I came to this restaurant as it was recommended to me as one of the best Japanese restaurants in London.

Although it was relatively good, it didn't quite live up to the hype, and I felt that for the price, it could've been better.

We ordered a variety of dishes between 2. The chicken karaage, agedashi nasu (aubergine), and spicy salmon sushi to share as sides, and we also ordered the saba no misoni (mackerel with miso) and Asakusa udon as our mains.

I felt it was a shame that they didn't have any bento or set menus, which included rice/miso soup with the main dish like a lot of other Japanese restaurants.

The chicken karaage was very crispy and delicious, and I would recommend asking for Japanese mayonnaise to go with it as it doesn't come as a standard.

The agedashi nasu was nice, but it came with a tempura prawn and some fish eggs on top, which I felt wasn't necessary for a simple dish. The Saba misoni was cooked well and had delicious flavour with plenty of sauce, but it was a little bit too salty, so you wouldn't want to have all the sauce.

I also tried a bit of the Asakusa udon, which came with a variety of toppings, but I felt that it wasn't really necessary and made it more expensive at £22.

Lastly, we finished all our foods, but we still hadn't received our sushi until we asked for the bill, and we were about to cancel it, which was extremely slow service (at least 30 minutes after the other dishes were served). The sushi was OK but nothing too special, and I felt that the spicy sauce took away from the original taste of the sushi as it was too spicy.

Chicken nanban might be my favourite Japanese dish so when I saw it in asakusa menu, I realised I need to visit. Booked with no issues and got a seat on the sushi counter. Ordered a pretty wide sample of the menu and I would recommend some rather than other bits. The menu is huge so take care on what you order.

Would not recommend: yakitori, came out quite dry. Mind me that I didn't love it even in Japan but I thought it was weak, also the simmered tuna in soy sauce was tiny and not that great.

Recommend: chicken nanban, quite unknown Japanese dish but it is really something. On the other hand the best thing I had there was sushi. It came just like I remembered it from Japan, huge fish and not much rice. It was also quite affordable I thought.

I would need to mention though that they seem to have confused when to bring rice as they didn't have it ready for chicken nanban. So in the end I ate everything without rice. So perhaps it is worth specifying while ordering. Despite it all I will visit again.

Our 3rd visit to Asakusa and once again it did not disappoint. Service, as always was exemplary and the food is simply fantastic. We had Gyoza to start, followed by Miso soup. My friend had the Salmon Teriyaki and I had the Beef Shogayaki all washed down with the very reasonably priced House Sake, can't wait to eat there again.

Pricey but tasty. As a regular, I know I can find reliable Japanese food here. Thank you chef for the wonderful dishes. The staff are generally friendly especially the gentleman at the front desk.

2nd visit—

Spinach with sesame is amazing. One of the best seasoned I’ve had.

Fried tofu is so soft and crispy.

Veggie gyoza is really good, even better than the pork gyoza from a meat eater’s perspective.

Grilled onigiri tastes crunchy and delightful.

Karaage is very juicy and tender.

Takoyaki can have a bit more octopus. Sukiyaki as well as miso eggplant is on the sweeter side. The meat is rather thick but lean and still not too tough.

The cork fee of £30 is outrageous though. I’m willing to pay £10, but £30 is more expensive than my wine lol.

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Asakusa Udon is for someone who struggles to make choice like me. Unagi and mochi and chicken and ebi tempura all in a bowl. The strange combination coexist harmoniously.

Came in after afternoon nibbles so I gave up more solid dishes. Looking forward to try some sashimi or kaisendon next time. (And unfortunately, one of the sashimi order on our table is forgotten.)

Authentic food and good service. A bit on the pricey side, but still more reasonable than many similar places in London