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London: Ikkyusan, Chinatown
Written by Gordon Fong   
Thursday, 30 November 2006

39 Gerrard Street, London W1D 5QD. Tel: 020 7434 0899

This is situated half way along Chinatown. I was given this as a recommendation from someone who had found my fong.co.uk web site about other restaurants.

This place brings Japanese, Chinese and Thai cuisine together. Very handy if you have a group of people who like sushi, noodles, dim sum and spicy Thai food but maybe not all liking the same thing. There seems to be something for everyone.

The place has a modern interior and note cafe-like as for Tokyo Diner or Misato. There are some areas at the back for people who prefer to kneel or sit on cushions it seems.

I went for a standard sushi set at £14 plus a prawn and vegetable tempura at just over £8. I thought the sushi was slightly expensive for 8 nigiri sushi and 8 pieces of cucumber rolled sushi. Overall very nice.

I think the bento boxes looked better value.

Interestingly they also do shabu-shabu which is where you get to cook your own food at your table. A bit like a meat and seafood stock fondue.

I would probably go back. Would opt for dim sum and/or the bento box next time though.

One thing that I did not like was that the bill was just a totalled figure that was not itemised, plus they brought the credit card machine with the 'add a gratuity' on screen. Now I couldn't remember whether service charge was included and I didn't bother to ask. I have heard on other restaurant review web sites such as London Eating where some restaurants do this 'double tipping' practise. Don't get me wrong, I don't know whether this was the case here, but something for me to watch out for next time. Remember check the menu and ask.

If you want good wholesome Japanese food without all the tips palaver then go to Tokyo Diner or Misato as they have a policy of no tips anyway.

Comments
Written by Gordon on 2008-05-26 12:42:27 IP: 82.69.30.47
Thanks for the heads-up. I will definitely bear it in mind for any future London restaurant. 
 
I am far too complacent and trusting!
Double tipping
Written by This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it on 2008-05-26 00:21:06 IP: 82.35.36.193
I'm afraid it is "double tipping" at Ikkyusan. I ate there this weekend and we were brought a bill that simply presented a total, with a couple of pieces of paper stapled to it that named the dishes and drinks we'd ordered... but not their prices. The total seemed quite a bit higher than the menu prices would suggest so we asked for an itemised bill. When this was produced it clearly showed that the "total bill" included a substantial service charge. There had been no indication on the original un-itemised bill that it already included a service charge: in fact it was placed on a tray with a note attached that "tips are always appreciated". I have no idea if this is official restaurant policy or simply some enterprising staff trying to get double tips... but it does leave a rather sour after-taste. 
 
I agree with you about the Tokyo Diner -- I'm very fond of it. I look forward to trying Misato!


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