Randomness Guide to London - Differences between Version 7 and Version 2 of Matsuri, SW1Y 6AL

Version 7 Version 2
== Line 0 == == Line 0 ==
Matsuri was a Japanese teppanyaki restaurant just off [[Locale Piccadilly|Piccadilly]]. It has now closed. As of early 2017 the premises are occupied by a different Japanese restaurant called Ginza Onodera.
I will insert a general description of the restaurant shortly, but here is an account of our visit:
== Line 2 == == Line 2 ==
The information below is retained for historical purposes.
On a February 2011 visit, [[itsbruce]] and Jen began with three small dishes. The batter and sauce of the Karamari (calamari, £6) were very good but the squid could have been a little more lightly cooked. Vegetable tempura (£9) was pleasant but unexceptional. Seared salmon with wasabi yuzu sauce (£6), on the other hand, was excellent; even the salad garnish was good, with a little extra kick provided by mustard cress.
== Line 4 == == Line 4 ==
<div class="old_info">
Japanese restaurant just off
[[Locale Piccadilly|Piccadilly]].
The two main courses were of a more consistently high quality. Jen's organic salmon teryaki (£25) was firm, succulent and she was very happy with it. [[itsbruce]]'s Scottish sirloin steak (£28 for a 200g cut) was exquisitely cooked (for once, medium rare actually meant that the centre of the meat was still rare) and served with a wasabi and mustard dipping sauce which complemented it wonderfully. Both teppanyaki came with slices of lotus root, squash and asparagus. We added genmai brown rice and Japanese pickled vegetables (both £3.50) as side dishes; the rice was slightly sticky without being too glutinous and had a pleasantly nutty flavour. The pickled vegetables included a deliciously sharp pickled plum.
== Line 7 == == Line 6 ==
On a February 2011 visit, [[itsbruce]] and Jen began with three small dishes. The batter and sauce of the karamari (calamari, &pound;6) were very good but the squid could have been a little more lightly cooked. Vegetable tempura (&pound;9) was pleasant but unexceptional. Seared salmon with wasabi yuzu sauce (&pound;6), on the other hand, was excellent; even the salad garnish was good, with a little extra kick provided by mustard cress.
This was accompanied by a bottle of smooth, cold saké (have temporarily lost my note of the name) which was a little reminiscent of a dry martini.
== Line 9 == == Line 8 ==
The two main courses were of a more consistently high quality. Jen's organic salmon teryaki (&pound;25) was firm, succulent and she was very happy with it. [[itsbruce]]'s Scottish sirloin steak (&pound;28 for a 200g cut) was exquisitely cooked (for once, medium rare actually meant that the centre of the meat was still rare) and served with a wasabi and mustard dipping sauce which complemented it wonderfully. Both teppanyaki came with slices of lotus root, squash and asparagus. We added genmai brown rice and Japanese pickled vegetables (both &pound;3.50) as side dishes; the rice was slightly sticky without being too glutinous and had a pleasantly nutty flavour. The pickled vegetables included a deliciously sharp pickled plum.
For desert, we chose Tokyo cheesecake, a lighter variant of New York cheesecake without the cracker base, and fireball mango and ice cream. The latter dish consisted of half a mango and a large square of vanilla ice cream, was served by a Teppanyaki chef and provided the most drama of the evening, since the lights above the table were dimmed and flaming sake sloshed across the griddle. After all that, the dish was a bit of a disappointment; while the mango was good, the ice cream seemed not to have benefited at all from the process. We accompanied the deserts with Tokaji Yuzu desert wine (£4.50 per glass), which was sweet but with a complex spiced/scented bouquet and more than made up for the let down of the ice cream.
== Line 11 == == Line 10 ==
This was accompanied by a bottle of smooth, cold sak&eacute; (have temporarily lost my note of the name) which was a little reminiscent of a dry martini.
The final bill came to £194, which included £69 for drinks and an optional 12.5% service charge.
== Line 13 == == Line 12 ==
For desert, we chose Tokyo cheesecake, a lighter variant of New York cheesecake without the cracker base, and fireball mango and ice cream. The latter dish consisted of half a mango and a large square of vanilla ice cream, was served by a Teppanyaki chef and provided the most drama of the evening, since the lights above the table were dimmed and flaming sake sloshed across the griddle. After all that, the dish was a bit of a disappointment; while the mango was good, the ice cream seemed not to have benefited at all from the process. We accompanied the deserts with Tokaji Yuzu desert wine (&pound;4.50 per glass), which was sweet but with a complex spiced/scented bouquet and more than made up for the let down of the ice cream.
Matsuri do offer fixed menus which start at £48 per person; the most expensive, centred around Wagyu beef teppanyaki, is £165 per person. There is also a special five course pre-theatre menu for £25 per person, available between 6pm and 7pm. Vegetarians should go for the special vegetarian fixed menu; vegetarian options only form a very small portion of the main menu.
== Line 15 == == Line 14 ==
The final bill came to &pound;194 for the two of us, which included &pound;69 for drinks and an optional 12.5% service charge.
Verdict: this restaurant offers some truly excellent food but the quality seems a little inconsistent, given the price. That said, [[itsbruce]] and Jen would happily return; we would just be more careful in our selection of dishes.
== Line 17 == == Line 16 ==
Matsuri do offer fixed menus which start at &pound;48 per person; the most expensive, centred around Wagyu beef teppanyaki, is &pound;165 per person. There is also a special five course pre-theatre menu for &pound;25 per person, available between 6pm and 7pm. Vegetarians should go for the special vegetarian fixed menu; vegetarian options only form a very small portion of the main menu.
There was another branch in Holborn but it has been closed since a fire in 2009.
== Line 19 ==
[[itsbruce]]'s verdict: This restaurant offers some truly excellent food but the quality seems a little inconsistent, given the price. That said, Jen and I would happily return; we would just be more careful in our selection of dishes.

There was another branch in Holborn but it closed after a fire in 2009, and as of April 2011 that site is occupied by a Korean restaurant called [https://kimchee.uk.com/ Kimchee].

== Line 24 == == Line 19 ==
* [http://bellaphon.blogspot.co.uk/2009/02/matsuri-st-jamess.html Bellaphon's review]
* [https:
//chechemui.wordpress.com/2013/04/15/matsuri/ CheChe's Blog review]
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20111122180352/http://omnomlondon.com/2010/06/22/matsuri-st-james/ om nom London review]
* [http://www.passportdelicious.com/2008/06/japanese-mats-1.html Passport Delicious review]
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20131006032626/http://www.maison-de-stuff.net:80/veg/articles/00000010.html John's Vegetarian Hall of Shame entry]
* [http://omnomlondon.com/2010/06/22/matsuri-st-james/ om nom London review]
* [http://www.london-eating.co.uk/3430.htm London Eating reviews]
* [http://www.passportdelicious.com/dining/2008/06/japanese-mats-1.html Passport Delicious review]
* [http://www.maison-de-stuff.net/veg/articles/00000010.html John's Vegetarian Hall of Shame entry]
== Line 32 == == Line 26 ==
<div class="last_verified">Last visited by [[itsbruce]] and Jen, February 2011.</div>
</div>
<div class="last_verified">Last visited by [[itsbruce]] and Jen, Monday 14th February 2011</div>
== Line 35 == == Line 28 ==
category='Now Closed'
category='Japanese Food,Restaurants,Sushi,Teppanyaki,Vegetarian Friendly'
== Line 38 == == Line 31 ==
formatted_website_text=''
host='81.187.166.218'
hours_text=''
formatted_website_text='http://www.matsuri-r...'
host='195.137.89.217'
hours_text='noon-2:30pm, 6pm-10:30pm Mon-Sat; noon-3pm, 6pm-10pm Sun'
latitude='51.506710'
locale='SW1,St James's'
longitude='-0.136977
'
== Line 43 == == Line 39 ==
node_image='https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3125/2722229915_479888189f_m.jpg'
node_image_copyright='Kake'
node_image_licence='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/'
node_image_url='https://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/2722229915/'
opening_hours_text=''
phone=''
website='http://www.matsuri-restaurant.com/' postcode=''
summary='Now closed; was a Japanese teppanyaki restaurant in St James's.'
website=''
opening_hours_text='noon-2:30pm, 6pm-10:30pm Mon-Sat; noon-3pm, 6pm-10pm Sun'
os_x='529281'
os_y='180341'
phone='020 7839 1101'
postcode='SW1Y 6AL'
summary='Japanese Teppanyaki Restaurant in St James'
website='http://www.matsuri-restaurant.com/' website=''

I will insert a general description of the restaurant shortly, but here is an account of our visit:

On a February 2011 visit, itsbruce and Jen began with three small dishes. The batter and sauce of the Karamari (calamari, £6) were very good but the squid could have been a little more lightly cooked. Vegetable tempura (£9) was pleasant but unexceptional. Seared salmon with wasabi yuzu sauce (£6), on the other hand, was excellent; even the salad garnish was good, with a little extra kick provided by mustard cress.

The two main courses were of a more consistently high quality. Jen's organic salmon teryaki (£25) was firm, succulent and she was very happy with it. itsbruce's Scottish sirloin steak (£28 for a 200g cut) was exquisitely cooked (for once, medium rare actually meant that the centre of the meat was still rare) and served with a wasabi and mustard dipping sauce which complemented it wonderfully. Both teppanyaki came with slices of lotus root, squash and asparagus. We added genmai brown rice and Japanese pickled vegetables (both £3.50) as side dishes; the rice was slightly sticky without being too glutinous and had a pleasantly nutty flavour. The pickled vegetables included a deliciously sharp pickled plum.

This was accompanied by a bottle of smooth, cold saké (have temporarily lost my note of the name) which was a little reminiscent of a dry martini.

For desert, we chose Tokyo cheesecake, a lighter variant of New York cheesecake without the cracker base, and fireball mango and ice cream. The latter dish consisted of half a mango and a large square of vanilla ice cream, was served by a Teppanyaki chef and provided the most drama of the evening, since the lights above the table were dimmed and flaming sake sloshed across the griddle. After all that, the dish was a bit of a disappointment; while the mango was good, the ice cream seemed not to have benefited at all from the process. We accompanied the deserts with Tokaji Yuzu desert wine (£4.50 per glass), which was sweet but with a complex spiced/scented bouquet and more than made up for the let down of the ice cream.

The final bill came to £194, which included £69 for drinks and an optional 12.5% service charge.

Matsuri do offer fixed menus which start at £48 per person; the most expensive, centred around Wagyu beef teppanyaki, is £165 per person. There is also a special five course pre-theatre menu for £25 per person, available between 6pm and 7pm. Vegetarians should go for the special vegetarian fixed menu; vegetarian options only form a very small portion of the main menu.

Verdict: this restaurant offers some truly excellent food but the quality seems a little inconsistent, given the price. That said, itsbruce and Jen would happily return; we would just be more careful in our selection of dishes.

There was another branch in Holborn but it has been closed since a fire in 2009.

See also:

Last visited by itsbruce and Jen, Monday 14th February 2011

List all versions