Windsor, Japanese Restaurant Guide

2022 Review: This ultra-stylish boutique hotel reopened in late 2016 after a multi-million-pound, two-year renovation. Its “lovely food choices” run the whole gamut from Japanese dishes through to sourdough pizzas, and a large garden contributes to what's “an ideal spot on the way to Henley”.

This “well-established Twickenham no-frills Japanese restaurant” has an “unchanging menu that never fails to deliver” – “it’s so difficult to get a table and you know why when you eat there: high-quality food at sensible prices”. “Bobby on front of house is great – he knows his locals and welcomes everyone like an old friend”. “The food is fantastic too – we always leave feeling we have had a feast”.

“The best ramen in London, IMO – the rich, porky broth is perfect”, say fans of former pro-cyclist Kazuhiro Kanada’s five noodle bars – in Angel, Piccadilly, Covent Garden, Carnaby and Ealing. “If you’re going to do one thing, do it well, and they do” – so they “deserve the frequent queues”.

2022 Review: This “lovely little Japanese restaurant with a very decent range” is a “very welcome option in Richmond”. Run by a Korean family, it has provided “sterling service” for 17 years.

“Tasty, good-value noodles” in a “relaxed environment” make this 12-year-old London chain (14 branches, plus Brighton and Brum) “worth a visit”. The “ramen is deep and fabulous” if “limited in range (no fish-based dishes except prawn)”, and is augmented by “quite acceptable katsu curry”. Aficionados should head to the Haggerston branch to watch the noodles being made.

2022 Review: “The food is very good” at this “typically impersonal” – but actually, by the standards of the genre, pretty “convivial” – Japanese joint near Ealing Common tube, which serves a variety of set meals at lunchtime and izakaya-style dining in the evening.

“A favourite of local Japanese expats”, this Ealing three-year-old offers a wide range of fresh-made dishes, including sushi, ramen, soba and udon. It’s “not so cheap, but excellent value, and definitely cheerful”. Top Tip – “the daily lunch special is a steal, with plenty of change from a tenner”.