Covent Garden, Japanese Restaurant Guide

“Vast” and high-ceilinged newcomer, south of Aldwych, from the Japan-based fashion group Onward, whose stark styling (featuring lots of wood) is at odds with the more prosaic offerings typically found in the slightly featureless environs of Temple. On all accounts, its wide-ranging menu (sushi and sashimi, wagyu beef steaks, soba noodle dishes, tempura …) are “very good” and some would say exceptional: “my Japanese friends say this is London’s best authentic Japanese restaurant”.

“The best ramen in London” (“the pork broth is wonderful – there’s nought better on a cold day, when it really hits the spot”) scores nothing but high praise for this small Japanese noodle chain with bars in Soho, Covent Garden and now also in Islington. Top tip – look for the “Burford eggs done just enough with a slightly runny yolk” and “don’t miss the truffle ramen, which is absolutely the best!”

“I love sitting at the counter with my partner, drinking the cocktails and sake, and having the most brilliant food!” – These “chilled” (if “noisy” and “buzzy”) operations hail from the same stable as Zuma, and have carved a formidable following thanks to a Japanese-inspired array of “clean-tasting” fusion dishes, sushi and robata grills, full of “vibrant flavour”. “It all adds up to a wonderful experience, but with a bill to match!” Top Tips – “fantastic weekend brunch menu, with booze included!” at all branches; and “rocking basement bar” at the Charlotte Street original.

“A huge choice of classic Japanese fast food” at “very reasonable prices for central London” make this diner a real “go-to” in Chinatown. The tastes are “authentic – just like in a Tokyo eatery”, although “portions are larger”. There’s a “buzzy atmosphere and cheerful but slightly haphazard service”. Top tip – “bento boxes definitely recommended”.

This “fun and exciting” Soho basement is a Japanese take on the Asian steamed bun phenomenon. Part of the Bone Daddies group, fans say its dishes are “always superbly cooked and presented”, but ratings were dragged down this year by a significant minority who reckon it’s just “overpriced and quite average”. Top Tip: oft-nominated for its brunch.

Well-reputed (slightly hyped) Dalston yakitori café (run by Natalie Lee-Joe & Brett Redman) which wins solid (if not spectacular) ratings for its Japanese small plates. They must be doing something right, as they opened a 50-cover Covent Garden sibling in February 2018, praised in early reports for its “good food and friendly staff”.

“A go-to place for an affordable and tasty Japanese ‘hit’” – this superbly consistent, “authentic” (slightly “dingy” looking) chain is “always full of Japanese diners so you know you’re onto a good thing”. “Prices are not the cheapest-of-the-cheap, but great value for the quality of Japanese food served” including the “real sushi, which bears no resemblance to the factory-produced, over-cooled and formulaic conveyor-belt muck you get elsewhere”. “Daily specials and a wide range of lunch Bento boxes mean they’re always bustling.”

“A genuine import from Japan”; lovers of “decent, authentic noodles” give the thumbs-up to the “authentic” ramen served at the three London branches of this chain originating in Fukuoka, with venues in Holborn, Embankment and Canary Wharf. One aficionado insists they’re actually “better than their Japanese outlets (although twice the price!)”.

“Scandinavian sushi… sounds odd, but it works!” This Danish chain has proved a perhaps-unlikely hit, praised as “a concept that pays off” with enjoyably “fresh” and “eclectic” food and a “lively” style. “It has gotten much more expensive”, however, in recent times, and ratings have dipped accordingly. At the start of October 2018 they opened their biggest site yet on Chelsea’s King’s Road.

What’s not to like at this “fabulous” 39th floor pan-Asian in the Heron Tower (reached by western Europe’s fastest lifts!) – the interior is “very cool”, “the views are to die for” and “the food just sings – punchy flavours of sweet, sour, salty deliciousness”. The answer, unfortunately, is “slow and disorganised service” and “prices even higher than the skyscraper it’s based in” which leave far too many reporters nowadays (including former fans) accusing it of “style over substance”. Its long-awaited new Covent Garden sibling – occupying the dramatic site that has seen many chains come and go (most recently Brasserie Blanc) finally opens in November 2018.