Restaurants

By Kei Kikuchi

It’s compact to the point of cramped. Come in wearing a Puffa jacket, and you’d be struggling to pass between the tables. Luckily, smart, cheerful decor – accents of red and black on spanking fresh white – and large photo-canvases of alluring Japanese morsels save Satuma from being just another hole-in-the-wall sushi joint.

That, and an only-too-pleased-to-help Korean manager, who explained to us there’s no need for them to pay regular visits to Billingsgate Market as Satuma gets its fish delivered by the same company that supplies the ever-reliable Japan Centre. This might explain our superb yellowtail and satisfyingly creamy salmon.

However it’s rare to get a 100 per cent hit rate at any restaurant, and sadly the sea bream was only so-so. Our gyoza were similarly hit-and-miss: thrilled by perfectly steamed-fried crescents of juicy chicken, we went on to try the seafood version – a bland mistake.

Other types of food on the menu include noodles, Japanese curry, lunchtime bentos, Korean bibimbap and the usual side side orders, of which agedashidofu (coated, deep-fried tofu) was exemplary.

Overall, we can forgive the odd disappointment when the prices are so appealing and the good dishes are that good. So Satuma’s menu is worth exploring – just not when you’re laden with bags of shopping or in a large group.

If you can read Japanese and are puzzled by the website’s kana (phonetic Japanese characters) showing the restaurant’s name as Satsumaimo, the middle ‘s’ had to be dropped in order to avoid legal issues with Satsuma restaurant in Soho, while the ‘imo’ was dropped for being too easily associated with the emos who throng nearby Camden Town.

Time Out Issue 2003: January 8-14 2009