Restaurants

A long-standing Japanese all-rounder in an easy-to-miss basement, Ikkyu has much against it: decor is shabby, service brisk and unforgiving (especially if you linger at your table for too long), and a smell of fish pervades the small space. But food is genuine, as attested by the number of Japanese customers who pack in every lunchtime. A set sashimi platter was good value for less than a tenner: it included sea bream, sea bass, sardine and omelette slices, as well as the usual salmon and tuna, and came with rice and miso. The couple next to us at the counter were tucking in to an enormous blackened fish (we think it was sea bass) from the grill, and seemed to be enjoying every messy minute of it. Ikkyu is fast-paced and pushy, yes, but this bustle is at least authentically Japanese, and the quality of the food makes up for some rudeness.

Time Out Cheap Eats in London Guide 2007