Nizuni go, Marylebone Lane

It could be cosy

Nizuni go markets itself as ‘Japanese sushi and sashimi’, but in fact the menu is quite a bit wider than that, with ramen, curry and the like too. It's a takeaway-focused outlet of the main Nizuni restaurant - which spans several floors  on Charlotte St. nearby. Of greatest prominence here seems to be their menu of salads, featuring gyoza and hoisin duck. This didn’t bode particularly well for traditional authenticity, but I tried to keep an open mind.

It’s more of a cafe than a restaurant in feel. The wooden theme evokes a traditional Japanese feel and cosy warmth. This theme extends to the wooden sign hanging out front. Slightly jarringly juxtaposed to all this though is the glaring soft drinks fridge residing in the corner.

I ordered a katsu curry and a couple of pieces of Salmon nigiri sushi. The curry is particularly well-priced at under £7. The sushi came to £3.60 for 2 pieces, which is fairly standard for a hole-in-the-wall type of place.

The katsu curry arrived in record time and the first impressions were good: it was well-presented in a traditional wooden rice tub and was piping hot. It came with a small side of Japanese pickles.

There were only a couple of vegetable pieces in the curry which was a little disappointing. The curry was also by far the mildest I’ve ever had, at the expense of flavour. In fairness, it is described as mild in the menu, but the level of mildness was such that it had only hints of that distinctive Japanese curry spice blend. The katsu itself was well-seasoned, possibly with garlic powder added to the meat during the breading process.

The sushi was surprisingly good considering the curry. The salmon melts in the mouth nicely with an almost buttery texture. It was a little too warm though and the fish, in its softness, lacked a little body. It didn’t feel like biting into much.

The fish is good, but the block as a whole is top-heavy

Never devour the green wasabi mountain whole - it's extremely potent.

The rice held together well but the proportions were off. It may seem great to get a whacking great piece of fish on top but in actual fact, it made the nigiri difficult to handle with chopsticks while keeping it in once piece. The fish was prone to slipping off or engulfing the rice at the sides. Service was attentive throughout despite the cafe feel of the place.




All in all there was enough there to make me interested in trying the salads. It offers decent sushi on a budget - of far better quality than anything you might get at say, Itsu. I’d give the curry a miss though. There’s far better to be had for a few pounds more, with heartier servings too. The exception perhaps would be if you took away - the menu is slightly cheaper in that case.

You can find Nizuni go at 39 Marylebone Lane, W1U 2NP. the closest Tube stations are Bond St. and Oxford Circus.

Follow me on Twitter: @FerventFoodie

Office Porridges of London #2

The little things make mornings better: waking up actually feeling refreshed, getting a seat on the train or catching the connecting tube right as you arrive at the platform.That's why I've taken it upon myself to seek out the sublime in the mundane by finding London's best desk porridge to make mornings that little bit easier. 

This second entry is from Starbucks. (You can find the first one, along with the review rules here.) Judging by the wording in their branding, they set the bar very high:

That's right, *Perfect* Porridge!

On first impressions, Starbucks' offering didn't look too shabby. I choose dried fruit as a healthy topping, which made it look about as good as you'll get for porridge.

That's some seriously sexy porridge. God, I need to get out more.

Unfortunately, appearances proved to be deceiving. Now, porridge-making isn't rocket science by any means - oats, hot water or milk and toppings are all it takes for a basic, hearty breakfast - but there are a few steps in porridge-making that make or break it. The water or milk needs to be hot enough, the ratio of liquid to oats needs to be right, the mixture needs to be stirred properly and the liquid needs time to cook the oats.

In this case the oats had clearly not been mixed properly. Although the dried fruit was flavourful and sweet enough to avoid adding sugar, there were clumps of dry oats that, even when mixed into the rest, hadn't had the moisture or cooking time necessary to become porridge. It was actually rather unpleasant.

It may depend on the branch but I went back the next day and the problem was the same. In other branches, I have been served porridge that was incredibly thin. The devil is in the detail, even for simple things and 'Perfect Porridge' was a description far off the mark here. It looks like Starbucks needs to make sure it trains its staff to ensure consistency in this. Overall, it's rolling the dice depending on who's making it so I can't recommend it as a reliable start to the day.