Restaurant Review: Sakura, London

Photo courtesy of nagarazoku via Flickr (CC)

UPDATE: Sakura has moved from Hanover Street to Conduit Street (about 3 minutes walk from the original site). The interior is vastly improved, with pretty lamps along the walls and general lack of 'dinge'. Service is the same, conditions of booking (10 minutes lee-way, all of the party must turn up) still the same, and the menu is mostly unchanged.

Also, since the writing of the post below, I've discovered a few other places to eat Japanese on a Sunday: Yoisho and Yashin Sushi. Know any more?

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Let's play a game. See these gorgeous sakura blossoms? Now close your eyes and imagine a room that embodies their exact opposite traits. There you have it: the interior of Sakura.

Dark, verging on dreary. Well-worn tables, faded paintings, hand-written specials scrawled in bold black marker. Bizarre Japanese gameshows play soundlessly on wall-mounted TVs above. This is light-years away from destination dining, except in the strictest sense of the word.

Only a wallet's throw from Regent Street and the ping of the high street tills, yet take a step inside  and the normal rules of customer service cease to apply. The receptionist and manager look you up and down accusingly. No reservation? The latter pauses to survey the room, for just a moment too long, then nods curtly. You're in luck, this time.

Got a reservation? That's when things get complicated. They warn you on the phone to turn up within ten minutes of your booking, else lose your table. When you do turn up, beware: all members of your party must be present before you can be seated. (Best to give a fake time to any perpetually-late friends.) Lastly, there's some form of minimum order -- somewhere in the region of one to two portions of nigiri.

(No biggie, but given that the last time I triggered this rule, it was late afternoon, the restaurant was half-empty, and I'd popped in for a quick bite with a friend who wasn't hungry, it didn't do much to endear them to me.)

So why, given the threadbare furnishings and less-than-fawning service, do I end up here on an at least  semi-regular basis? 

 

Sundays, that's why. Sakura is the only authentic Japanese restaurant in London to open on Sundays (to my knowledge). Plus, it's as central as you get and the food is decent and affordable -- you can eat well for a tenner and rarely need to spend more than £20 for a slap-up, waddle-to-the-tube-station dinner.

The menu is long and varied, with all the usual suspects (soba, udon, sushi, teriyaki dishes, tekka don, unagi don, etc.) as well as an extensive list of traditional smaller dishes. Sets come with rice, pickles, and fruit, everything served individually in charmingly-mismatched crockery. Sashimi is fresh, but not overly generous when ordered as part of a larger set. There's also shabu-shabu, for those who like the swish-swish sound of beef.

Verdict? A reliable destination when the Japanese food cravings hit on a Sunday, and with the wide-ranging menu, it's a good place to bring friends who are newbies to Japanese cuisine.

Plus, Sakura is proof that, despite the concerted and noble efforts of the Chinatown eateries, London's Chinese restaurants have failed to hold a monopoly on brusque, no-nonsense, this-customer-is-the-bane-of-my-life service.

Heart-warming.

 

Sakura
23 Conduit Street (new address, since 26/12/2010)
London  W1S 2XS
020 7629 2961 (same old number)

Comments

[The London Foodie]

I never heard of this place and I am not quite sure you sold it to me - decent and affordable food but brusque service? How does it compare to Asakusa in Mornington Crescent? Luiz x

[JenJen]

Hi Luiz,

I think you've summed it up quite well there!

I've only been to Asakusa once so far, so don't feel can make the comparison, seeing as have eaten at Sakura many many times more... But I did enjoy the food there. =)

JenJen

[Boon]

You've expressed exactly what I think of Sakura! The lousy service and the drab interiors really irk me, but Sakura is unique in London and the good prices combined with the really authentic and tasty food is what makes me go back there again and again.

Still, I have noticed that the long queues and crowd in the evenings and weekends have thinned out a bit from a year or two ago - perhaps some of the regulars have given up and sought pasture anew...