I love this place, Asakusa in Mornigton Crescent, just by the station. It looks and feels like you've stepped into an izakaya in Japan. The staff are all Japanese, have competent but strictly textbook English, the walls are covered with handwritten menus and Asahi beer posters, and the food is excellent.
I popped in with a couple of friends the other night and we romped through some a banquet of ika shougayaki, agedashi tofu, prawn tempura, succulent nigiri sushi, yakitori and gyoza. There is also a good selection of sake, shochu, umeshu and beer which I feel we didn't quite explore enough but there is always next time.
This place has been open for about 15 years and actually, if you look carefully behind the wall decoration it seems as though it might have once been a pub. Other memorable occasions there include the time when one of the older sushi chefs proudly proclaimed "I been Engrand 17 years but no English" and another when having asked for takowasa (raw octopus marinated in wasabi), we were presented with the off-menu special of "toriwasa" - the same dish made with raw chicken. It was so good that even some of my more squeamish friends wanted to order more.
Of course the price is not massively cheap, £30 for a good feed and a couple of drinks but the portions are fair and bowls of rice are only a quid. Also, I would love to see some other standard izakaya offerings on the menu, a yakisoba or chahan would go down well. And finally, it's a small point but, the toilet - they have gone local on this one. It is basically a standard pub toilet, a bit old, not particularly clean. If I was in charge, I would buy and install Toto's latest super loo with washlet and seat warmer immediately! What's the point of not learning English but compromising your lavatorial standards eh?
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