Asakusa, 265 Eversholt Street, NW1 1BA
Meal for four hungry people with beers: £115 (ish)
Just north of Euston but a few streets shy of Camden, Asakusa has the qualities of a hidden gem, although in reality it has a well-established and loyal following. After our first visit, we found ourselves agreeing with the diverse crowd of locals, trendy types and Japanese ex-pats - Asakusa is well worth searching out.
Asakusa has a cosy, if slightly scruffy, charm. The setting is evocative of a somewhat less salubrious izakaya - think old Japanese posters and tiny bar at the back. It is absolutely tiny but friendly service and a lively atmosphere mean that the proximity of your neighbours is part of the experience; and provided us with a helpful preview of the contents of the extensive menu as they arrived next door.
Variety is a virtue at Asakusa and the menu encompasses the full range of Japanese casual dining. We chose to exploit this by ordering extensively. Purely for research purposes, naturally. We ordered so well that our waitress raised an eyebrow and questioned whether it was, in fact, too much. Never.
Scallop sashimi, though delicate and light, was outshone by divine buttery yellowtail. Kabayaki eel was excellent - the sticky sweet sauce balanced well against the pleasantly gelatinous texture of the fish. We tried two grilled dishes, some predictably good yakitori and, for the slightly more innard-inclined, grilled chicken hearts. The slightly chewy texture and mildly offaly taste of the chicken hearts even enticed the anti-insides members of the party to try and agree that they were delicious. A deep-fried softshell crab appeared, hot and crispy with the squidgy insides just starting to ooze out. That disappeared as quickly as it arrived. Thin slices of very rare beef, reminiscent of carpaccio, with tiny mounds of ginger and garlic was equally well received; as was tender, gingery beef shogayaki. However, it was the slow-cooked pork belly from the nimono section of the menu that won the prize of the evening. The pork melted into tender fatty strands, coated in a savoury sauce of mirin, soy and porky goodness that had been spiked with a dab of mustard. The sauce was so good, what remained when the pork had been devoured was surreptitiously tipped into the rice when that arrived.Alongside all of this, the basic dishes on offer at Asakusa are also worthy of mention - in particular, their use of dashi. Both the agedashi tofu and the miso soup had the deeply satisfying, umami-rich savouriness that comes from good stock. The team at Asakusa deserve credit for not ignoring these essential elements of good Japanese cooking. And so to the only low point of the meal: the pickles. They were just a bit underwhelming alongside the otherwise brilliant dishes we tried. Not quite sour enough and with insufficient bite to complement the other dishes.
Overall, the food was satisfying and tasty, the beer cold and the service relaxed and friendly. Waiting in the hallway, another diner asked me if this was my first time at Asakusa. When I said that it was and that I was enjoying it, she assured me that I would be back. I think she was right.
