Asakusa in Camden

Our 3rd visit to Asakusa and once again it did not disappoint. Service, as always was exemplary and the food is simply fantastic. We had Gyoza to start, followed by Miso soup. My friend had the Salmon Teriyaki and I had the Beef Shogayaki all washed down with the very reasonably priced House Sake, can't wait to eat there again.

Lovely sushi with amazing fish to rice ratio. For two people filling dinner and two beers was £90.

Go Sang-ho is going!!!! It was the most beautiful and delicious sashimi I have ever eaten in my life. The tempura was delicious and the service was good, but I was really grateful to the chef for the eel rice bowl and sashimi set.

Food is good, service is a little slow as they are busy most of the time, prices are ok

As authentic and delicious as Japanese food gets. Funky cool spot. Highly recommend.

2 Spinach with sesame is amazing. One of the best seasoned I’ve had. Fried tofu is so soft and crispy. Veggie gyoza is really good, even better than the pork gyoza from a meat eater’s perspective. Grilled onigiri tastes crunchy and delightful. Karaage is very juicy and tender. Takoyaki can have a bit more octopus. Sukiyaki as well as miso eggplant is on the sweeter side. The meat is rather thick but lean and still not too tough. The cork fee of £30 is outrageous though. I’m willing to pay £10, but £30 is more expensive than my wine lol. —- Pricey but tasty. Asakusa Udon is for someone who struggles to make choice like me. Unagi and mochi and chicken and ebi tempura all in a bowl. The strange combination coexist harmoniously. Came in after afternoon nibbles so I gave up more solid dishes. Looking forward to try some sashimi or kaisendon next time. (And unfortunately, one of the sashimi order on our table is forgotten.)

Authentic and excellent Japanese restaurant

Absolutely the best sushi I have ever tasted

A charming Japanese restaurant in the Camden Town neighborhood. They have treated us very well, the service is impeccable and the quality of the food is a 10. They are fast in their service without neglecting quality. Good value for money. Highly recommended

Food was absolutely fab and service was impeccable - would strongly recommend and will for sure be going back.

I was disappointed by our meal. I think this place is better for hot or fried dishes. The menu is long. Perhaps I chose the wrong dishes. We had 2 Makimono which were reasonably priced and quite nice but we also ordered the MAGURO NUTA £18 Raw tuna with special vinegar and miso. Tasted nice but was stone cold with some nice tuna bits but a good 70% was mashed up like it had been in a mortar and pestle which reminded me of the texture of baby food. We also ordered GINDARA KASUZUKE £22 Grilled marinated black cod. This was not grilled rather pan fried. My 1st mouthful had a strong cornflour taste and my husband unfortunately got about 6 bones from it while I only got 2 which is a shame as the piece of fish was only the size of the palm of my hand. Not much on flavour either. I chose this place because it looked different so hoped to find the food a nice experience. At no point did anyone ask ‘how is (was) your meal?’ but did get a ‘I hope you enjoyed your meal’ upon receiving the bill which gratuity was already included. Unfortunately it was a miss for me. I wish I had said something at the time but we had a show to catch following our dinner. Will not be going back.

Food is average, cramped space, so many mistakes with the service, very slow and understaffed too, and they want to charge 20% service, this isn't the USA. I've never seen a restaurant make a mistake with the food and then come back and take away the wrong nigiri one by one back off the plate with chopsticks.

Sushi is very tasty and fresh. I had a frilled salmon as a main course, and same, fresh fish and tasty. Atmosphere is very nice and relaxing. I will definitely come back.

Service poor. Food too salty. Took 45min to then be given the wrong order, another 15min for the correct dish. Separate dish of udon was way too salty. Remember this being far better years ago. Standards have clearly slipped.

My first time trying sushi and it did not disappoint. Loads to choose from and reasonably priced. The sushi was a good size and tasted delicious, would definitely go back.

What a gem! A little slice of Japan in Camden. Delicious authentic food, good service, cosy and atmospheric decor. Serves food late too

Hole in the wall that makes lovely surprising Japanese cuisine - wonderful if one is tired of sushi and simple yakitori

This delightful and authentic Japanese sushi restaurant can become bustling, so be sure to reserve your seats in advance. Had the good fortune to have a few walk-in spots at the sushi bar on a Wednesday night. The grilled salmon head, unagi (eel), and saba (mackerel) were standout delights on the menu. While everything was top-notch, these dishes are particularly memorable and worth a revisit. Unfortunately, they were out of uni and aji (horse mackerel) on this occasion, but there's always next time. The sushi chef, a true artisan, remarkably handled the busy service solo, ensuring all patrons were satisfied. With its laid-back ambiance and an unstuffy approach to excellent food, the restaurant promises a relaxed dining experience. All this coupled with generally reasonable pricing makes it a destination worth trying.

Casual dining and reasonable prices Extensive menus and it was hard to choose what to eat as I wanted to try everything. Love deep fried oysters and soft shell crabs! So tasty! Great for family although the place is not that big.

Really, one the best Japanese restaurants I have ever been too! So good we all went way overboard with our order!!

The food here was fantastic. The service and atmosphere was chaos incarnate. After we arrived and were told they had our 4-person booking marked for 2, they found us a table for 6 under a ferocious air-conditioning unit. The adorable waiter who seated the first guest told us he couldn’t take an order, only bring us water. The menu was enormous but once a qualified waiter had taken our orders, everything that arrived at the table was delicious. We’d heard great things about the sushi and sashimi at Asakusa and were excited to try it, but hot dish after hot dish arrived, with no sushi in sight. At about 10:40pm we asked where it was. A few minutes later, with no sign of sushi, our water-waiter told us “we’ve been having this problem a lot”. Okay. More time went by. By no means were we hungry - the nasu dengaku, yakitori and tofu dishes we’d eaten (an hour ago?) were plenty, but we were still keen to try to track down the rest. Another waiter approached us to tell us the kitchen was closing, and if we wanted anything else, we should tell them now. “We’d like the sushi and sashimi we ordered” fell on deaf ears, it seems. We left after an excellent meal but I still can’t tell you what the sushi is like at Asakusa.

Shockingly poor quality: hands down the worst bento that I have had anywhere ever, the taste of the salmon is awful, undercooked and to be honest it tasted a bit off. With VAT I paid a whopping 16.60 for a bento with a tiny portion of salmon and no miso soup. Avoid at all costs, many much better restaurants available within 5 minute radius.

Spicy prawn sushi, green beans and gyoza were lovely

COME HERE FOR THE ASAKUSA UDON. Our favorite dish as we really enjoy the broth. Despite this, we still feel that the cost is a little expensive for what it is, considering portion size and added ingredients

Decent ingredients and good atmosphere, but very expensive and small portions.

Super tasty food, and the owner really knows his sake! Really authentic food and atmosphere here, one of the best in london. The service can be a little slow when it's busy but never disappointed and always leave satisfied and full of sake. Be careful of the bill, this place can be very expensive.

The una don and chicken nanban left me speechless! Food and service was awesome!

Always top quality food and service.

Best Japanese restaurant outside of Japan :-) just try it. Love it

We were disappointed by Asakusa. The atmosphere was really nice, however everything else we’ve had better elsewhere. We had slow service, our plum wine was feeble in size, our food took a very long time to arrive, and was honestly all pretty bland in terms in flavour. We had Salmon Teriyaki, Takoyaki and various sushi rolls. Our sushi although varied tasted exactly the same. Overall I would not visit Asakusa again and would not recommend for a £40 per person price tag, but we might be in the minority judging from other reviews.

Food was bland. Sushi was not fresh. Also witnessed management bullying staff to tears. Don’t waste your money and time

Solid Japanese izakaya-type place. I prefer the hot foods here over sushi and sashimi. The top items were the buta kakuni and salmon head! Will be back to try more of their expensive menu..

친구 추천으로 가본 런던 이자카야였는데 음식도 맛있고 꽤 만족스러웠습니다. 하이볼은 하나도 달지않고 위스키향이 잘 느껴지며 씁쓰름했습니다. 단거 좋아하시면 과일시럽이 들어간 하이볼 추천드려요. 오리지널보다는 달달한 맛이 희미하게나마 더 잘 납니다. 두 명이서 음식 3개 (+공기밥 1개), 하이볼 4잔, 후식 아이스크림까지 해서 80파운드정도 나왔고 배부르고 맛있게 잘 먹고 나왔습니다. 가게 내부는 1층 뿐만 아니라 지하에도 공간이 있어서 생각보다 자리가 많았는데, 테이블들이 꽤 가깝게 붙어있어서 조금 좁다는 느낌을 받았습니다. 하지만 크게 불편한 정도는 아닙니다. 이른 저녁시간엔 조용하고 아늑한 편인데, 시간이 늦어질수록 사람들이 몰리면서 시끌벅적해졌습니다. 재방문의사 있고 굉장히 만족스러운 시간이었습니다. 무엇보다 매장 플레이리스트 굉장히 트렌디하고 좋았습니다.

What a gem! Authentic isakaya with incredible number of choices. Food and service were great

A bit overpriced. Lovely food. The dishes did not come out together, so every one of us got their food at different times, we were fine with that, but maybe they should have mentioned it in advance. The waiter made a mistake with one of the items, we hadn't even noticed, but still, a bit later they just brought the right item with a sincere apology, I really liked the attitude. One other time I ordered some takeaway, I might have walked in during rush time, because the wait was extremely long. The wakama salad I bought came in such a tiny box that I thought they packed the garnish for me on the side. Some of the fish in my takeout chirashi had unpleasant fibers. However, this did not repeat itself in other times.

Classic example of Great Japanese food!

After visiting Asakusa in London, I found they provided an excellent and friendly service. Their menu had many Authentic dishes, with a large selection which appeared to have something for everyone. It isn't the cheapest, however, the quality and flavours of the food are worth the prices charged. Our meal came to £20 per head as we had no side accompaniments. I'd definitely keep in mind you'd easily spend £30-£40 at least. 3 of us ate there on this occasion, everyone enjoyed it, and though we hadn't made a reservation, they accommodated us during the busy dinner period. Though there is a service charge you can ask for it to be removed, but with that level service, I feel they deserve the payment.

Per un momento mi sono dimenticato di essere a Londra, e sono tornato direttamente in Giappone. Qualità della cucina e della materia prima eccelsa, si mangia così come si mangia in Giappone, in un ambiente tipico del Sol Levante, e popolato spesso proprio da autoctoni che parlando fra loro riescono a trasportarti a migliaia di chilometri di distanza. Strettamente necessario prenotare, anche con discreto anticipo, il posto è molto piccolo, ma varrà la pena! UPDATE: (4 anni dopo): Qualità rimasta eccezionale, e locale interrato completamente rinnovato.

Food is ok but very tiny portions and quite expensive, even it must be said dine out in London as became luxury.

Mar2023 I recommend Tempura, crispy and light coating. In Tempura, light batter is important. I know there are many Japanese restaurants in Camden. unfortunately, I havent tried enough to collate them.

Food is alright but expensive, drinks are reasonably priced. We ordered a few dishes and it cost £30 pp.

Doesn't necessarily look like much from outside, but the food was great! We had sushis and udon, both were very tasty.

6/10 ⭐️ The restaurant seating is very compact and slightly claustrophobic, with possible seating near toilets, fridges or uncomfortable areas. The staff downstairs do not really pay attention to the customers, making us wait for service. The sushi takes incredibly long to come, waiting more than an hour to come after eating our sides. I do not recommend waiting for the sushi if you have other mains ready since it will go cold. Make sure the staff do write down your order properly as they made mistakes which further delays the food on an empty stomach. — FOOD — Chicken katsu curry - very simple, nothing special, good portion of rice, chicken and curry ratio. Slightly overpriced for the portion size Takoyaki - Highlight of the meal, starchy good portioned size balls. Octopus inside is quite small. Sashimi/Nigiri/Maki - Huge layer of rice underneath with a wide but thin layer of fish on top. It is topped off with a small portion of wasabi in between. Slightly bigger for a nigiri, but the rice overwhelms the flavour of the fish. Singular salmon & fatty tuna nigiri are very succulent and amazing, but the price is too much. Spicy sauce & salmon Maki - Normal salmon maki with a drop of Siracha sauce on top, extremely disappointing and would not recommend. With the waiting time, we were very close to cancelling the sushi along with their service charge! With the portion sizing to price, it is quite expensive so proceed with caution.

Recommend their udon, really authentic, and the udon texture is really good, chewy and not too soft. The eel rice is soso and the ox tongue is too taught, and hard to eat. Service is soso, need to wait for them to come for a while.

Ownership has changed since I use to go years ago. Chef still there so that’s great. But sadly not 5 stars anymore because the size of their slightly expensive, very fresh fish is now small. £55 for this plate!!! Notice the huge piece of yellowtail in foreground of these photos? Notice the thin other pieces? How about those two top tuna roll pieces with hardly any fish? I expect at these prices that every £5+ individual piece of nigiri would be as big. Also the variety of fish and rolls has dwindled. Not many futomaki and no medium fat toro? Crabstick instead of real crab?!? Fatty toro behind yellowtail was tiny and £7 for one piece! Very strange considering yellowtail is usually expensive. If the fish wasn’t so fresh and tasty I’d give 3 stars.

If you're a fan of Japanese food, you have to try this restaurant! They offer a wide range of dishes, but my personal favorites are the sushi, nasu dengaku, and tofu steak. The sushi is always fresh and expertly prepared, while the nasu dengaku and tofu steak are simply bursting with flavor. As a regular customer, I can attest to the fact that everything on the menu is delicious and authentic. If you're looking for a Japanese izakaya experience in London, this restaurant should be at the top of your list!

Udon was nice and so were some skewers. Sushi was of an unusual shape and texture like it was thawed badly.. The service was incredibly slow as we waited 45 minutes. The seats are so closely placed that someone at the next table knocked off our chopsticks.

Sushi was dreadful…manager rude and ignorant when it was brought to his attention. Seriously poor experience… I will not be returning!

It was absolutely brilliant! Food was delicious! Staff super polite and hard working! Can't wait to go again.

Food is ok, but I was given a very cramped seat next to the fridge which detracted from the dining experience.

A hidden gem as far as Japanese food is concerned. Very authentic and at a very good price. I would choose here over any chain for proper Japanese food any day.

Une super expérience de pouvoir manger un aussi bon repas. Petit clin d oeil la table qui nous a été attribuée il fallait se déchausser.

I love this place and have been coming here for years but not been for a while since turning veggie. Was nicely surprised by the great choice of noodles, tofu stake etc plus of course vegetarian sushi. The battered round the edges old fashioned decor really works for me as the food is the real star here.

Fantastic food, amazing service and a lovely experience!

Made a reservation before coming here on a Thursday night after work and was happy that we did because 15 minutes after we sat down the restaurant was already half-filled! Last time I came here was 4 years ago and this time round I ordered the exact same dish - Kaisen don, and its safe to say that this place managed to keep it's high standard! I was very happy with the food as the sashimi was extremely fresh, came in a big portion with a layer of rice at the bottom. Thoroughly enjoyed every single bite of it and even though it's now £15 more expensive than 4 years ago I thought it was a nice treat since I don't come here often. Service was friendly, only downside was that the waiters didn't seem to be attentive enough as we had to wait and eventually ask them to come over and take our order. Other than that we had a very enjoyable experience overall. The interior is very authentic, homely, Japanese style which made me feel like I was back in Japan. Definitely recommend this place to anyone looking for authentic Japanese food and I will for sure come back here soon to try other things on the menu!

Nice family run institution that’s been around forever. A little Gem in the area

Very friendly staff, lovely atmosphere and an incredibly promising menu. Let down by some really bad sushi and sashimi, despite being well presented, the salmon wasn’t as fresh as it should have been and some sushi rolls were slightly sour. The fatty tuna was inedible and we had to send it back, they tried to tell us it was supposed to be like that, but we’ve had the proper stuff before it’s meant to melt in mouth not be chewy and taste odd.. Overall for what we had it wasn’t worth the money, except the sea bass sashimi which was actually very nice. To end in a positive, as we were leaving a staff member ran past us to catch up another customer to give him his jacket which he forgot, this was something rare and very nice to see.

What should have been an exciting and enjoyable evening of delicious food, ended up being a downward spiral of disappointment. The restaurant name reminded me of the location in Tokyo and the restaurant itself was rather atmospheric. The menu seemed amazing, as they had fatty tuna! And the price to reflect. As excited as I was, I ordered everything with fatty tuna - nigiri, temaki and sashimi! We did order some hot food too but that was to be sent after the cold food. We waited over an hour to get sushi - to remind you, it's cold food - on our table. But we only got seabass sashimi. Which was actually good. So it the wait even better. But we waited a bit too much and were getting quite hungry and annoyed. Eventually the fatty tuna arrived. It was not fatty tuna. It was sour, cold, chewy and still defrosting. And far too red to be even classed as a fatty tuna. After mentioning this, this was then removed from the bill and was told this is how "fatty tuna" is. It's not. Just because I may look like someone who doesn't know what fatty tuna is doesn't mean you can deceive people. The tuna they served, and I'm being generous when I say this, was maybe a harashimo but most likely a seshimo or some other lower grade tuna. It just tasted off and ruined the evening and we all left feeling sickly. I HONESTLY wanted to love this place, there were great reviews and I was talking to everyone that we'll definitely make this a regular place since it's nearby work. But I was extremely disappointed. I cannot recommend this at all - overpriced, low quality food and slow service. However the staff were friendly and did try to accomodate to our needs and they did try to resolve the issue we raised.

The food wasn’t great and overpriced. The service was average. We are going to a paid this place

Loved this place. Great authentic food and service. Cannot wait to go back!

Loved the interior. Friendly staff. Got a seat by the wall as I was eating alone. Price was a little bit expensive and came to £39 just for the Kaisen don. It did come with some fish that's more uncommon. The tamagoyaki was huge but a bit too sweet. Will come again to try the skewers!

1st time going there when I wanted dinner and it was lovely look forward to going there again

Sushi was mediocre while tempura was OK. Despite enough space I was seated in an uncomfortable table and had to eat my meal facing the wall at short distance

Great atmosphere! The food is lovely and the staff are very nice too. Highly recommend!

Most authentic Japanese restaurant around, excellent!

Been here a few times now. I like to order a few small plates. All the food I've order so far I have enjoyed. I'm partial to the takoyaki and the onigiri sake. My friend enjoyed the katsu curry here. Staff were nice and friendly. Overall it was quite an enjoyable experience.

A bit overpriced for the quality and portion they provide (I ordered the Kaisen Don, costing me £35).

Fantastic food atentive staff. Definitly one to visit

A Lovely local izakaya 🏮🤍🍻they do lunch now!

Emailed in advance about dietary restrictions, no reply. Noted it in the reservation. The menu mentions to ask the staff. Staff has no idea, says they’ll check, they don’t. This was a party of 6. Small portions and overpriced considering the quality of food. Service charge is optional but included in the bill and staff are reluctant to remove it.

Decent Japanese food. Had the grilled eel along with some sushi. I live in the area so go there quite often. Some days service absolutely slow and wait time is extremely long. But all staffs are nice and really trying

The food tastes good, we came in a group of 6 a tried different things, including tempura bites, tempura udon, roasted auburgine, fried octopus and a wide range of sushi. Tempura and soups were very good, definitely recommend the udon as well as the octopus. Definitely recommend the plum wine as well. However, the wait for the sushi is enormous, be ready to spend over an hour waiting for it. Tastewise, it is definitely over average but some of it was warm and not breathtaking or worth the wait time and price.

Just happened to be next door to the apartment we booked. Asakusa is the best Japanese food we’ve ever eaten. Staff are friendly and helpful, service was great and fantastic value for money. We plan to eat there again before we leave.

Very disappointed. we ask for change a seat because the table was near the toilet area and is a bit smelly. The waiter didn’t because other table already reserved for others. It’s fine but after our request the waiter keep ignoring us. We try to make a order for asking three times but there’s no one try to help. And we also wait for one take away more than 40 minutes. And the food is just alright with high prices. No more next time.

Very disappointed! Slow service! Ask you to wait sushi for an hour!

One of the most authentic japanese restaurant in London, best in quality and service, the team is very friendly and helpful! A piece of Japan in London

Loved everything from the food to the decoration. The service was also very good. The selection of dishes was great, lot of choices and very well executed. You can see the sushi master prepare the food in front of you. Worth a visit

Nice atmosphere, lovely staff and food felt really authentic and tasty!

I visited here recently, the food was pricey but the quality was much worse than before. Besides we got a table which was separated by curtains in middle, very loud drunken guys were just next to us. Not really worth to visit, similar restaurant is EAT TOKYO which is much cheaper and better quality. ***Former review*** They always mention sushi takes time. A girl who used to work here told me that they judge if you look poor and young and tell "Your table is available for only 1 hour" to avoid them to stay long. The food is not bad.

鸡皮串还是好吃的 ----------- 朋友来吃过 所以期望有点高 就当一个食堂就好了 希望以后食材上会有改善吧 有点小失望

Reccomended by my family! Absolutely fabulous! Food! Service and Ambience terrific! Very relaxed . Will certainly go again...and again!

I absolutely love this place! It is a typical izakaya you'd find in Japan. Awesome food, nice ambience, an authentic Japanese dining experience.

Great place to eat genuine Japanese food.

You can eat with the same quality as in Japan.

Not the asakusa it once was, horrible food expensive, and food is not of the money’s worth. Specifically avoid the katsu curry that looks like watered down soysauce with curry powder. Absolutely disappointed at the Unagi tamago with only one tiny unagi, so small that I have trouble finding it, and the texture is soggy, but cost £12. Again this is not the Asakusa I know before the change of ownership of the restaurant. Very disappointed.

Fantastic Japanese and fairly priced. Left feeling full and content.

Excellent local Japanese, wonderful selection for reasonable prices. We loved yakitori

Excellent sushi and authentic Japanese atmosphere but always busy so make sure you book! Service is a bit random these days though. Anywhere else, you order a miso soup and edamame to get you by while the rest of the order is prepared and they'll turn up immediately. Here now, you can wait for ages with nothing to eat then things start turning up in a weird order. Eg. Why would you want miso soup half way through a sush set?

You don’t need fancy ingredient. Truly can feel the effort by the chef to preserve the taste of Japan. Just authentic!

Very nice and authentic Japanese food. Friendly staff and good service.

Amazing restaurant, great food and atmosphere, highly recommended!

Very authentic. Great 'Japanese standard' customer service

本格的な日本料理が楽しみます。 何を頼んでも美味しかったです。 量、質、価格帯、接客　どれをとっても満足です。

Pretty good with reasonable price.

Really superb quality food with a cozy atmosphere - highly recommended!

寿司を握ってた人がウェイターの人に偉そうにしてた。料理を運んでくれるウェイターの人に対して「お願いします」って言えないんですね。厨房の方では言ってるのが聞こえたのに。

Perfect, authentic Japanese dishes. I know, I was with a Japanese group. Delicious and recommended.

I don't need to say much because the food was great!! We had a few plates and they were all great!

I used to love and rave about this restaurant. It's been decorated and looks nice but the prices have shot up. I paid £9.20 for a poor avocado Salmon handroll, which I had to wait over an hour to get. The nasu dengasu is still the best thing on the menu. The stewed pork belly, was tough and very salty! I was disappointed. A bit of a disappointment overall.

Authentic Japanese food, good service