Restaurants and pubs

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  • 19Jan

    Address:  1 Station Parade, Uxbridge Road, Ealing Common, London W5 3LD

    Transport: Opposite Ealing Common Station. Parking near the shops gives you one hour – enough to eat your sushi – without the need to resort to paid parking outside the Ramada

    Telephone: 020 88963175

    Website: www.atariya.co.uk

    Date of visit: 19 January 2012

    Costs: You will get enough to eat for £20 or less.

    Wines and beer:  Asahi, Kirin available at £3. Sake and wine available

    Likes and dislikes: straight forward no frill sushi. Fresh fish with excellent rice.

    Cuisine: Japanese (sushi and sashimi)

    Summary:

    This is a new restaurant that has taken over Sushi Haro’s premise just under a year ago. I think that the previous owners must have retired. Heston Blumenthal apparently was a fan of Sushi Haro so I can’t imagine that Sushi Haro went out of business.

    The inside is nearly identical including the pictures and clock. The main difference being the chefs. Instead of the owner and his wife, there are now two sushi chefs and a waitress. Similar to Sushi Haro, they do nothing but different types of sushi and shashimi – no noodles or tempura here.

    Sushi Bar Atari-Ya is a chain with restaurants in Swiss Cottage and Hendon – my Jewish and Muslim friends tell me that sushi is fit for both  kosher and halal diets as it fulfils all the requirements and there is no need to kill the fish in a special way. They also operate a take away in James Street.

    Once you sit down, you will know that this is serious sushi with trained Japanese Chefs. There is a senior chef who will cut the fish and a sous chef who does the rolling for maki sushi.

    You can get a set meal for around £20. I went for the piece by piece menu. Most are priced around £2-4. I had salmon (£2.20), yellow tail (£2.0), tuna (£1.80), flying fish roe (£2.20) and crab roll (£3.20). Ok, crab and roe is not kosher or hahal.

    The fish here is good. The wasabi excellent and the rice just right – slightly vinegary with a hint of sweetness and of course, the rice is both sticky and can be separated into grains with a chewy bite. Excellent place!

     

    E

     

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  • 04Aug

    Address:  12 Argyle Street, The Rocks, Sydney

    Tel: +61 2 9259 5656

    Website: www.sakerestaurant.com.au

    Costs per head:   Starters c.Aus$15, mains c.Aus$25-35, sushi c.Aus$10 per 2-pieces, beer Aus$8 per bottle

    Date of visit: Monday 19th July

    Having been recently featured on the hugely popular Masterchef Australia, my expectations were high when I was told we had secured a table at Sake, located in the ultra-trendy heritage Argyle Precinct in Sydney’s Rocks, close to Circular Quay.

    As the name suggests the influence here is seriously Japanese, and Australian ‘sushi guru’ Shaun Presland serves up some exciting and innovative dishes that offer a modern contemporary take on traditional Japanese cuisine. Our very attentive waitress advises that dishes are meant to be shared and that the food is served tapas-style i.e. randomly as each dish emerges from the pass.

    My host and I are relaxed with the format, and we choose a variety of interesting-sounding dishes from the folded-up menu, split by hot and cold starters, kushiyaki (skewers), mains, salads, soups, sushi, sashimi and maki (rolls).

    First to arrive are some sashimi tacos, one each of salmon and tuna alongside a chilled tomato salsa and washed down with a shot of Kozaemon Junmai sake. The fish is incredibly fresh, succulent and moist, and coupled with the crunchy texture of the taco and the sharp fresh salsa the ensemble is a resounding success – what a great start.

    We follow with a selection of sushi, all sea-fresh and divine, and then a couple of maki rolls, one crispy salmon-skin, the other tuna & avocado, both scrummy. Next up some crispy-skin pork belly bites, served with edamame puree and reduced balsamic teriyaki sauce, and then a selection of vegetable and seafood tempura – crispy light batter and with a delightful dipping sauce.

    An encore of the wonderful tacos and some miso soup finish us off, with everything washed down with clean-tasting Kirin beer.

    The prices are not extortionate, however be warned with this kind of more’ish food, the temptation to eat and eat can easily run up quite a bill. Luckily for me, my host was happy to pick up the cheque.

    For quality Japanese food in a great setting, you will have a struggle to find better.

    Paul Plant

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  • 04Aug
    Address: 119 Liverpool Street, Sydney CBD
    Tel: +61 2 9283 6767
    Costs: Price per dish varies from Aus$3.00 – $8.00
    Date of visit: Tuesday 20th July
    Almost a month into my Australian trip and by now my passion for sushi was fast becoming an addiction. So much so that my Australian hosts were eager to point me in the direction of this Sydney institution, with its long lunchtime queues (“but the wait is worth it”). Everyone wants a seat at the ‘bar’ with its conveyor belt of freshly prepared dishes each on differently coloured plates, denoting the price of the contents. Just like the Yo Sushi concept back in the UK, you stack your empty plates and this informs the waiting staff of how much you owe.
    I take a colleague – an Irish ex-pat who now calls Sydney home, “I wouldn’t live anywhere else” she tells me, despite having just returned herself from New York which she describes as the best city she has ever seen. We are ushered to the bar and receive a communal greeting delivered in unison by the large brigade of cooks and waiting staff – the ‘welcome’ gets a bit tiring after a while as each new diner gets shown to their respective table or place at the bar.
    Once seated we order a couple of diet cokes (we are working after all), and then begin perusing the various plates as they chuntle past. The salmon sashimi looks gleamingly fresh, straight out of an M&S advert, “it’s from Tasmania” I am reliably informed. “Tastes like it’s from heaven” is my gushing reply.
    Some beautifully tender tuna sushi becomes detached from its rice base, which belly-flops into the small dish of soy sauce directly beneath it, sending a wave of brown liquid all over my beige suit. The staff descend upon me with water and cloths, taking my jacket away and daubing my trousers and shirt with hot water. “It won’t leave a stain” they assure me. In my eagerness to get back to the conveyor belt I knock over my diet coke – this is fast resembling a Mr Bean sketch, but the staff (unlike me) are unflustered.
    Calm is restored, and we continue with some prawn and white fish in breadcrumbs, accompanied by a tartare sauce equivalent, sublime. Some salmon roe and then a soft-shell crab roll – all equally delicious. A dish comes past with an accompanying flag announcing Daily Special – it is shark fin. It’s jelly-like appearance make it look a little plastic. I wouldn’t have touched it anyway, knowing the environmentally unfriendly manner in which the shark fin is acquired. Why, I wonder, when there is so much beautiful, tasty, sustainable fish to choose from?
    We take one last plate each before admitting defeat. Stunning food and outstanding value – the whole bill for approx 10 plates plus two drinks gives me change out of Aus$50. No wonder there is always a queue fighting for tables. And they were right, it didn’t stain!
    Paul Plant
     
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  • 18Jan

    Address: 4 West Smithfield, London EC1A 9JX

     

    Telephone number: 0207 489 7033

     

    Website: www.saki-food.com

     

    Date of visit:  15 January 2010

     

    Approximate cost per head: From £10 but it is more likely £30

     

    Comments on wine list/beer: Extensive saki list. Pricy wine list. A small bottle of Kirin was £4.30 and cokes at £1.90 per glass.

     

    Summary:

     

    The ground floor is an emporium. There is a display of nail clippers and knives. The nail clippers were around £180 and the knives £300. There is also a cold cabinet full of saki and there were also a few packs of biscuits on another counter. I don’t know what to make of it!

     

    Downstairs – steep staircase! – is a restaurant and a bar.

     

    The restaurant is square shaped with an open kitchen at one end and the usual sushi counter. The tables were arranged in a U shape around the other 3 walls. In the centre was a huge table or rather 4 sushi bars lined in a square shape with bar stools and a Japanese sand pit in the middle. It was very elegantly designed but no table clothes.

     

    We were there for lunch and by 1pm, it was nearly full with a party taking over the centre table.

     

    There is a lunch menu with dishes starting at £10 but the bulk of it were combinations at around £20.

     

    The a la carte menu have sushi and sashimi as well as a few interesting dishes. What captured my eyes were the two omakase menu. The first had the usual combination of meat, fish and sushi/tempura. The top version (all the courses) was priced at £65.50. To pair glasses of wine with the dishes were another £25.50 and to pair saki another £32.50.  There was also a vegetarian version (totally vegetarian) at £65.50. However when paired with premium saki was another £45. 24 hour notice is required for the vegetarian version. So take note! I am going to give it a go when I win the lotto (jackpot).

     

    We had the rib eye set lunch  (£17.50) and the tuna and salmon mixed sushi set (£20.50) and a side order of eel nigiri at £8.90 for 3 pieces. The rib eye was sensational. It was char grilled and full of flavour. The sushi set was fine. For the set lunch, you get a freebie starter which was some sort of crab in bread crumbs – not fried. The place is Ok but its not cheap.

     

    Most of the diners were the new exec type – suits, shirts and no ties. Probably New Media agency directors.

    Eddie

     

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  • 12Nov

    Location: 1 Station Parade, Uxbridge Rd, Ealing W5 3LD

    Telephone number: 0208 896 3175

    Website: N/A

    Date of visit: 12 November 2009

    Approximate cost per head:  From £10

     

    Comments on wine list/beer: Sake and beer – very reasonable prices

     

    Summary:

     

    Ok, let’s get the spin out of the way – this is where Heston Blumenthal (Hine Head, The Fat Duck) and Billy Leung (China Palace, Furama, Imperial China) eats sushi. Who is Billy – you might ask. He is the proprietor of 3 Chinese restaurants and I trust his palate re food but not wine.

     

    Let’s also get the negatives out of the way – they only take cash, the place is very spartan and could only do around 20 covers; the opening times are 11.00 – 13.30 and 16.30 – 21.00; they have only one toilet and its unisex.

     

    This said, this is one of the place to eat sushi and sashimi in the UK. The fish is in tip top condition and it’s cheap. I had the mixed sushi B which had 8 pieces of proper fish on rice and came to a grand total of £12. My kirin beer was less than £3. On the day I went, the place was empty but half the tables were booked. They also did a roaring trade in take away (made to order) whilst I was there.

     

    The menu is highly limited and is totally confined to the traditional sushi dishes. You can get miso soup and green tea but that’s about it – no tempura, no ramen ……….

     

    The restaurant is sited opposite Ealing Common station. If you want to park, you can do so round the corner in front of  the Ramada Hotel.

    Eddie

     

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  • 03Nov

    Location: 1030 W Georgia St, Vancouver, Canada V6E 2YS

    Telephone number: +(1) 604 687 8588

    Website: none

    Date of visit: 1 November 2009

    Approximate cost per head: from C$ 10

    Comments on wine list/beer: Cocktails and beer. Wines available but pretty poor.

    Summary:
    Another Japanese in Vancouver but the cooking here is basic – sushi, sashimi, tempura, ramen ……..

    You get a really colourful menu (most dishes photographed) in a huge but well segregated (booths) restaurant in the heart of downtown Vancouver.

    Everything seems to come in combo – boats, bento etc. – and it starts at just over C$10 for big portions.

    The food is very nicely cooked but that’s about it. You get what you see. On the day I went, I had 6 pieces of sushi, 6 pieces of tempura (2 prawns), a bowl of ramen in miso soup and green tea for C$12.50 (ramen combo) from the lunch menu. Well, I can’t complain.

    Kamei Royal is on the 2nd floor (UK equivalent is first floor) of a building sandwiched between the Hyatt and the Fairmount  Vancouver. You also get to see autographs of all sorts of  Chinese  Stars on the wall outside the loo. I didn’t recognise or have heard of any of them except John Woo (the director). Its just shows that the Chinese are prudent – they eat here, whilst their US counterparts (Hollywood stars) eat at Tojo’s – maybe it’s the difference in pay (except John Woo!)

    Eddie@bottlesandcooks.com

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