Eat Tokyo, although it does have a genuinely terrible name, is a mini-chain of Japanese restaurants around London and so must be fairly successful. Having been before, I can totally understand why and have seen how popular it is with queues out of the door on a regular basis. The reason? Good value Japanese food (although not Misato level value) with a really broad menu makes this a very accessible place to try Japanese food. This also meant, buried in there somewhere, there was gyudon on the menu so it popped on to our list.
I'd not been to the Holborn branch and thought it'd be a good pick as it was in a slightly different area than other restaurants we'd been to - you have to find bits of variety in something like this. Meeting relatively early in an area not renowned for nightlife, I wasn't expecting to wait but it was already full at 6:45 so we waited, briefly, to be seated and given the menu. Taken upstairs, the space was quite nice but it was also fairly loud and with a plethora of languages too so I can't help but feel that it may have found itself into a guidebook (there was also quite a few suitcases downstairs being stored, suggesting similar) or two. We were seated next to some girls from China (I think from their speech patterns) who happened to be fairly raucous and it was very much that kind of place - we struggled to hear each other.
The menu was vast, illustrated and covered in plastic (which I think I have only seen at Japanese restaurants). Most of it seemed to be taken up by sushi and that also seemed the most popular choice looking around - which of course was irrelevant as we would be having a gyudon each. The sides we went for to go with it were spinach gyōza and pumpkin korokke - both items that I had not seen before.
The food came quickly and first, surprisingly, was the gyudon in large bowls and liberally sprinkled with spring onion to go with the small amount of pickled ginger. Accompanying the gyudon was miso soup which was unexpected as it had not been mentioned but it was a pleasant addition. The bowls were large but, also quite full which is often not the case so it was a good value dish but with quality vs quantity a constant balancing act, I was not holding out much hope. With the first mouthful, I was impressed with the rice and meat which was chunky and properly covered the rice. Was it gyudon or just beef on rice? I wasn't sure but I liked it. The second mouthful confused me though - it tasted different but I wasn't sure why. The beef was fatty and wasn't marinated fully, I thought… But then the third mouthful changed again and I liked it again, it was an odd experience but I could not quite comprehend. The gyōza arrived with the korokke providing a change of flavour and texture. Both of the sides were excellent with the spinach gyōza being like nothing I'd tried before. Bright green, I wasn't sure what to expect but they had the right texture and were paired with a nice chilli sauce too to give a kick. The pumpkin korokke was pretty sweet but had the right texture to go with the chewy gyudon. Oh, the gyudon? Well, the portion was massive so actually, the sides were almost like a respite. The meat was enjoyably cheap and fatty making it closer to the gyudon I remembered but it was probably a bit too chewy. Especially for the portion size which made it quite an effort for us both which is quite a surprise for 2 mains and 2 sides between two. It was very good value and the gyudon was good. One thing that I felt let it down was the rice - or more accurately the way the rice had been flavoured. Normally, with the beef at the top, the sauce seeps into the rice making it take on the flavour but to varying degrees as you go through the meal. In this case however, and almost certainly not prepared like that, it was as if the rice itself was marinated and the beef put on top so you did not get the changing of the rice. I think that contributed to the feeling of the gyudon being massive as it was, effectively, the same dish throughout rather than being altered by ratio. That is nitpicking a little though.
I was very pleasantly surprised by the gyudon and soup combination as it was great value and reminiscent enough of gyudons past to hit the spot. The restaurant itself was better than I remember but it is not a place to linger due to the noise and pace of it - it is great for groups with such an extensive menu. I would recommend the gyudon but, ideally, it would be better shared in some way in order to break up that wall of taste. Had we had half a bowl of gyudon each (and half a bowl of something else), that would be more satisfying for me. I'd had thought a more mixed meal would also be enjoyable - I think I'll return with a larger group some time. You should probably give it a go too.
Cost of gyudon (w/ soup): £9.00
Eat Tokyo (Holborn branch)
50 Red Lion Street, London, WC1R 4PF
I'd not been to the Holborn branch and thought it'd be a good pick as it was in a slightly different area than other restaurants we'd been to - you have to find bits of variety in something like this. Meeting relatively early in an area not renowned for nightlife, I wasn't expecting to wait but it was already full at 6:45 so we waited, briefly, to be seated and given the menu. Taken upstairs, the space was quite nice but it was also fairly loud and with a plethora of languages too so I can't help but feel that it may have found itself into a guidebook (there was also quite a few suitcases downstairs being stored, suggesting similar) or two. We were seated next to some girls from China (I think from their speech patterns) who happened to be fairly raucous and it was very much that kind of place - we struggled to hear each other.
The menu was vast, illustrated and covered in plastic (which I think I have only seen at Japanese restaurants). Most of it seemed to be taken up by sushi and that also seemed the most popular choice looking around - which of course was irrelevant as we would be having a gyudon each. The sides we went for to go with it were spinach gyōza and pumpkin korokke - both items that I had not seen before.
The food came quickly and first, surprisingly, was the gyudon in large bowls and liberally sprinkled with spring onion to go with the small amount of pickled ginger. Accompanying the gyudon was miso soup which was unexpected as it had not been mentioned but it was a pleasant addition. The bowls were large but, also quite full which is often not the case so it was a good value dish but with quality vs quantity a constant balancing act, I was not holding out much hope. With the first mouthful, I was impressed with the rice and meat which was chunky and properly covered the rice. Was it gyudon or just beef on rice? I wasn't sure but I liked it. The second mouthful confused me though - it tasted different but I wasn't sure why. The beef was fatty and wasn't marinated fully, I thought… But then the third mouthful changed again and I liked it again, it was an odd experience but I could not quite comprehend. The gyōza arrived with the korokke providing a change of flavour and texture. Both of the sides were excellent with the spinach gyōza being like nothing I'd tried before. Bright green, I wasn't sure what to expect but they had the right texture and were paired with a nice chilli sauce too to give a kick. The pumpkin korokke was pretty sweet but had the right texture to go with the chewy gyudon. Oh, the gyudon? Well, the portion was massive so actually, the sides were almost like a respite. The meat was enjoyably cheap and fatty making it closer to the gyudon I remembered but it was probably a bit too chewy. Especially for the portion size which made it quite an effort for us both which is quite a surprise for 2 mains and 2 sides between two. It was very good value and the gyudon was good. One thing that I felt let it down was the rice - or more accurately the way the rice had been flavoured. Normally, with the beef at the top, the sauce seeps into the rice making it take on the flavour but to varying degrees as you go through the meal. In this case however, and almost certainly not prepared like that, it was as if the rice itself was marinated and the beef put on top so you did not get the changing of the rice. I think that contributed to the feeling of the gyudon being massive as it was, effectively, the same dish throughout rather than being altered by ratio. That is nitpicking a little though.
I was very pleasantly surprised by the gyudon and soup combination as it was great value and reminiscent enough of gyudons past to hit the spot. The restaurant itself was better than I remember but it is not a place to linger due to the noise and pace of it - it is great for groups with such an extensive menu. I would recommend the gyudon but, ideally, it would be better shared in some way in order to break up that wall of taste. Had we had half a bowl of gyudon each (and half a bowl of something else), that would be more satisfying for me. I'd had thought a more mixed meal would also be enjoyable - I think I'll return with a larger group some time. You should probably give it a go too.
Cost of gyudon (w/ soup): £9.00
Eat Tokyo (Holborn branch)
50 Red Lion Street, London, WC1R 4PF
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