Earlier this year I wrote about the largely underrated Nizuni in Charlotte Street. A Japanese restaurant, with a Korean accent in its cooking, it is owned by the same people who operate the crowd pleasing Koba, which is incidentally close by. So I returned for a quiet Friday night dinner to celebrate the coming weekend, and was largely impressed with the sushi, fairly priced, well portioned, not particularly groundbreaking, but the fish they use are of a reasonably high quality and the maki (sushi rolls) are fairly large. Salmon Skin Roll (£4.50) and Negi-Toro Roll (£5.50). Crispy salmon skin centre and juicy fatticilious chopped tuna belly. Rock and roll. Chu-Toro, (£3.50 each) and Chicken Gyozas (£4.70). Superb medium fat tuna belly, firm, yet fleshy, yet fatty, tender, fragrant and melt-in-the-mouth fantastic. One immediately wonders where they get their fish from. At times, I feel that a good chu-toro beats otoro for the balance of flavour, with the latter being too oily, too rich and generally too fatty for certain palates. I suppose it’s like choosing between a sirloin (better balance of texture + flavour) versus a ribeye (more fat, more sinews). On a rather serious note, I probably shouldn’t be supporting the over indulgence of tuna belly – in particular bluefin tuna – since this very act contributes to the overall decline of the humble species. On that topic,
Nizuni’s official web portal has the title track to the film Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence (Senjō no Merī Kurisumasu), running in its background. In my opinion, it is Ryuchi Sakamoto’s best sheet of music, he has possibly ever laid down on paper. Beautiful, epic, elegant and heartbreaking. Ryuchi went on to write more cinemagic backing music to more epic films such as The Last Emperor; though I think his best work was for Brian De Palma’s (The undisputed King of the Erotic Thriller) Femme Fatale, starring Rebecca Romijn. Fucking great film, to the tune of a heartbreakingly beautiful soundscape. And Ms Romijn. A restaurant owner with such fine taste in music, is an indication that they know how to navigate the path to success in the complicated business of hospitality. And indeed she does, one Linda Lee is also proprietor of the legendary (Barney Stinson style) Korean chillspot, Koba, which is but a stone’s throw from Nizuni’s location in Charlotte Street. All signs point to a Japanese menu awash with inspirations from other worldly cuisines. Unsurprisingly, the Korean factor has made its mark on some dishes on this menu – many of which will likely please the constant grazing sharers amongst us. However, most pleasing of all is probably the paperwood cafe ambiance, taken in concert with the laid back, karaoke bar waitressing, made for a relaxing spot to catch
How many sushi bars do you know, play bossa nova in the background? Out of that lot, how many deliver to your doorstep? And just how many sushi bars boasts an all-female run operation? Assuredly, sushi bars that satisfy all the above are rare,
I write this shuffling in my seat, on a flight bound for Norwegian airspace, and it isn’t often that I dream about London and its murky skies, but here I am, fantasizing about the startlingly magnificent lunch I experienced last weekend at Yashin, the latest addition
Sushi bingeing. The final frontier. The unquestionably orgasmic delight of popping dollop after dollop of a food of an unrelentingly elegant design; low in fat, high in umami, arguably, an invention born of perfection. Some say the combination of raw fish
A firm, yet genteel voice answered the phone. The line was horribly muffled as I struggled to pick out the vowels through the low, low bass. Fum.Fum.Sa.Sa. I think she said, in a deceptively Japanese accent. An awkward silence befell
Twenty quid doesn’t go too far in London, maybe two courses. Three if it’s a michelin-on-a-budget. On the otherhand, the Taiwanese have perfected the art of amazingly affordable fine dining on half a shoe string. Back in February, I was over in Taipei for
You might remember my first visit to this excellent sushi bar run by a husband and wife team in Warren street which I wrote about exactly two weeks ago. I loved it, praising the artistry, attention to detail and the sheer brilliance of the cold food. I said I would return for a birthday meal, and I did just that last week. Suffice to say it was yet another enthralling experience, this time there was more of a
Good sushi is as much about skill as it is about availability and accessibility to ingredients. We’ve read about the supremacy of the few top-end Japanese restaurants in London, inaccessibly pricy to most of us, but I think they have played a crucial part in establishing an import route for premium fish to come into the UK, to mostly service the premium clientele,
Food history is always an interesting read. Most of the evolution of modern day food has been esoterically documented, parts of it excitingly shrouded in folklore, but always, food is something inextricable linked to the life of the times. In the case of sushi, we know it’s been around since the 8th century,
Poke says: Interesting what you say about the 'post-fine diner' uprising. In Jeffrey Steingarten's book, he des...
A says: Going by the menu at Iggy's it's pretty unremarkable. Just a lot of expensive ingredients made even...
John Jugalaks says: Are you people aware that this so-called 'restaurant' is run by a pimp and his mistress and that the...
Dkad says: Hi, I have done both, lunch and dinner, and I have to say that I like this place. they sell the who...
Sian says: Aaaah, gorgeous photographs as always. I'm so pleased the food is as gorgeous as the rest of the ...
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My food writing invariably boils down to a caricature of self-indulgent cliched hyperbole or...