Chicken Karaage Chicken Karaage
Okasan Sushi

Okasan Sushi

301 Portobello Road, London, W105TD, W10 5TE, United Kingdom

Fish • Soup • Sushi • Coffee


"Okasan, meaning Mother in Japanese, is a bijou restaurant on the fashionable Portobello Road in W10. A yearning for a plate of sashimi, tempura and some dumplings drew me in to have a final treat before the rigours of co-running my own food business set in after a brief and well deserved break. My companion, a lover of Japanese salad dressings ordered a simple salad, chicken karaage, deep fried chicken and ginger with a spicy mayonnaise and we agreed on a delicate Pinot Girgot blush, a Sospiro priced at £17.00. The salad arrived first and the dressing was so good I had to beg the waitress to tell us what the ingredients were. The chef duly obliged. It was a mix of vinegar, peanuts, sugar, apple juice, water, salt, vegetable oil, sesame seeds and soy sauce. Knowing what is in your food doesn't mean you can recreate the same taste, but I'm going to give it a damned good try. It was simply sensational. Next came the steamed and pan fried dumplings; little golden nuggets of yumminess. My sashimi was spankingly fresh and served with the usual wasabi and the thin slivers of ginger had the perfect tartness to marry with the oily fish. If I had a little gripe it was that there was no daikon, the shredded Japanese radish (or mooli) that has a lovely crunch to it and nearly always accompanies it. The deep fried chicken that had been marinated in soy and ginger was delicious and the spicy mayo packed a punch. I don't recall ever seeing mayo on a Japanese menu before, (this was mayo mixed with chili sauce) but it worked. The wine, ice cold and very pleasant quaffing vino to boot slipped down all too easily. Being a greedy git I then ordered some prawn tempura, the batter of which was light as a feather and a crispy, heavenly coating for the juicy king prawns inside. A double espresso later and the bill came to £60. Japanese food is never cheap (especially when you think of the price of sashimi grade fish which only lasts a day at most) but the flavours, the delicacy, the quality of a good Japanese experience is well worth the price in my book and that's exactly what we had. I'm already looking forward to the next visit."

The Ark

The Ark

42-46 North Fredrick Street, G1 2BS, Glasgow City, United Kingdom

Pubs • Food • Cheese • American


"I attend this pub a minimum of once a month with my father to catch up and enjoy a few drinks and atmosphere. Been doing this since the place opened. Will not be going back after today due to the poor Qaulity door staff and policy 's being made up on the fly. I booked a table one week in advance as I usually do and when I arrived as I went to walk in a young man maybe 18 stood in front of me and told me to not dare walk past him he had in plain cloths and nothing identifying him as a doorman such as an sia badge(turned out had it on his waiste under his coat deliberately obscured) he efused me entry as I had on jogging bottoms. I was told by the doorman this is a breach of the dress code/uniform policy. When I queried this policy as I 've been coming to this pub regularly for 10 years his response was he was denying me entry as 99% of fights he breaks up where people with jogging bottoms on. . While I 'm standing there two customer came outside for a smoke one with joggers on and another with shorts he then refused the customer who was already in admittance back on to the premises but let the shorts back in. When that customer asked to go back in and get his jacket and a refund he was refused, it took his partner to come out to get his stuff. I asked to speak to the manager as I had booked a table and ordered drinks which where at the table as my father had arrived before me, he said I was not entitled to a refund on site and would need to contact them via email. I then asked to speak with the manager and he responded with no. I had.to phone my father who was already within the premises(with jogging bottoms I might add) and ask him to grab the manager who eventually came out, I asked where the dress code was stated and she could not direct me to anything but she had made the decision on the day and that 's it even though the majority of customers inside already where weathering joggers. I got so frustrated by this interaction I started recording for evidence and the door mane then told me that unless I stopped recording my father would not be getting a refund for the table/beer he had purchased for my arrival. While I complelty understand some premises have dress codes they should be clearly marked online and not be changing day to day let alone during a day after people are already in the pub. The manager refused to provide any kind of complaint details aswell. Cannot believe after so many years of attending this place to be met with this, the doorman was needlessly confrontational from the get go and just making stuff up on the spot."