a proper hot meal and leave stuffed and happy.

I have mixed feelings about E-Kagen. I used to be a huge fan but been slightly disappointed with my…read moreexperiences the last couple times i went. Firstly, the food is great. I love their age-tofu, their kimchi ramen, and their katsu curry with egg. Their ramen is really standout, very fair pricing and fresh. Their sushi is good quality, some of the best quality you can get in Brighton, but portions are SMALL. If you are hungry or a big eater, be prepared to shell out lots of ££ if you're there for sushi. Problems - their weird and ever-changing opening hours. I feel like they change them all the time! I feel like I can never plan to go there because I'm not sure it will be open. Service - is friendly, but sporadic. I mean waiting forever to get tap waters, having to ask for share plates and the server being confused, and the last time i went the missed out on one of our mains (mine! :() so i had to wait another 15 mins while everyone else ate. All the problems being said - I still go back because if I want ramen or sushi, this is still my favourite.

Kokoro is in my top 3 for sushi places. Never had a problem with my food from here my go to order…read moreis the sweet and sour chicken bowl with rice, seaweed onigiri and the salmon dragon roll this hits my craving everytime. Ive never been in but the delivery comes quick ive had to call once but only because the driver went to the wrong door but even then the person i talked to was very polite.

I'm very mixed in my thoughts about that place. I can remember and delightful chicken and rice with…read moresauve and fresh ingredients, but my partner was sick because of rotes avocados in sushis. Maybe you should try to not serve that much of dishes, because you can't handle that. If you are perfect with chicken, but serving rotten avocados, where is the point to go to Kokoro? You can spot black dots on the avocado when it's rotten, and trust me it smells really bad. Just because of that I can't go back to Kokoro, it's dangerous to get poisoned by food, plus, an avocado is easy to find in a fresh condition every morning, or maybe you're just trying to save money and buy then weekly? Shame if I'm right. Plus, I should say that the service is very rude, they are not smily, not funny, quite sad or mad at you, I don't even know why are you doing this job if you can't bare customers? And I think I got scammed because I'm not a native, because I was overpaid for noodles, so hopefully I know how to count my £ to avoid that :).