Chicken Yakitori Chicken Yakitori

Grilled skewered chicken with savory soy glaze and scallions, a classic Japanese delight.

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."

Wagamama

Wagamama

Argus Lofts, 30 Kensington St, Brighton, BN14AJ, BN1 4AJ, United Kingdom

Tea • Juice • Asian • Chicken


"The experience started off fantastically. Charlie, our table attendant arrived promptly; was super friendly and took our drinks and main course orders quickly. (Giving requested guidance, on request . The four of us were really impressed with our restaurant find (including one very happy vegan . Yay, Wagamamas what a great place. THEN it went downhill faster than a n alpine landslide. We were left sitting at our table with finished main course plates (to be clear, some had efficiently been cleared quickly but not those who had finished after. This was the end of the honeymoon stage. We sat, and we sat and we sat. The restaurant emptied out from buzzing and full to sparse (we are talking 8.30 9.00 pm Bank Holiday Weekend. . Everything we needed required a call out to a (not busy waiter such as water, extra glass of wine; dessert menu. This was the worst bit... on an adjacent table, while we were waiting (forever for someone (maybe the enthusiastic original Charlie? to come and ask us what dessert we wanted sat some members of staff laughing happy (pleased for you eating a meal. Picture the scene. Customers sitting waiting for order for food; staff eating at next table . Most of us humans are kind and know that staff need food too but this timing was unbelievable.... it was like us, on the adjacent table, sitting there, were invisible. So now we have an almost empty restaurant; quite a lot of staff clearing up condiments or eating and us, still sitting there. What a real disappointment. Wagamamas provides delicious food; (I really enjoyed the vegan curry.. thanks chefs you saved the day but the one in Brighton needs some proper management to oversee the service. Really, this is some of the worst, disrespectful service I have received in a very long time. It started so promisingly and ended so disappointingly. PS, I asked a member of staff what went wrong and he told me that because it had gone suddenly quiet, they sent members of staff home so ended up understaffed. Wagamama no wonder you were quiet. Chefs your food is great; Managers get the staff to give the service the food providers deserve. What as waste and what a perfect example of terrible management."