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Hi-Ki looks like just another small foodie spot in Tooting’s covered Broadway Market. Two L-shaped counters with insufficient leg room, that’s it. But actually, this robata grill and sushi bar has an entire secret dining room behind the kitchen (with a door off the market corridor they unlock when it’s busy) and can even spill over across the nearby units after shopping hours. ‘We can seat up to 50,’ beams the owner proudly.
Does it warrant such a big space? Well, yes and no. Some of the food is very good. Don’t miss the mould-breaking miso aubergine. Cut into chunks, the grilled veg had been slathered in a fermented white miso and lemon juice, making it both deliciously tangy and creamy. In the mix, a few oh-so-subtle frills of fresh coriander. On top: delicately briny bonito flakes, waving in an invisible breeze (the heat makes them do this, but you knew that). It was moreish and magnificent.
Also good was a trio of grilled lamb chops with chilli-edged outers and pink middles, and a dinky stack of al dente asparagus, fresh from the robata and coated in more of that wonderfully tangy miso paste. It’s a pity, then, that the sushi was so pedestrian: fridge-cold, bland, crumbly rice with forgettable fish. My advice? Simple. Stick to the hot stuff.