Tsunami W1

A small but smart Fitzrovia offshoot (the first) of the popular and well-established Clapham Japanese establishment of the same name; on our early-days lunch, the food tended to unremarkable.

At its best, the food at the long-established Clapham Japanese, of the same name, is very good indeed, so we were rather disappointed by our early-days visit to its new Fitzrovia offshoot.

It’s a sweet place, smartly decorated in a cosy contemporary style, and the staff try hard, but the premises are constrained in size to an extent that going to make it hard to generate much atmosphere.

It was the food, though, that hit an off-note on our early-days visit. We didn’t sample the menu extensively, but we were underwhelmed by both the sushi and the tempura. And if they can’t get those right…

We passed on pudding. The food to that point hadn’t exactly thrilled us, and the £6-£7 prices just seemed de trop. Even if daytime bills do attract a worthy 20% discount, such high prices seem to us to be out of kilter with the times.

We know it’s very boring banging on all the time about the recession, but you can’t help feeling that some restaurateurs just don’t ‘get it’.