Restaurant Review: Abeno Too, with sparking stereotypical Japanese
efficiency, combines good food with a show, whilst also finding space to store
your Christmas shopping. Just don’t expect to leave full.
It takes a lot to get me anywhere
near central London during advent. I hate crowds, I despair at how it
commercialises Christmas and I don’t function in the cold. I do love Japanese
food though, and the prospect of okono-miyaki after a day of jostling with the
crowds on Oxford Street was enough for me to join my girlfriend, hitting the
shops.
Upon entering Abeno Too laden with
our shopping the first thing I notice is that it’s not much bigger than a large
living room with space for about 40 people. Where will we put our bags? Where
are everyone else’s bags? After being guided to our bench we are let in on the
secret. The seat lifts up, so we can toss our soon to be unwanted gifts underneath.
We are seated, like the majority of
the clientele, around a U-shape desk. You are guaranteed a front row seat here,
as the cooking takes place in front of you. But before the show begins, an
explanation for the uninitiated: Okono-miyaki is a kind of Japanese savoury
pancake, cooked with a variety of ingredients. Having warmed up and now feeling
a lot happier about the place I call home, I choose the London mix, which is bacon,
cheese, pork and salmon. My girlfriend goes for the Tokyo mix; pork, prawn and
squid.
Now, on with the show. Daichi, our
server, pours the okono-miyaki mixture on the hotplate, waits for it to sizzle,
and then flips it over before slamming a lid down on it. When the fully cooked okono-miyaki
is revealed, the lady next to us gasps.
Next comes the colour. The white
Japanese mayo is squirted on in a swirly pattern, the brown sauce follows
between the lines, then a sprinkling of green seaweed, followed by a smattering
of pink squid flakes that flutter in the air. All of this earns a round of
applause from the lady next to us, who then looks sadly at her noodles.
After all that theatre, there is a
fear that the food would be underwhelming. One bite later, I could relax. The
okono-miyaki was crispy and the many ingredients complemented each other well. Unfortunately,
as the serving was so small, I couldn’t have many more bites. On the positive
side though, that did give us an excuse for dessert.
We plump for green tea ice cream
with a red bean accompaniment. We receive one scoop with a serving of red bean
so small that it could pass as vapour. The quality of the ice cream couldn’t be
faulted; the two spoonsful I had were very refreshing. We couldn’t be sure who
ate the vapour.
We lifted up our seats, picked up
our shopping and left for home. My stomach, just like my wallet, almost empty.
A meal for two with drinks
and service costs about £35. 17-18 Great Newport Street, WC2H. www.abeno.co.uk
END
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