Tokyo Retro in Lambeth

OK, I’ll get this out of the way first - it’s pricey. Now I’ll say the important bit - it’s worth it. It’s a genuine Japanese place, and everything we were served was a cut above the norm. Nasu dengaku - grilled aubergine with yuzu miso was delicious. The prawn tempura at £12 did make me raise an eyebrow as that’s nearly double what they charge in Eat Tokyo - but it’s nearly twice as tasty with a succulent sweet prawn in batter so light it would float away if it wasn’t attached to said prawn. Sushi was top notch, kara-age (fried chicken) was perfect, and the toro rice bowl a highlight. Staff were lovely, and I think it says a lot about the place that every customer except us was Japanese (my rusty handle on language was tolerated with kind smiles). Can’t wait to go back.

Went here on a whim for dinner with my partner, we love Japanese food and was blown away with the quality and price of it all ! Service was lovely and an amazing atmosphere to be in while having such a nice authentic meal.

Some dishes are very expensive for just one small piece!

the eel don was amazing! but i guess there are other options considering the prices

Visited for dinner today - such a cute vibe, really good food. The quality of the rice in the sushi was exceptional. 100% would come here again :)

Cute little Japanese restaurant. Delicious and high quality food which is good value for money. Certainly will be going back.

An unprofessional Japanese restaurant. We ordered karaage chicken, when the dish arrived which was served with just a slice of lemon and no sauce to dip, then we asked the waiter for mayonnaise, and the waiter brought us a very small dish of mayonnaise, but the waiter suddenly asked us to pay one pound. The mayonnaise was already in the waiter's hand and brought in front of us. We were very embarrassed to say no and had no choice and said OK, but felt very bad and very uncomfortable. The whole dinner was spoiled, we didn’t order more food just paid the bill and went to other restaurant.

The waiter and waitress were so rude and didn’t understand english They don’t know how to work at restaurant They served a food like a child The price was so expensive Specially they are going to ask service charge so much Do you see the receipt? Even american waiter not gonna ask tip for customer

Food was very good and the staff was welcoming. The place itself and the background music set a cozy atmosphere.

What an amazing good and great service. Thank you Paul & Iman

Really enjoyed the food. First restaurant I have found in London serving monkfish liver. Atmosphere and service were great too. And very good value for money. Highly recommend.

I was very satisfied with their food and sake as a Japanese! This Japanese restaurant has a great selection of sake and offers authentic but also unique menus. The staff are friendly and attentive! We had sushi rolls, fish cake tempura (my all time favourite), Philadelphia with yuzu miso which goes perfect with sake, and strawberry with red bean mochi. I would definitely recommend this restaurant. And will come back!

This place is a hidden gem for authentic Japanese cuisine! From the moment I walked in, I was greeted by a warm and inviting atmosphere. The menu offered a fantastic selection, but I was particularly drawn to their Unaju (grilled freshwater eel over rice). It was absolute perfection - the eel was cooked to melt-in-your-mouth tenderness, with a rich, flavorful sauce that soaked beautifully into the rice.

Lucky enough to have the toro menu available for tonight! Supreme quality of tuna, reminds me of my Japan trip! Great variety of food and sake. Good value to quality. Small cozy space perfect for a date night:)

The food is absolutely delicious. I'm so glad I came here, and you should too!

Everything was great, the chairs could be a bit more comfortable, but nothing too bad. The staff is great and so nice, the food is amazing:) Had a drink as well and it was really good!

Amazing food, great service and a lovely atmosphere. Many thanks to the staff for making it a great evening.

Spent a lot of money here only to be pressured to leave after finishing what we had ordered. Very rude and awkward, will not be returning.

Great selection of food. The food is super tasty. The place is very small, I’d say the capacity is around 20 people. Definitely the place I’ll return to to try more of their infinite menu.

Early dinner here and enjoyed the great food. The best sashimi I had so far in London.

Delicious food, great dishes and idea. A special thanks to the lovely girls who work in here because they explained us the dishes and the beer and the sake, they are an asset to guide people to fall in love with this cuisine and restaurant.

One of the most authentic and best Japanese Izakaya in both London and Europe. I had to visit here for my first nicht I returned to London so that I can enjoy my soul food.

Really excellent quality food. Seems to be the Japanese restaurant, that the Japanese people of London flock to. I can see why.

Couldn't love this place before. Best, most authentic place for delicious Japanese food in London. Would recommend the Gyu-don or shrimp tempura sushi rolls. The staff are fab too.

Very good experience, most authentic Japanese restaurant I have been in London .

Excellente cuisine japonaise authentique.

Delicious food and lovely staff. Had a really wonderful meal, thank you! Will 100% be back ☺️

The Tuna, Scallop and Salmon Shasimi, Tempura Rice, Eels Rice were as good as the photos shown in Google review. We were glad to experience this real Japanese home made taste in Camden. P.S. They are moving to another street in Camden soon.

Best Japanese food I have ever eaten! Delicious food and beautiful presentation.

Very good authentic Japanese food. Food quality is very good.

One of the best meals I’ve had in London, tucked away in a tiny restaurant. The food is so delicious particularly enjoyed the cucumber, pork gyoza and the cucumber and avocado sushi. Really good value for money and amazing service. Spent the journey home planning my next visit here

Amazing food, simple and super flavourful, the best I ever had in London. Highly recommended. Wish I could rate it higher than 5 stars 🌟

Lovely hidden spot in Camden! Very authentic fresh and delish, plus the service was top notch .

Just moved around Camden and came here for dinner alone. Wasn't really busy on Sat eve. The chicken karaage tasted good but definitely not the best soft boiled egg...

Piccolo ristorante Japanese, ottima cucina e servizio accogliente, garbato e sorridente. Da non confondere assolutamente con un "all you can eat", perché questo piccolo gioiello da soli 20 coperti ha un'atmosfera totalmente diversa. Ha un menù con poche e ottime scelte, la cucina è espressa. Costo più che conveniente! Ottima scelta. Small Japanese restaurant, excellent cuisine and friendly, polite and smiling service. Definitely not to be confused with an 'all you can eat', because this little gem with only 20 covers has a totally different atmosphere. It has a menu with a few excellent choices and the cuisine is express. More than affordable! Excellent choice.

When Japanese business (persons) eat here you know it's authentic. The clientele is mostly Japanese and we visit often. Patrons need to keep in mind that this isn't chain-store "sushi" to go. It is a place to be adventurous and to drink sake, whisky highballs, and have a fun time. This is also a place where chefs from other japanese restaurants hang out in their off time - so that tells you something. Ask the chef what she recommends - おすすめは何ですか?" (osusume wa nandesuka) and order off of the specials board. :) Enjoy!!

It was like being back in Japan - amazing food, great service and authentic izakaya vibe. Can't wait to come back again!

本物の日本料理が食べられます！しかも日本料理というだけではなくて、普通に日本でやっていても人気出るだろうなくらいの美味しさでした。このクオリティなら料金もリーズナブルだと思いました。

Super cute place to hang out with friends after work! Genuine Japanese food and sake. Will come again!👍

Astonishingly good! I visited here with some friends - having been disappointed multiple times in supposed authentic Japanese food all across London, I really didn't have much hope for this one. But my goodness - this was AMAZING. I ordered the Tendon and Unaju - cooked to perfection. Tendon Crispy deep fried vegetables and prawn - they didn't skimp out on quantity for the price. Tasted superb with given sauce (reminded me of the infamous Tendon Makino from Kyoto). Made to order - everything fresh. Couldn't fault it at all. Unaju Just wow. Not rubbery, chewy or cold. And hardly any bones. Great skills in preparing the eel and even better skills at cooking it. FANTASTIC! Staff are great, very welcoming and super friendly! The only downsides are that it's too far from home and it is "kind of" hard to find? It's on the second floor of a shared environment where each floor is a different restaurant. But seriously, this is probably one of the best, if not, the best Japanese restaurant I have been to in London. No nonsense, authentic, pure Japanese food. Love it! HIGHLY recommend for anyone to visit.

Delicious food. Very testy sushi and ramen. Don't forget to taste takoyaki.

I ordered tuna and horse-mackerel sashimi along with rice and miso soup. Sashimi was very fresh and tasty. Rice and miso soup cooked perfect. Excellent Japanese restaurant I can proudly recommend to my friends. Cannot wait to visit again!

Little Japan in the heart of Camden. Absolutely love this place. Great food, nice atmosphere, super friendly and professional staff. If I could I would easy give 6 stars !

Amazing place to eat Japanese food! We all need to go before we die

Wonderful food. The best Japanese restaurant in London.

Lovely staff, delicious food and authentic ambiance. Previously spent 4 months in Tokyo and this is one of the few Japanese restaurants I’ve tried in London that feel exactly like what I experienced over there. Highly recommend.

This was a lovely find and the staff were very kind and accommodating. The food was very good; we had a mixture of the Malaysian food and the Japanese food. The only downfall was the wait time. While my husband and another friend's Malay mains had arrived, my other friend and I waited for our main dishes which we ordered from the Japanese menu. Our husbands had finished their meal (they took their time eating) and we were still waiting. We asked the waitress and she apologised and said it was another 5 minutes but it was another 15 minutes before our meal had arrived. It was too long a wait for our order. I have a feeling that our order was accidentally missed off because the table next to us who ordered after us had all finished their meals and paid by the time I got to eat my main dish. Finally and this is just personal preference but the music choice (Afro beats) was terrible and did not match the ambience of the restaurant. Jpop, Cpop or something along the lines to perhaps match the reflect the cuisine?

Best sushi we’ve ever had in London. We found this place randomly while we were in Camden town looking for sushi. Best decision we could make, very delicious sushi and other entrees as well! You cannot go wrong eating here.

Very good Japanese food place in London. The best sushi I’ve had in the city!! Definitely recommend. Staff is also lovely!!

Note: this is a review of the now closed Clapham branch. You could easily walk past this place but DON’T. They do have limited opening hours at the moment - Tuesday to Saturday PM only. However, the food is absolutely delicious. Authentic Japanese food 🍱. This is the closest I have come to authentic, fresh Japanese food in London apart from Japan. The salmon and avocado sushi is one of my favs. Must try. A little slice of secret heaven in Abbeville Village.

Food are super authentic and tasty also the staffs are really nice. One of my favorite Japanese restaurant in London.

horrible food and terrible pitch, extremely overpriced, small portions.

If you're looking for an authentic Japanese food experience at a reasonable price and at a few steps from Camden Town station, this is the place. Fish was very fresh and nigiris were of the right fish/rice ratio. We also had Unagi and Ikura on rice, both delicious. Staff is very nice and they've been super accomodating with a lively 3YO. Definitely recommend and will be back again. Truly happy to have an authentic Japanese restaurant in Camden!

Ho preso ciotola di tenpura con riso e ramen.. veramente squisiti

トウキョウレトロ初めてに行きました。本当においしかったです。スタッフはとても優しくて楽しい人ですよ。 獺祭の日本酒があります。お酒の趣味がいいと思います。 日本にまだ行きませんけど、スタッフと一緒に日本語で話しましたから日本にいる気がしました。ありがとうございます。 The food is really delicious, and the atmosphere is lovely. I enjoyed speaking Japanese with the staff, who were extremely friendly and gracious. There is a small but tasty sake selection, and lots of Japanese food that I think can be difficult to find in UK restaurants, like natto. Highly recommend.

Fab little spot! Very fresh and tasty sushi plus really fast service. Super friendly staff. Will come back again for sure. Glad I stumbled upon this spot!

Really impressed by this place. I went for a romantic dinner with my wife and we sat outside. The restaurant always has a very calm and relaxed feel and the staff were very friendly. We got chatting to them about their home towns in Japan and they brought out a book about Japan to show us. I had beef ramen followed by some lovely ice-cream. There is also a long list of sakes available. If you want authentic Japanese food and sake served by real Japanese people this place is hard to beat. Not the cheapest but worth it.

I’ve been searching for an authentic Japanese place and I’ve finally found it nestled in Clapham! Such fantastic food - really took me back to when I visited a friend in Tokyo. The service was lovely as well. Highly recommend trying the plum wine. I can’t wait to go back again.

Delicious Great service Very nice atmosphere I recommend!

Great food and saki. Two of the dishes we requested were unavailable which means 4*. Good service, although they got the bill wrong twice before we could pay.

We randomly found this Japanese restaurant on Google maps after spending an afternoon in Wimbledon, and it was a great surprise to us. We both ordered a £38 set dinner which included starter with some veggies, fried chicken, assorted tempura and sushi, grilled black cod (but there was only a portion of it left so we chose grilled eel for replacement) and miso soup. The tempura was perfectly done and the salmon was so fresh and tasty. A very authentic Japanese restaurant you shouldn’t miss if you are around in Clapham.

I was there yesterday with my friend, who is a real foodie. He loved it. The soft shell crab tempura is delicious and they made us eel sushi to order...lovely staff too

Authentic Japanese restaurant and food. The menu is limited, especially if one is vegetarian. Only seaweed salad, pickles, vegetable tempura, rice and noodles. The All Star menu is good at £38 pp. Huge and good choice on the drink menu. Excellent cordial service.

Great little restaurant, had the All Stars menu, would highly recommend, very quiet ambience and good service.

Great Japanese. Simple and unpretentious menu with really fresh high quality ingredients. Delivers every time both in flavor and attentive service. Last time we went we had our two children with us and they were absolutely lovely with them. Don't miss the black cod and the scallop nigiri.

We have been coming here for about 4 years and always lived the food and service. Really fresh sashimi.

My favourite sushi spot in London. So lucky it's right on my doorstep. Everything is fresh, fish is very high quality and everything is super super tasty.

Fabulous new all stars menu - well done Hiromi and very nice to see you again - we will be back very soon!

Really nice little Japanese restaurant. Surprisingly quiet as both the food and service were really good. I'd also like to go back and work my way through the unusual but very tasty ice cream menu!

Tried these guys out for the 1st time and it was 10/10! The food was great I would highly recommend go for the gyudon it was so nice! Amazing customer service from two particular staff Yuka & Rosie. I will be bring a few friends down here for our next meal coming soon!.

Lovely restaurant - brilliant service and great food! Will definitely visit again! Felt very safe with hand sanitiser available on entry/exiit and customers well social distanced in the restaurant :)

Tokyo Retro is a great restaurant for real Japanese food. The ingredients are excellent quality and the proprietor and staff are very polite and dedicated. It is a hidden gem in Clapham!

Fantastic food- I'm so delighted that we can get an order from here over the lockdown! I'll miss the very friendly staff, but look forward to being back when this crisis is over. A gem of a restaurant.

Great food, and the ambiance is nice too. Very friendly service. Strongly recommend.

We had such a lovely evening there for my birthday, everything is super tasty, fresh and interesting, the atmosphere is lovely and the service kind and attentive. Great find in our neighbourhood and can absolutely recommend. (especially the miso-yuzu aubergine and the black cod karaage)

Went here with a good friend, looking forward to a post-New Years meal. The food was good but the waitress took about 20 attempts to bring us ginger for our sushi, the black miso cod was tiny and in my opinion not worth £22 (soggy and not crispy with little sauce). The sushi was good. The waitress got our order wrong and brought items we didn't order, but most of the food was really good (Spider Roll and Shrimp Tempura roll) even the edamame was stingy however - a portion of about 15 small pods. As I wasn't drinking (driving) I asked if they had any non-alcoholic beer or wine (they don't ) I asked if I could drink a non alcoholic wine that I brought and they wanted to charge me £7 corkage, which I think is a bit steep given the wine was £3 (non-alcoholic) so I offered to buy a normal drink and given we were spending quite a bit of money (£120 + for 2 people) I thought they would take a view... nope. Needless to say my friend and I both agreed we would never recommend and never return, some food was good, much was average, waitstaff and management were frankly - rude, and no options for non-drinkers aside from soda or water (which you might have to ask the waitress 5-6 times for). Not worth it.

We’ve been wanting to try this restaurant for a while and happy to report it lived up to expectations... we went the first time back in December and have just returned. The sushi is top notch and I’ve never tasted better sushi rice in my life, but what really makes this place is the service. Everyone we came into contact with were truly beautiful people and made us feel so welcome. We went in as customers and left feeling as if we were part of the family. Our favourites are the spicy tuna roll, spider roll, the miso aubergine is to die for and donburis were also delicious. Everything is beautifully made. The ice creams are so food , especially the miso salted caramel. Great drink options here - Japanese beers, sake and whiskey. You’re truly spoilt for choice. This is our new neighbourhood hotspot and we will most definitely be returning soon. Arigato gozimasu!

Tasty tendon with proper pickles... Just made me happy, will go back for sure

I went here for my birthday dinner and had a lovely evening. The interior is simplistic but tastefully decorated. The sushi was good but I learnt the hard way that I’m not too big on sashimi (I prefer my meat cooked). However, despite the raw fish texture, the flavours were quite nice. Maybe I’m used to the western style Japanese, this place isn’t quite my cup of tea but saying that, their standard is quite high for quality!

I've had a great evening meal here before so was happy to try the lunch time menu as well. As always really brilliant. The tempura are just great.

Always seems quiet, which is a shame as the menu is quite interesting. The small tables and chairs outside feel like you’re sitting in the road, so we prefer to eat inside. The decor is a little strange, but the food is great and a good range of Japanese whiskies to finish off the meal.

The service was quick and friendly. The food was also very good. We had prawn & vegetable tempura, edemame beans, chicken teriyaki and salmon sashimi. It was all nicely presented each with its own dipping sauce and other condiments to add if wished. This was our first visit so my only two criticisms were that, as a very local and relatively new restaurant, I did expect it to be a bit cheaper. Its perhaps the lack of interior design that is misleading, complete with a reproduction of a famous French artists works on one wall.

Quite expensive and terrible customer service. We were asked at 22.15 if we wanted another bottle of wine but then at 22.30 we got kickrd out

Smart little place with delicious food. Ideal for a quick bite or a more substantial meal. Friday night is as happening as it gets on Abbeville village, and Tokyo Retro is probably about as happening as abbey village gets, so come for a chilled meal with a loved one.

mean staff didn’t give me my food whilst everyone else gobbled up like greedy pigs. Quite sad. Will definitely be a whole chapter in my autobiography.

Excellents sashimis et sushi. Toujours frais et très fins. Bon accueil et service. Le meilleurs dans le coin.

Amazing freshness and diversity of food. Highliy recommend the banana tempura for dessert!

In the heart of Abbeville Village, this Japanese cafe serves a wide variety of typical Japanese dishes including tempuras, bento boxes, rice dishes, sushi and sashimi..... everything is good. The staff are very friendly but they are often a bit understaffed and although worth the wait the speed of service could be a bit quicker. Nothing fancy but good quality and satisfying if you love real Japanese.

Visited this restaurant for the first time for my niece’s birthday. When we arrived there was only one person eating in the restaurant which was a good job .... as the service was pretty slow. My Sister-in-law ordered a glass of Prosecco and 15 minutes later, the palette of her mouth, was still dry!!!! As the food came, to so did the crowed. The food was lovely, I am not a particularly a Sushi Connoisseur, but I have to say, despite the “slow service” the food is certainly “yummy” I would definitely go again, but be prepared for the slow service. More hands on desk, I would say management!!!

Three people serving a full restaurant makes not for a pleasurable dining experience. I don't recall the service being so poor before. The sushi was good, everything else outside of it was just ok. We couldn't get the next part of our order in or get refills of wine and had the remnants of our meal and dirty dishes that remain uncleared. Looking around the restaurant there was an ever-growing queue of hungry, frustrated and thirsty patrons. There is absolutely no music played in this establishment, so the atmosphere was akin to a doctors surgery / social experiment as I made eye contact with other increasingly ticked off diners. I was absolutely baffled at the lack of eye contact when trying to attract the attention of waiting staff. Mystifyingly, the waiting staff were fixated on a large order from a family at the table to my right as dish after dish came out and placed at their table. I just didn't understand why it took three of them to serve that one table or why that one table was being prioritised whilst everyone else was being ignored? Anyway, managed to get the bill despite asking three times and actually going to the counter to ask for it, left to go down a few doors down at no 33 where we managed to get a table to order some wine and finish our meal. Sorry, I can't patronise a restaurant this slow and chaotic in terms of service....Additionally, they only had one of the four or five bottles of red on their menu in stock, so if you didn't like what they have, then tough. My message to Management - you need to have more waiting staff on standby on Friday and Saturday nights.....

Very poor service! Waited 20minutes for 2 glasses of wine. Cold Tempura , boiled awful pork with cold cabbage, the menu said steak and we got a burger patty which was tasteless , and very poor sashimi which was clearly not fresh ! So much potential but no such luck unfortunately

Living in Clapham we have a wealth of Japanese offerings within a mile or so. But I just love Tokyo Retro. It's simple and consistent and the proprietors couldn't be nicer. The food is always good and the prices are reasonable. Great Japanese classics with quality ingredients always with a smile. My only bit of developmental feedback is that when its busy it can be slow.

This is a friendly neighbourhood restaurant with excellent food and service. We have eaten there a few times and thoroughly enjoyed it on each occasion.

Really poor food experience, high average prices and taste nothing

Great food and fantastic service!

The food was OK and the portions were quite small. Although the hosts were very friendly

Been wanting to go there for a long time and it didn't disappoint. Great Japanese food.

All taste very genuine. The rice and the green tea are also really excellent. The Green Tea ice cream is even better than I have experienced in Japan.

Just ok. The ingredients used are ok. The portions are small for the price you pay. Very underwhelming.

We loved the fresh sushi and sashimi at Tokyo Retro and cannot stop coming back for more! The chef's homemade icecreams are to die for!! A special thanks to the staff and their helpful and attentive service! HIghly recommended, with reasonable prices,