'Asta' (as I like to simply call it) - I have no idea of the '3' moniker, or indeed where the first…read moretwo went - is as genuine a Japanese canteen as you'll find in London. I was lucky enough to, along with a colleague, be taken here on several occasions for a quick lunch by a client (indicative of how welcoming the Japanese are!) By 'genuine' I mean no dumbed-down menus, no super-slick interiors to detract from potentially average food, and no gimmicks of any kind. The place is staffed and run by Japanese nationals as any self-respecting Japanese restaurant should be - and perhaps more importantly, frequented by them regularly, too. Service is smiling and attentive and no more that it needs to be. The food is inexpensive (~£6-8 for a bento, £7-11 for ramen, udon or donburi) and so tasty. On my most recent trip I had beef ramen with tan tan (sesame paste) soup base, and my brother had salmon teriyaki on brown rice. Both dishes had generous proportions of meat/fish, and the donburi came with a side salad and pickles. The unagi (eel) is also lovely, and the place does an extensive line in pick-your-soup base noodle bowl dishes where you have the option of shoyu, miso, and sesame as mentioned above, among others. I can't speak for the takeaway bento, but they looked pretty solid and of a decent quality. Drinks come in the familiar (Coke etc) and the more, um, 'traditional' - aloe vera juice, Pocari, cold bottled green and black teas and others. This place is rather hidden away on the fringes of the City, behind Aldgate station on the Petticoat Lane side. In many ways it's a great location as it's very much a local haunt, and in others a little frustrating as even if you're working in the City it can be a fair walk to get there and back! My advice would also be to get there early (between midday and half-past) to ensure a seat, as well as before some of the more popular items on the menu disappear. In brief summary, I couldn't really recommend this place enough if you're in the area. You'll get multi-kudos from any friends Nippon friends (or appreciators of their incredible cuisine) and have a lunch to beat the hell out of an uninspired sandwich / soft-drink combo whilst spending a similarly scant amount of your hard-earned cash. As your fellow diners would say: "itedakimas!"

I wish I could give this place 10 stars because it is simply amazing. For lunch I got a chicken…read moreteriyaki be to box. Their rice is so delicious I could eat it alone without any other dish. The chicken was tender and flavourful and I really liked the fried potato thing that came with the side. Another great thing about Asta is that with bento boxes you can pick a variety of cold side dishes. I recommend the cucumbers and the rice noodles. Will be back!!

The ramen shop is a bit tight but does have lots of seating. The service is good…read more The ramen. This a tonkotsu shop so the noodles are thin. The soup was really decent. I got the Cha-Mori. It was not worth it. The slices of meat were too thin. The regular tonkotsu x would have been good enough. The hanjuku egg was not worth the extra as well. Instead of paying extra for the meat and egg, order a bowl of rice. There is plenty of small chunks of chashu and would go well to eat together after the noodles are gone.

4-ish stars rounded up. Pretty solid ramen shop!…read more I ordered the gekikara and it was pleasingly spicy; not chugging-water-spicy but still in-your-face-spicy. :p Very flavorful broth but as a nitpick it was a tad overly salty. Decent chashu pork belly; tasty but not the most succulent. Well-seasoned tan-tan minced pork but on the dry side. I requested kata (firm) noodles but the noodles were pretty soft.....still enjoyable to eat though. As for my drink I had the homemade jasmine tea lemonade. Kinda over-brewed-bitter lol. Very polite and attentive service (pretty much boosted my rating)! Overall I'd say this spot is a recommend from me if you already happen to be in the area.

Table service was great. We got in just before closing and they were still very kind and…read moreaccommodating! Great experience! A great little place.

We enjoyed very attentive service, great recommendations, and delicious food. We hadn't…read moreexperienced a cooktop Japanese meal prior to visiting Abeno. While this dish was delicious, the highlight was the house specialty, noodles and vegetables wrapped in an egg pancake. This was a great spot for a light meal before (or after) the British Museum! Definitely a new Japanese food experience for us, as we are used to tempura, sushi and rolls.

This place is awesome. Walked in and felt like I was in another country, Japan. The layout,…read morepresentation, staff and most of the customers here are Japanese. Talk about authentic, this place is a gem. Just got out of a concert and needed food badly, found out this place opens late. Walked in at 10.40pm and they still took orders. Has a wide selection of sushi, sashimi and set meals. Meal sizes are just nice and the prices are decent. High quality meat, tastes lovely Lovely staff, quick service and lovely ambience. It's a nice place to chill, and have drinks. Enough seats for couples, groups and families. I wouldn't say it's kids friendly cause it feels like a place where adults come in to let go some steam after a long day (maybe it's because I'm here at almost 11pm). Also no space to park a stroller. I'm going to come back here to chill DF out lol

We are so sad. This used to be a very reliable, authentic Japanese restaurant, but now has gone…read moredownhill. French Beans with Sesame Dressing had perfectly-cooked beans, but the dressing lacked depth of flavour and the portion was tiny. Ten Zaru Soba (cold buckwheat noodles with tempura) had tasteless, watery dip. The noodles were cooked nicely, but Tempura was very greasy. Sake Shioyaki - grilled salmon with salt - was very small and was just plonked on top of lettuce; presentation was awful. The rice portion was very mean, too. Very bad value for money.

As we look for places to eat amongst coworkers, we decided to go to a Japanese place. Not being…read morefamiliar with places to eat here in London, I looked to Yelp, and of course someone from our hotel recommended this place too. So I can say it wasn't bad at all, but it wasn't the beat Sushi I have had. I would go back for sure as the service was good, minus my coworkers chicken dish took forever to come out, as we kept having to check on it. The Uni was definitely not a bad batch as it had a sweetness and creamy texture that I would expect. Amaebi was not the larger shrimp with the fried heads, so not what I was expecting. As for the Natto Rolls, I could tell you that our young waitress made a surprising face, which made me laugh, as I could tell she was from Japan, as I was told not many Japanese even eat Natto. Of course I had to ask later and she is not a fan. Hahaha... I enjoyed it though. Enjoy.

As another reviewer says, this is an undiscovered gem! Hidden away inside an arcade, it was filled…read moreon a weekday evening with mostly Japanese patrons. Plenty of wait staff who were quite attentive, including some who were preparing table side shabu shabu (cooking thinly sliced meat and veggies in a broth). They have a huge menu with an unusually wide selection of small dishes as well as the usual entrees. I ordered their ten piece nigiri (17 GBP), grilled miso black cod (12 GBP), and salmon belly age dashi (cooked lightly in a daikon soy based sauce) (7 GBP). All were excellent including with fresh not powdered wasabi root. Super affordable, high quality with great service -- what's not to like!

I have to say, the plain decor/ambience here really belied how delicious the food was. I ordered…read morethe large pork katsu curry rice, which similarly looks plain but was unexpectedly good. The katsu itself had really tender meat with a nicely crispy exterior without being too oily. The curry had a lovely, rich flavour that complemented the katsu and rice well. Price point was fantastic -- I'd love to come again to try some of their yummy curry and noodle options.

Misato is a Japanese restaurant located in London's Chinatown. Most of the reviews made Misato seem…read moreto be a pretty promising place to dine for sushi. We decided to hop over there to try a few of their rolls. Unfortunately we were in a bit of a time crunch and would have appreciated if they offered takeout/ take-away, however, they do not. Only dine in is available here... which is kind of out the norm coming from the US. This restaurant is quite authentic though, owned by Japanese! We were hoping to find Caterpillar roll or some roll with avocado and protein; they do not have a wide selection. We ended up just getting an avocado roll, which was simply sushi rice, seaweed, and avocado.

Holy God were they a perfect end to a really great night and took pity on a bunch of us who showed…read moreup desperate after a show - but man that ramen!!!!! I had the black garlic tonkatsu, one mate had the OG and the other the white, and we shared chicken karage and pork dumplings. It was all AMAZING. And the area is just kind of idyllic.

10/10 !!! Excellent food & service. The ambience is on…read morepoint. Shoryu is warm, comfortable and welcoming. This place is a must try!

This upscale Japanese restaurant is located on the lower ground floor of the Millennium Hotel, just…read moreoff Grosvenor Square. It's lavish traditional Japanese decor that includes medieval battle tapestries and samurai armour sets the setting for some of the best authentic Japanese food in London. The choice on the menu is significant, offering many traditional Japanese dishes, as well as some variety with a unique angle. The choice and quality of sushi are among the best I've encountered. I also enjoyed their interesting beef burger, prepared with Japanese recipe but in the western manner. The staff are extremely welcoming and attentive and the overall atmosphere is comfortable and pleasant within this basement location. This kind of place will most likely attract you to come back again and again.

A dungeon-like hidden gem. It looks like a back-alley takeaway on the outside (well, practically)…read more Don't be put off by it. Go inside. Descend the stairs. Inhale the incense. And prepare yourself for pure, simple, sushi delightfulness. Staff were incredibly friendly, explained the menu options, and food came at the right time, with the nicest presentation, and tasted delicious. My personal favourite was the sushi, although I was misled by the prawn tempura roll, thinking it was a hand roll. It was just maki. Oh well. Yum nonetheless!! Would not recommend it for a (rowdy or not) group for friends, as it's very very quiet, eclectically lit and patrons seem to want to keep it that way. (discussions were not escaping tables, with the notable exception of one older adventurous American gentleman who recently came back from Peru) This is the kind of restaurant you take someone you fancy, to whisper to her throughout dinner, and then surprise her (well, assuming she'd like to be surprised, and won't slap you in the face for being presumptuous!) with a room at the Millennium hotel upstairs afterwards. Oh yeah If you sit near the back, go have a peek at the shogun armour :)

Can't say enough about this place. Atmosphere has to be five stars...they even have their own…read moreplaylist on Spotify! It's a vibe for sure. Great mix of young, more sophisticated older, families, and singles. Favorite spot for us was in the lounge facing the bar. We loved people watching as parties arrived. Service is attentive without being obtrusive and all those that brought anything to our table did so with a pleasant smile. The food is the star. We had lunch here, thought it was so good, we went back for dinner. We loved that it was the same menu! What we ordered: Salty Edamame - 5/5 Black cod gyoza - 5/5 Fried Tofu - 10/5 Yellowtail Hamachi - 10/5 Seared Salmon - 10/5 We dipped our edamame in the sauce! Seared tuna - 5/5 Beef Skewers - 5/5 Grilled Chilean Sea Bass - 20/5 My husband poured the sauce over a bowl of rice to finish! We finished with the pecan pie & sweet potato ice cream - 5/5 Loved the Japanese Kokuto bites!

Omg the food is amazing the atmosphere is beautiful and everyone is so kind. One of my favorite…read moreplaces!

Stumbled upon Street Food Union while walking around the area. Great variety of foods to choose…read morefrom.

Incredible prices on great food, much of which is made to order/your preference. Vendors rotate…read morethroughout the week, so one day you may have fanciful mini cakes with Kinder eggs atop frosting, others you'll have piping hot paella served out of gargantuan pans. More comfort foods include burgers with fried eggs, burritos, falafel, and other delicacies from all over the world. Every vendor is very kind and willing to take the time to tell you the story behind the food. Conveniently located on Rupert street, which is a stone's throw from the Berwick Street market (where you can pick up produce, organic milk, etc), it's a great one-stop trip during your lunch break or midday adventure. Prices are incredibly reasonable for every dish, portions are huge, and they have tables and benches set up to festively eat right there on the street. These folks work really hard, they set up and break down their tents and cooking stalls every day they're in operation, and never leave a mess in the street. A must-try if you're central in Soho.