Review Nara Soho

On the wall next to my table is a short simple message. “Please do not try and lift the table as it is fixed to the floor – thank you”

Okay, so you can guess that I am not back at Nobu with all the celebrities, but instead I’m sitting at Nara in Soho which serves offers both Korean and Japanese food and yes, I just manage to resist the temptation to try and lift the table? Quite frankly, all 12 tables in this long and thin restaurant are big heavy wooden things. Each table has six big solid wooden chairs surrounding it, like something from a Korean wedding banquet and you need Popeye muscles to move anything here. If you have six to a table, it would be a cosy experience, but thankfully on my table, there is also a sole diner. Do I start a conversation? What shall I say? In the end, I do the English thing and nod and then return to my table lifting warning.

I order from the fairly short menu and pick the sushi set menu B. This refers to twelve pieces of sushi as opposed to eight from the A choice. My set menu begins with a lovely fresh and crisp green salad with a nice soya sauce type dressing. It’ really quite Moorish. My sushi then arrives and comprises eight pieces of salmon, two of prawn and two of Squid. I guess if I had opted from menu A, it would have been simply eight pieces of salmon? However, it’s fresh and enjoyable. The Miso soup which arrives with it is nice, but not hot enough.

The service here is very efficient and pleasant and the prices surprising cheap for Soho. Just a total bill of £12.90 which includes my Korean beer called “Hite” added.

I imagine during the evening this restaurant is very popular and provides good food for many a Korean clientele. I see they even do take away, but I think next time I will maybe try some other dishes, a man can only eat so much salmon!