Japan Centre – Piccadilly, London

Another meeting in London and a quick lunch. Would that experience be worth a short review? Perhaps, as I was surprised to find out that a bar stool and take away lunch in a middle of a store can bring back great memories! Japan Centre has moved to new location on Panton Street and having done over 20 – 30 trips to Japan I was keen to try their more authentic food.

No bento box for me as I wanted to choose my meal and obviously I had to try their sushi. The sushi was very good although bit plain as it was from their take away selection. However, the fish cuts were right thickness (not see-through as you sometimes get in Wasabi or Itsu!). My chicken ramen soup was more authentic compared to what you often find in London. This was slightly unfortunate as I do like my ramen soup properly spiced up – it was the seaweed that dominated the flavour palette. Actually I cannot recall having a strong chili flavours in Tokyo at all – perhaps I’ve been to the wrong places!

To finish I tried the green tea ice-cream. Lovey flavour although some people might struggle to taste the nuances. It might have been wiser to drink the green tea instead as the weather was pretty cold on the day!

And the acoustics? Shelves, serving tills with few tables in the middle of a busy store did not promise a lot. However the acoustics was not too bad and conversation was not difficult at all.

For a quick lunch the Japan Centre is pretty good but it makes sense to combine the trip with shopping too. The shelves are full of sushi rice, teas and all things Japanese. Sake selection is very good too and if you have never tried Japanese whiskey then you should know that just as Japan can match German cars in quality, Suntory certainly has the skills to produce fantastic whiskey!

Acoustics
Banqueting
Courtesy
Décor

Japan Centre Panton Street
35b Panton Street, London SW1Y 4EA
www.japancentre.com