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

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

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

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

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