Slightly shabby sushi

Toku, 16 Regent Street, SW1Y 4PH

When Mr Fork chose to propose in Tokyo, he did it for two reasons: both fairly romantic but one a little more self-serving than the other. I had been to Tokyo a few months before he asked the question and he knew I had been utterly captivated by its borderline-bonkers charms. He also knew that cementing my recollection of Japan to the happy occasion of becoming engaged would ensure that I would forever be amenable to the idea of visiting one of his favourite places. Sneaky git. What he probably hadn't bargained for was my taking this idea even further, with a kimono-inspired wedding dress that prompted my colleagues to send us off to married life with a gift of vouchers for the Japan Centre.

In retrospect, I probably should have spent them in the shop. I am powerless to resist the marketing at the Japan Centre. Despite entering with the sole intention of buying nori, I invariably exit clutching sesame salt, bonito flakes and a precarious tower of instant ramen; the latter being a particular favourite of Mr F's. Recently, I haven't even made it as far as the shop and have found myself ordering enormous boxes of imported rice from their website. With cupboards already overflowing with Japanese ingredients and the expiry date on the vouchers fast approaching, we chose to spend them at Toku, the restaurant attached to the shop. 

Unfortunately, whilst Toku was far from awful, it never quite achieved the quality one would expect from a place in its price range. A recent refurbishment seems to have sent it the wrong way; during the Japan Centre's Piccadilly days, Toku was crowded and chaotic but served a good range of tasty if unexceptional sushi. The relaxed crowds of students now eat next door in the main shop, leaving behind a restaurant that is slightly dull without them.

A basic dish of edamame arrived first, perfectly cooked and seasoned. Then came the sashimi selection, prettily served on a little wire tray over a dish of ice. It was fine but the choice of fish was cautiously conservative and could have been fresher. This seemed odd because we have bought fish next door in the shop before, which was better than what we were served in the restaurant. Some deep fried soft-shell crab had a chewy texture and lacked the lightly-battered finesse of the fried crab rolls at Donzoko. Pickles and rice were fine but I wished I was at home liberally sprinkling seasame salt on my latest purchase of obscure biodynamic Taiwanese rice. Better was a good-sized selection of nigiri, which included a slightly more diverse selection of fish choices. However, it was still underwhelming - particularly the slightly grey egg in the tamago.

Toku was busy on the night of our visit; filled with people parting with not insignificant sums of money for unimpressive food, our £50 voucher from work wasn't quite enough for a midweek supper. Unfortunately, Toku seems to be squarely aimed at hapless unfortunates who dine there unaware that there are cheaper, better restaurants in the area. I should have known better.