Restaurant Review: Ikkyu, London
Dec. 1st, 2006 10:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
a_cubedIkkyu, Tottenham Court Road. Japanese cuisine in the heart of London.
Ikkyu is located a few doors south on Tottenham court road from the Goodge Street tube station. It has a street level single doorway leading to stairs down to a basement restaurant. Sorry, no noticeable wheelchair access and it's quite a few steps down if you're not in a wheelchair but still mobility impaired. The first thing one notices on entry is the smell of fish. Not that unusual in a Japanese restaurant serving sushi, but the airflow make it particularly noticable on entry. At the bottom of the stairs directly ahead is the kitchen on the left hand side with "sushi counter" eating places along it. Around behind you to the left is a long-and-thin seating area comprising the bulk of the dining area. The restaurant probably seats in the region of fifty people.
The first thing you notice after the smell is that the bulk of the staff are actually Japanese. Well, you notice this when they talk to you, if you can spot a Japanese accent. This is a nice change from most Japanese restaurants in the West which seem principally, though not universally, to be run by Chinese proprietors with Chinese and/or Korean waiting staff. These Japanese staff are quite accommodating and understanding to Western diners wishing to try out any Japanese they have.
The menu is reasonably broad, particularly considering the size of the restaurant. I've seen a wider selection of Japanese cuisine on offer, but only at the Honda Hotel restaurant in Swindon and Nami in Toronto. The menu has entries in Japanese and English, and reading through it you get the nice surprise. This place is reasonably priced. No, I mean really! A set meal of Salmon or Chicken Teriyaki (together with Miso Soup, bowl of rice and pickles) for under ten pounds. For the heart of London this really is excellent value for money.
The food is pretty quick to arrive, but obviously freshly prepared. It's nicely arranged in a traditional manner. Not being a sushi eater, I can't comment on the quality of their sushi chef, but the set chicken teriyaki meal I had was a decent size meal and "totemo oishikatta desu" (it was very tasty). Disposable bamboo chopsticks (which seem to be pretty environmentally friendly, according to some estimates I've seen). There were a significant number of Asian faces and voices among the diners and, albeit on a Friday night, the place was well booked up - at 18:30 they could give us a table but only provided we promised to be done by 20:15.
If you like Japanese food and ambience, this is definitely worht a visit. Book first on busy nights. You could easily pay twice the price for less worthwhile Japanese food elsewhere in London.
Ikkyu is located a few doors south on Tottenham court road from the Goodge Street tube station. It has a street level single doorway leading to stairs down to a basement restaurant. Sorry, no noticeable wheelchair access and it's quite a few steps down if you're not in a wheelchair but still mobility impaired. The first thing one notices on entry is the smell of fish. Not that unusual in a Japanese restaurant serving sushi, but the airflow make it particularly noticable on entry. At the bottom of the stairs directly ahead is the kitchen on the left hand side with "sushi counter" eating places along it. Around behind you to the left is a long-and-thin seating area comprising the bulk of the dining area. The restaurant probably seats in the region of fifty people.
The first thing you notice after the smell is that the bulk of the staff are actually Japanese. Well, you notice this when they talk to you, if you can spot a Japanese accent. This is a nice change from most Japanese restaurants in the West which seem principally, though not universally, to be run by Chinese proprietors with Chinese and/or Korean waiting staff. These Japanese staff are quite accommodating and understanding to Western diners wishing to try out any Japanese they have.
The menu is reasonably broad, particularly considering the size of the restaurant. I've seen a wider selection of Japanese cuisine on offer, but only at the Honda Hotel restaurant in Swindon and Nami in Toronto. The menu has entries in Japanese and English, and reading through it you get the nice surprise. This place is reasonably priced. No, I mean really! A set meal of Salmon or Chicken Teriyaki (together with Miso Soup, bowl of rice and pickles) for under ten pounds. For the heart of London this really is excellent value for money.
The food is pretty quick to arrive, but obviously freshly prepared. It's nicely arranged in a traditional manner. Not being a sushi eater, I can't comment on the quality of their sushi chef, but the set chicken teriyaki meal I had was a decent size meal and "totemo oishikatta desu" (it was very tasty). Disposable bamboo chopsticks (which seem to be pretty environmentally friendly, according to some estimates I've seen). There were a significant number of Asian faces and voices among the diners and, albeit on a Friday night, the place was well booked up - at 18:30 they could give us a table but only provided we promised to be done by 20:15.
If you like Japanese food and ambience, this is definitely worht a visit. Book first on busy nights. You could easily pay twice the price for less worthwhile Japanese food elsewhere in London.
