Tuesday 23 December 2008

Tomoe is really very good

Thanks to An American in London (aAiL) and Londonelicious for fiercely recommending Tomoe on Marylebone Lane. Cowie and I went there today for our Christmas lunch before heading home to our separate families for the festive period.

Everything they both said was spot on...

Cowie was worried it was going to be empty, so we were delighted to be welcomed into the warm atmosphere, buzzing with a mixture of Japanese diners and westerners. From our perch at the bar we sipped on a perfect cup of tea whist formulating a plan of attack. The miso soup that followed the tea was great. I love watching the cloudy broth as it billows carelessly...

We followed some recommendations from aAiL which started with a chirashi sushi bowl. What struck us first were the colours. Vibrant. A chorus of freshness.

Chirashi Sushi Bowl

It goes without saying that the fish was immaculately fresh and the rice was perfectly at room temperature. Succulent tuna, bright orange salmon and sweet gorgeous eel. I could barely keep Cowie's chopsticks out of my bowl.

Our assorted sashimi was impressive too. Very fresh and generous for £10.

Assorted Sashimi

Dynamite sushi rolls were pretty fierce. The first one I had was warm. So Cowie thought things were safe and tucked in. Tears started streaming. Sweat rolled. Water was gasped for. It turns out that the first one that I had was very tame as the rest were "scorchio". I guess it's a bit like the Spanish "Russia Roulette" peppers.

Dynamite Rolls

Tempura prawn maki rolls were fantastic. They were all about texture. The cucumber crunched and the avocado squidged. The prawn was sweet and the tempura was every so slightly crispy. I am going to order every time I see them from now on!

Tempura Prawn Maki Rolls

We loved our lunch and are planning to return again with some sushi virgins. It feels like the kind of place to induct newbies to the world of sushi because it is reasonably priced and very good quality. Thanks Londonelicious and An American in London for the recommendation.

Tomoe on Urbanspoon

6 comments:

Hollow Legs said...

It looks really delicious. If only it were closer to me! I discovered at Umu recently the role of the shiso leaf on sashimi platters, and that really changed things for me.

Anonymous said...

What a great idea for Christmas lunch. ;) I'm so glad to hear you had a delish meal, and your post has put Tomoe top of mind for when I get back to London.

Hope you had a merry Christmas!

Anonymous said...

mmm, looks brilliant.

great blog by the way, stumbled upon it when I was seeing if anyone had got any success from the Wahaca chile seeds, will be planting mine next week :-)

Anonymous said...

How excellent to see another positive review of Tomoe. I'm always on the lookout for sushi - I must get there in the new year.

Browners said...

Hey everyone... sorry for being rubbish at relpying. Have been gloroiously away from my computer...

Tomoe is great. I'm going to become a regular.

Will... so pleased you had success with Wahaca's chilli seeds. It's such a good idea. Can I suggest you hold back planting till Feb/early March so they can grow when it gets a bit warmer and sunnier....

meemalee said...

Thank you so much for the tip - I went for my anniversary last week and loved it!

My review here http://meemalee.blogspot.com/2009/03/restaurant-tomoe-marylebone-japanese.html - I've mentioned your review too ;)

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