koya bar, soho

Ever since being in Japan, I've craved Japanese food. The intensity of cloudy miso soup; firm, slippery noodles; ethereal tempura and feathery panko. Our tsukemen experience at Rokurinsha was especially memorable, and I couldn't stop thinking about their udon-like noodles, their tender chewiness, a thick, cable-like nest next to a hot bowl of stock. And while tsukemen ramen might be a rarity in this part of the world, udon itself is certainly better known (hell, my parent's local Chinese offers the enigmatic "seafood udon", though none of us have ever ordered it).

But anyone halfway interested in udon and the London food scene would know about Koya. The original branch opened next door to Koya Bar, in Soho, to some serious acclaim in 2010. The noodles were novel; people couldn't get enough of dipping and slurping, and the cold offerings were a smash-hit in the summer. There was no Japanese restaurant like it. It closed to much weeping and gnashing of teeth, but Koya Bar continued to trade in the area and Koya City was opened in late 2017 in the Bloomberg Arcade.

Koya has been reviewed hundreds of times over, and of course it was on my list of places to try. My brother and I picked a good day to visit, a windy, wet September Friday that would drive anyone to the bottom of a bowl of ramen. We rocked up at peak lunchtime, shortly after 1pm, but there wasn't much of a queue, about six people deep -- yes, out the door, but that's due to the minuscule space between the entrance and the dining room. We waited perhaps ten or fifteen minutes before being seated alongside each other at the bar.

The menu offers plenty of choice for any diner: variations on udon, plus rice bowls and a range of small plates. Due to the weather, we both opted for atsu-atsu style udon, that is, udon served in the hot broth; and two small plates of pickles and marinated mushrooms.

Pickles; marinated mushrooms

Marinated mushrooms were good, cool but not fridge-cold, with a fun slippery texture. Pickles included some greens and some vibrantly pink daikon. Daikon was especially tasty, with a beautiful crisp bite, though it felt strange to have the fibrous tendril end of the vegetable. Pickling was subtle but effective, as  seems typical for Japanese style pickling.

Kinoko udon, atsu-atsu

I chose the kinoko (mushroom) udon with walnut miso. The miso is served separately, a deep brown and studded with chunks of walnut. Tasting it on its own, it is deeply flavoured and surprisingly sweet, the nuts not at all bitter and adding a nice bite. This is especially enjoyable when dissolved in the soup, providing a great balance of textures: slick, chewy noodles, slippery mushrooms, and then a sudden crunch from the walnuts. There was a good mix of mushrooms, slices of meaty eryngii and fine, thready enoki. The broth was mild in flavour, but with the addition of the miso and shichimi it was fragrant and savoury, and the last few mouthfuls -- drunk straight from the bowl -- were very nice.

Buta miso udon, atsu-atsu

My brother went for the buta miso udon (pork and miso). The pork mince was lovely, again with a surprising natural sweetness in contrast to the savoury broth. He finished it off with no complaints. Both dishes were good, and the udon especially so, which due to its handmade nature varied in thickness. I would've liked more intensity in the broths themselves, though I was perhaps spoilt by the quality of that which we had in Japan and the memory too fresh.

Service was acceptable, and notably relaxed. In so many of these walk-in only restaurants, with their central location, lack of space, and endless queues, you often feel rushed to order, eat, and pay in thirty minutes. Not so at Koya, where we were allowed to browse the menu at leisure and take our time, though it also serves as the perfect location for a short lunch break as you could easily order up, eat, and be out the door quick-sharp. As long as you avoid the queues, that is.

Decent service, excellent location, good udon. Perhaps a more strongly flavoured broth, such as the curry, would make for a more exciting experience. I don't know if I would suggest it as my number one recommendation for a Japanese meal in London, but they are certainly expert udon-makers. I would love to return to try the tempura, which likewise comes highly recommended.

Date of visit: 27/09/2019
Address: 50 Frith St, Soho, London W1D 4SQ

shack-fuyu, soho

You can't throw a stone from one trendy restaurant in central London without hitting three more. In Koya's entrance way, it has a poster showing just how true this is. The illustration depicts an overhead of the surrounding area, and in close proximity, one can find Hoppers, Patty & Bun, Xu, Bao, Homeslice, Jen Cafe, and Shack-Fuyu, to name but a few.

Shack-Fuyu is a member of the Bone Daddies' family, along with the original Bone Daddies, a ramen specialty restaurant (which now has several branches around London), and the izakaya-style Flesh & Buns. Shack-Fuyu began life as a pop-up, as so many do, and brands itself as a yōshoku restaurant -- that is, a Japanese take on Western food. On a Sunday at 12.30, it wasn't at all busy.

Tables are a fraction too close together if you come as a pair. We were seated almost on top of another couple, and squeezing in to take our seats was a bit... intimate. Booths, pictured above for larger groups, are much nicer. Anyway, once seated the sardine feeling passed and we were given two menus: one a la carte, the other detailing the brunch menu. As neither of us are big drinkers, the brunch menu was not especially appealing, but if you are it's a great deal: £39 per head for unlimited prosecco, plus unlimited items from an abbreviated menu of small plates (plus one large dish each). Come hungry and thirsty and you can definitely get your money's worth.

As we sat down, we were assaulted with the usual questions: had we eaten here before? did we understand the concept? The concept being sharing plates, which is not exactly novel nowadays but I still find it a good time (being not especially protective of my food). Thus we ordered three small plates, one main, and one side. Unlike similar concept restaurants -- where they warn you from the get-go that things come to the table as they are ready -- Shack-Fuyu's timing was good. After a short wait, we received two of our small plates: pulled lamb bao and crispy piglet belly.

Pulled lamb bao for two

Pulled lamb was good, not so seasoned that you couldn't taste the beautiful farmyard flavour of good lamb, with a mild kick of spice. Bao buns were less impressive, not as light and bouncy as those at Bao, but serviceable. We actually enjoyed the lamb better on its own, eaten straight from its hot clay pot, the flavours free to breathe without a duvet of bland dough.

Crispy piglet belly

Crispy piglet belly was confusing, though it looked the part, served prettily as five cubes in a vicious looking red sauce. But the colour was simply that: there was no punch of heat, the only flavour coming from the pork belly itself. Even stranger was the temperature, which was barely warm. Was it meant to be served this way? Was it a combination of the aggressive air-conditioning and it being left on the pass? God knows, but it certainly didn't seem right. The pork was pleasant but not crisp in the least, the fat hardly rendered even if it had a lovely lacquered appearance on top. The nest of greens atop were nice enough, though added very little to the experience.

Duck gyoza

Duck gyoza were stunning, the most delicate lace doily of a pancake with five dumplings bonded underneath. A super innovative way to present gyoza in their most ideal form: crispy beneath from the pan, soft and slippery on top from the steam. They were certainly juicy, the crisp snappy and fun, though the dumplings' innards were greasy. Which is perhaps inevitable with something fatty like duck, but I would have appreciated a piquant sauce to cut through it. The accompanying ginger-soy dipping sauce was pleasant enough, however, the ginger itself especially good.

At this stage we had a rather long break between our starters and our main. The restaurant was becoming busy, and the service -- which had previously been attentive to the point of overbearing -- slackened. It was still very good; we never wanted for drinks, and plates were cleared quickly (which I'll come back to). Most people seemed to be ordering from the brunch menu, as we saw fleets of wine glasses constantly passing by, as well as more elaborate looking cocktails.

From left: Burnt cauliflower; beef short rib

It must be said, small plates had been pleasant if not especially impressive, but our main and side were excellent. Burnt cauliflower with a sesame sauce came as two sizeable chunks, with excellent colour. It was smartly served with a knife and fork; handling it with chopsticks would have been no easy feat. I admit, as I sawed through the florets I felt a little nervous -- I worried it may have been undercooked -- but there was no need for concern. The char was excellent, the cauliflower cooked well, with good bite and no hint of fibrous rawness. Sesame sauce was fabulous, peanutty, creamy, intense, all without overwhelming the delicate flavour of the vegetable.

Beef short rib

Beef short rib was the best dish of the meal. A small portion considering the substantial price, but a great example: a gorgeous chunk of blackened meat, almost obsidian-like, the flesh within a stunning, blushing pink. Charred spring onion were very nice, retaining their allium flavour beneath the charcoal, pleasantly acrid. The beef was pre-sliced into six pieces, which again made for easy sharing. And the flavour -- unctious, rich but without the wobbly seams of fat that afflict some short rib, insanely tender, the meat collapsing under the weight of a fork. It had a beautiful beefy flavour, as well as a moderate sweetness from the marinade.

The advertised spicy sesame sauce surprised me by coming on the side, but it was handy to have such a generous portion to use per your preference. It seemed almost a shame to douse such quality beef in sauce, but it was so good it was a shame not to. I'd hesitate to describe it as spicy, but the sesame sauce was great, aromatic, balanced well between sweet and savoury.

One small issue re: service was how keen they were to take our plates away. We had finished the cauliflower itself, but there remained plenty of spring onions and sesame sauce on the plate that I planned to return to. We were perhaps only a third of the way through the short rib when the cauliflower plate was whisked away under our noses. This was one small blip in otherwise very good service.

The resulting bill was better than I expected for central London prices, at a clearly fashionable and popular restaurants. Portion sizes were good, though we ordered far less than our waiter recommended and felt perfectly satisfied. For the three small plates, one main, and  one generous side, plus two Asahis and green tea (with refills), it added up to £73.80 post-gratuity. The real sting in the tail was the beef short rib, at £24 for a not exactly generous portion... but it's a premium cut, and it was some of the best short rib I've ever had, so keep that in mind.

Date of visit: 29/09/2019 
Address: 14A Old Compton St, Soho, London W1D 4TJ