Eat Tokyo - Holborn, London

Eat Tokyo was recommended to me as a place for decent yet affordable Japanese food and sushi.  I've since been to Eat Tokyo a couple of times and I have to say that that description is accurate in my opinion.  Both times have been busy, so other diners must agree!

My group and I ordered a mixture of sushi, sashimi and cooked Japanese food to get a good taste of what's on offer. 

The mixed sashimi platter was fresh and nicely presented, though the actual raw fish head may put off some diners (not me!).

I ordered a bento box with tempura prawns and vegetables as my main dish. The tempura was crispy, salad fresh, and the rice filling.  This was accompanied with sushi with fried prawn in the middle - so tasty!

It's no surprise that Eat Tokyo has won sushi awards before (most recently at the Eat Japan Sushi Awards 2013).  I'll definitely be visiting again at some point in 2015!

Seoul Bakery - perfect for a quick Korean meal in Central London

Seoul Bakery is perfect if you're looking for a tasty yet good value Korean meal in Central London.

It's certainly not the best Korean restaurant in London - far from it.  Situated in Saint Giles High Street, it's not even the best Korean restaurant along that road, which happens to have four or five Korean restaurants along it.  But that's not a problem because Seoul Bakery does not pretend to be the best.  It's small and it's cramped, but it's forgiven because it's fast and it gets the job done.

I ordered the 'rapokki' - essentially tapokki plus ramen noodles, served with a boiled egg and fish cake.  This cost £5.50, so no surprise that the ramen were of the instant kind.  But considering I was here for a quick and cheap lunch, it was fine.

I topped myself up with some tuna gimbap, filled with vegetables and pickle.  Gimbap can be described as Korean sushi, though the fillings tend to be quite different to their Japanese equivalents.

Meanwhile, the girlfriend ordered the janchi guksu, a wheat noodle soup in a clear and light broth.  The soup could have done with a slight dash of soy sauce, but that's no problem - better than finding it too salty, for sure.

Like I say, don't expect anything fancy at this place, and don't even bother if you're going as a large group.  But if you're out alone or as a couple and you're in need of Korean food at fast food prices, this is one to consider.

Closest Tube: Tottenham Court Road

Mugen - excellent Japanese restaurant in the City of London

As a worker in the City of London, I've walked past Mugen plenty of times and seen lots of (what I believe to be) Japanese people in there - always a good sign for a Japanese restaurant!

Recently, I finally decided to go in for a quick meal before an evening event, so I was after something relatively light.

The menu is not cheap, but there are a few more affordable items on there, namely the ramen noodle soups and curry dishes.

The girlfriend went for the special ramen with miso soup. It was a delight. Check this out...

It tasted as good as it looked - and it looks good to me!

I opted for a much plainer looking soba noodle soup with tempura prawn and vegetables. It may look simple but the flavour of the broth was still top notch. 

I also appreciated the fact that Mugen presented the tempura in a separate dish, meaning the batter would not go all soggy - other restaurants please take note!

While we were there, a private function was going on with a load of Japanese businessmen all enjoying themselves eating Mugen's tasty food. There was a sushi chef in the middle of the party plying his trade, making fresh sushi. Great scenes - will have to go back there one day to try their sushi and sashimi dishes out.

Nearest Tube: Bank

Tsunami (West End, London)

I recently went to Tsunami Japanese restaurant with the girlfriend and we had a great time. The restaurant has a contemporary feel and a decent menu, with a wide variety of sushi, sashimi and hot dishes to choose from.

Situated along the restaurant-filled Charlotte Street in Fitzrovia, London, Tsunami isn't short of competition - but it holds its own and it's a good choice for your money.

Takoyaki - deep fried octopus, squid, prawn, cabbage, spring onion.

While it's not necessarily the cheapest Japanese restaurant in London, at the time of writing there is a 40 per cent discount deal available here at OpenTable (formerly toptable), which I certainly took advantage of.

Yellow tail sashimi.

The girlfriend and I picked a selection of hot food, sushi and sashimi, all of which was very good. The highlight was perhaps the 'Dragon Volcano Roll' - something that I had not seen before. The picture doesn't particularly do it justice (at all), but it's quite unique, fun and tasty. In fact, it was voted 'Sushi Roll of the Year 2012'.

Dragon volcano roll - jumbo prawn with avocado & cucumber roll with crispy flakes, spring onions, tobiko, dried shredded chilli topped with creamy sauce.  

We finished off with green tea and sesame ice cream. I like green tea ice cream, but I had never had sesame ice cream before. I've got to say, it was pretty damn good and I'll be having it again for sure.

Green tea and sesame ice cream.

Overall it was a good experience at Tsunami and it's a place I can recommend - particularly if the 40 per cent discount is still available.

Nearest Tube: Goodge Street

Dozo Soho - Japanese restaurant

Dozo Sushi is a Japanese restaurant in Soho, London.  While its name strongly suggests that it specialises in sushi, its main menu actually features many other items including grilled dishes, bento boxes and noodle soups.  So there's definitely something for most people, should you not fancy sushi.

The girlfriend opted for a donburi dish - specifically a sushi don.  Essentially a sushi don is a large bowl of sushi rice with salmon sashimi on top, served alongside a miso soup.  If you like salmon sashimi but want something a bit more filling, this is a good choice; it is a simple yet great tasting and filling dish.  

Sushi don.

I do like a good noodle soup, so I opted for the Spicy Ramen.  This consisted of ramen noodles (obviously), stir fry beef, fish cake, nitamago egg and vegetables.  There were lots of different ingredients and flavours here - I quite enjoyed it and was glad I ordered it.

Spicy ramen.

As we paid the bill, the waiter gave us 10 per cent discount for paying by cash - worth knowing if you're planning a visit and fancy a bit of a discount.

Closest Tube: Leicester Square

Come to Kulu Kulu for good quality sushi at reasonable prices

I love Japanese food. I like the delicate flavours, the variety and the presentation. Things look so simple, yet so complex.

It's no surprise then that I was really looking forward to eating at Kulu Kulu - a Japanese sushi bar in Covent Garden, London. It's a conveyor belt-style restaurant, typical of many other Japanese sushi eateries.  The surroundings and décor are welcoming and the selection of sushi is good.

As well as sushi, you can also order various noodle soups and fried noodles from a menu; just ask the waiter and s/he'll help. Here's one example - and probably my favourite dish of the evening.

Tempura prawn and vegetables in noodle soup.

Plate after plate, I wanted more - even though the portion sizes were reasonable. I obviously couldn't try it all, so I decided to take a short video of the conveyor belt to give you an idea of what's on offer.  Do scroll down for my pictures too though!

A lot of people aren't too sure about tofu, but I'm a big fan, whether it's in soups, stir-fries or stews. Do give the agedashi tofu a go. It really was excellent - the skin was thin crispy on the outside and the sauce was well seasoned.

Agedashi tofu - this was excellent.

Deep-fried soft shell crab is a general favourite of mine, so I had to order this. Oddly, I didn't see it on the menu - and it certainly wasn't on the conveyor belt - but I checked with the waiter and he prepared a few of them for my party.  Soft and crispy, it was - delicious.

Soft shell crab hand roll.

Tuna nigiri.

Miso soup.

Scallop nigiri.

Squid nigiri.

Outside Kulu Kulu.

Overall, it was a great evening with old friends and tasty sushi at reasonable prices. There was also a 10 per cent discount on the night I went; I'm not sure how we qualified or whether it is a long-term deal, but it was a pleasant surprise.

Nearest Tube: Covent Garden and Holborn.