Ittenbari review – ramen revelation or revulsion?

Ra-ra-ramen-ra In London’s increasingly crowded restaurant scene, new eateries often need a hook or some unique selling point to pull in the punters. For restaurants drawing on the rich culinary heritage of a foreign country, one easy hook is a dish or regional cuisine underrepresented in the UK. Ittenbari is a new Japanese restaurant specialising [...]

Satsuma review – currying favour

Stylish surroundings, but is the food any good? Satsuma used to be a by-the-numbers Japanese restaurant that could be depended upon for a tasty bowl of udon noodles but little more. The Soho eatery has now been remodelled and reopened as self-touted katsu curry specialists (long-time Londoners will probably remember the dim sum restaurant that [...]

Koi review – budget Finchley Japanese comes a cropper

Finchley’s answer to Ten Ten Tei? Not quite… Ten Ten Tei is my favourite budget Japanese restaurant in London, but that restaurant is located in the West End. Although I’ll willingly travel far and wide for a good meal, not everyone feels the same way. London is a big city after all and not everyone [...]

Hakubai review – a beautiful taste of Japan in New York

This review of a New York restaurant is a break from The Picky Glutton’s usual London-based coverage. During my most recent visit to New York, I stayed at the Kitano Hotel which is, as far as I know, the only Japanese-owned hotel in the Big Apple. Many of the things at the hotel are designed [...]

Shibuya review – sushi Vegas-style

This review of a Las Vegas restaurant is a break from The Picky Glutton’s usual London-based coverage. Of all the restaurants I visited during my recent trip to Las Vegas, Shibuya is my favourite aesthetically. From the semi-abstract video wall looming over the sushi bar to the lattice work on the walls and the combination [...]

Moshi Moshi review – guilt free sushi?

Eye-catching, mouth pleasing. Following my consumption of at least two depleted animal populations during my lunch at Archipelago (bees and eel), I decided to make up for it by seeing if they were any sustainability-conscious restaurants in London. As luck would have it Moshi Moshi, a Japanese restaurant I’ve been meaning to try for a [...]

Tsunami review – Japanese food with style?

I’m a great fan of Japanese food, as you may be able to tell from the number of times Japanese cuisine has appeared on The Picky Glutton, if only because I can stuff my fat face without feeling too guilty about it. London has a large array of Japanese restaurants ranging from those that are [...]

Ten Ten Tei review – The best budget Japanese in London?

Japanese restaurants in London, especially those serving sushi and sashimi, tend to be expensive. Unfortunately, the more reasonably priced ones usually aren’t very good either <cough, Yo Sushi, cough>. An exception to this rule is Ten Ten Tei, a small restaurant in Soho on Brewer Street. The place has a ramshackle, threadbare look to it. [...]

Mushu review – Vegetarian Japanese in Fitzrovia?

I’m a big fan of meat, but I can respect the choice of vegetarians to avoid the bloody stuff. Two of my regular dining companions, the Prancing Hippy and the Flame Haired Squelchie, are vegetarians. Technically, the Hippy is a pescetarian as he does eat fish and other seafood – presumably they don’t deserve his [...]