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A dinky sushi restaurant in Holloway’s Nag’s Head Market, Zen Washoku might be one of the cosiest things that’s ever happened to this rough and ready part of N7. Set across two sides of the market’s pleasantly scruffy corridor, the layout sees one teeny eight-seater room opposite an even teenier three-seater bar. All the sushi-making is done behind that bar and on my visit it was very much a one-man operation: the sweet, slightly timid chef-patron seated me and took my order, then rushed across the corridor to make it. It doesn’t get more personal, more charming, than that.
Zen Washoku doesn’t do the finest sushi in the world – but it’s terrific value. You could feasibly go here for dinner and eat well for £7 a head. The best thing I tried was a generously portioned vegetarian hand roll, stuffed with avocado. That’s another rather exceptional thing about Zen Washoku: it has a great range of vegetarian and vegan sushi on offer. Some of the vegan sushi combos didn’t really work – can carrot and eggless-mayo wrapped up in a sushi roll ever be good? But most of it was decent. Overall, Zen Washoku is a sweetheart of a place. Go nab a seat at one of those teeny tables.