Scallop Sashimi
Pasha Central Asian

Pasha Central Asian

158 Camberwell Road, London I-SE5 0EE, United Kingdom

Uzbek • Asian • Coffee • Turkish


"Once inside, you can choose to sit at a regular table or in a low seating area surrounded by plush cushions, which I highly recommend. The restaurant was quite empty when we visited, with only two other patrons, yet it felt peaceful and inviting—a calming experience enhanced by the journey through the narrow corridor. We started with Turkish coffee, which tasted like a lighter version of espresso. For appetizers, we ordered icli kofte, and I have to say it was truly amazing—crispy and fresh with a perfect balance of flavors, and the taste of the lamb was exceptional. For the main course, we tried besh barmak, and it was absolutely delicious! The broth was well-balanced, and the delicate beef was served with a pasta that was reminiscent of lasagna. It was simply outstanding. We also ordered a chicken alaturka, which was good but didn’t quite measure up to the previous dish. From the grill, we had the adana shashlik, which was underwhelming. To finish, we ordered black tea served with chak chak, which complemented the tea wonderfully and left us feeling very satisfied. The portions were generous, and the flavors were harmoniously balanced. The most remarkable aspect of the restaurant was its ambiance; it felt so much like home that we ended up staying for four hours without wanting to leave. Our server was incredibly friendly and enthusiastic, happy to discuss the food and the restaurant with us. I’m already looking forward to my next visit!"

Sushiya

Sushiya

19 Dalry Road, Edinburgh, EH112BQ, EH11 2BQ, United Kingdom

Food • Sushi • Asiatic • Seafood


"Sushiya is nestled between two other much bigger buildings on Dalry Road near Haymarket and if you blink you 'll probably miss it as it 's only around a third of the size of its neighbours. My little sister is somewhat obsessed with all things Japanese, so when she came up to visit last month, she jumped at the chance of eating at an authentic Japanese restaurant. We had Inari and chicken Yakitori for starters (along with a cup of very unremarkable green tea) which were both very nice but perhaps a tad too pricey at what amounted to £3 a mouthful. Fearing the same cost/size ratio from the sushi we opted to order from elsewhere on the menu. I had chicken teriyaki (with a bowl of miso soup) whilst my sister plumped for a bowl of chicken ramen; and by bowl I mean vat that dish was freakin ' huge! Both are fairly staple dishes for a Japanese restaurant and were equally acceptable if not outstanding but what struck me about both (especially when taking into consideration what I said about the size of the starters) is that this place 's portion control is way out of whack the mains were huge and I struggled to finish mine, my sister gave up halfway through. That 's not the worst thing in the world but I can 't help but feel that I would have been happier paying slightly less for a portion I could have comfortably managed. That 's not to sound like I 'm being cheap (besides the non sushi mains a very reasonably priced anyway) it 's just that I 'm begrudged to leave food I 've paid for. As opposed to stole. Obviously. The service was okay and the waitresses were friendly enough but we did wait for around forty five minutes for our main courses to come. As for its facilities, the interior is small but well kept. It just about barely escapes feeling cramped when full but that 's the kind of setting you come to expect from communal eating bars like these. Size then is an obvious limitation for small lunch bars so it proved to be somewhat surprising when customers were continually turned away due to the establishment being full despite the fact that there was an unoccupied reserved table big enough for a party of seven who (I learned from overhearing the waitresses) were already over half an hour late. Surely this isn 't good business sense; I understand that a reservation of seven is certainly better than the prospect of no custom at all but at the same time there needs to be a line drawn where you lose your reservation and it 's your fault. The seven eventually swaggered in with no hint of apology or excuse as to their tardiness. I hated them a little bit. Whinge and moan from me then and it 's certainly not directed at the restaurant itself it 's more because a) I deplore lateness and b) I really want to see little restaurants like this stay open; they 're three a penny in other parts of the world but we genuinely don 't have all too many of them in the UK and it 's poorly behaved customers along with the reluctance to discipline them (i.e. by cancelling their reservation) which threaten their very existence. All in all then, Sushiya proved very acceptable for a Saturday lunch. I 'm not all too sure I 'd go out of my way to go there again, or that the mood would ever strike me to just pop along; but for aficionados of Japanese cuisine, it 's certainly worth a look. The Water Situation: Water served happily and without fuss."

Miyako at Andaz

Miyako at Andaz

40 Liverpool Street London, EC2M 7QN, United Kingdom

Fish • Beer • Wine • Sushi


"Service was very gracious. My leg is currently in a cast, and I arrived by wheelchair. The waiter helped us manoeuver over the step into the restaurant and around some of the tight corners. The waiter very helpfully prevented us from over ordering by suggesting we hold off on getting tempura until the rest of the food had arrived. We indeed didn't need the tempura after all. The tiny restaurant wasn't crowded at Monday lunchtime. There two other couples and a little group of Japanese businessmen. Our orders arrived very swiftly and the yakitori was kindly held back while we munched happily on salad and maki rolls. We shared maki rolls (salmon skin, california, spicy tuna) as well as yakitori and wafu salad. Attention to detail on the maki rolls was really impressive. For one thing, the rice was at the correct temperature. All too often, sushi rice is served too cold. The compression of the rice was just right too. Not falling apart when dipped in soy, but not noticeably compact either. The tuna in the spicy maki rolls had a beautiful texture and was a nice uniform cut. No scruffy scraps in the maki rolls here, which is all too often the case elsewhere. The tobiko in the california rolls was generous and there was flesh as well as skin in the crispy salmon skin rolls. Portion sizes for the wafu salad and chicken yakitori (not grilled over charcoal) were both generous. Both good, but otherwise not particularly remarkable. For dessert we shared mochi ice cream. We had one piece each of green tea, vanilla and chocolate, though we were offered a choice. The chocolate was stunning, being of good quality dark bitter chocolate, rolled in cocoa. Next time we will have three chocolate mochi, thank you. All of the flavours were pleasant though, and not overly sweet. Dessert was garnished with fresh berries and small slices of rice crispy square containing a little black sesame. In summary, we had high quality sushi that was priced accordingly. For those not constrained by office lunch hours I would urge people to take the 20% discount offered in the afternoon between 14:00 and 17:00. If I had taken the price more into account I would have rated Miyako 3.5 instead of 4. Wine is exhorbitant, with the cheapest white priced at £26 a bottle."