Yashin Ocean House

Yashin Ocean House is one of two Yashin Restaurants in South West London. The restaurant is located between Gloucester Road and South Kensington and the entrance is not obvious to a passer by. I met my friend at the bar and we were surprised at how quiet the restaurant was.

It soon livened up and was filled with "regulars" who greeted the waiting staff and chefs on arrival. This was a refreshing sight at a restaurant in the centre of town and it added a homely feel to the oh so fancy décor. 

There's a beautiful, sea blue glass sashimi counter which is the focal point of the restaurant. Diners can watch the chefs at work and their preparation and presentation is a real work of art. 

The idea behind the menu is to sample the fish from head to tail and the menu depicts this.

Although Ocean House is a Japanese restaurant, there is hardly any sushi on the menu. If you want top quality sushi, check out Yashin Sushi - it's only a short trip down the road and my friends rave about it constantly!

We were given an amuse bouche - a mushroomy something or other. It was a bit like a cold miso soup and it came with a piece of smoked tuna. 

We were then given a choice of sesame or squid ink bread rolls. A Japanese Bread Roll seems rather nouveau. They came with seaweed mayonnaise and after a gruelling week at work, the rolls didn't last very long! 

The menu is a mixture of sashimi and cooked main courses and everything is designed for sharing. We ordered the Yellow Tail with Orange Soy. It was lovely and fresh and delicately flavoured which allowed us to taste the excellent quality of the fish.

Next up, the Tuna with Truffle Ponzu Jelly. This dish was a burst of flavour. The jelly was very pungent and tangy which worked really well with the buttery tuna.

 My favourite dish of the night was the Cornish Wild Sea Bass with Dried Miso Flakes. The only time I've had raw sea bass in the past is in sea bass ceviche. The citrusy flavours of ceviche tend to drown out the fish so I was excited to try sea bass sashimi a la miso. It was incredible and I could eat plates of this all day.

We ordered one main dish to share; the restaurant's signature Teriyaki Yellow Tail in Beef Net. Unfortunately, my friend and I weren't too keen on this one. It was quite meaty and tough and the taste wasn't dissimilar to any other teriyaki fish. However, I have read a couple of other reviews on this dish which have been very complimentary so no disrespect to the chefs whatsoever!

The stand out features at Ocean House were:

1. The absolutely excellent quality of the "Yashimi." The fish is the freshest on offer and I would go so far as to say that the quality rivals my favourite restaurant of all time, Nobu. Cliche and you know it...
2. The service. Our waiter was extremely attentive. He took the time to explain the menu, the chefs' experience and the restaurant's most popular dishes.
3. The sea blue sashimi bar.

Ocean House is perfect for a romantic and quiet evening out. It's fairly pricey but the food and service makes it perfect for a special occasion or a "treat yourself" evening out. 

Enjoy!

Rating: 4/5

http://www.yashinocean.com/

Honest Burgers

London has gone burger crazy. Burger joints are popping up all over town and we just can't seem to get enough. Having recently visited fast food joints Shake Shack and Five Guys, I decided I was ready for something a little more upmarket. My friend suggested Honest Burgers, so off we went. 

Honest Burgers is located on Meard Street in Soho although there are plenty of other Honests in London. The original one opened up in Brixton a few years ago and the newest opening is in Oxford Circus. Like a lot of other restaurants in London, Honest has a no reservation policy. Luckily for us, we were seated immediately and we ordered a couple of Home-made Lemonades to get us going.

They were sparkling and very refreshing on what was a scorching summer evening in London.

The menu is to the point. There are only a few options and unlike some other burgers joints in town, there are chicken and vegetarian options too. 

When it comes to burgers, I am very orthodox. Beef Burger please - as it comes; no frills or fancies. My friends were a little more adventurous and went for Cheese Burgers. 

We also ordered some Coleslaw and Chipotle Mayonnaise. Warning: the Mayonnaise is super spicy! 

We delved in and the burgers were lovely. The buns were really light which allowed us to savour the flavour of the meat. Honestly, the burgers were great but we all agreed they were a little heavy on the Red Onion Relish. We ended up scraping some of it off but other than that, the burgers were faultless.

The burgers were served alongside scrumptious Rosemary Fries. They were piping hot which makes all the difference when it comes to chips. Nobody likes a cold chip...

The restaurant is small and basic; wood floors, wooden tables, wooden benches (I'm sensing a theme here) and a few coat pegs along the walls. There is also a gigantic blackboard across one wall which displays the menu. Unfortunately, the acoustics weren't great and the conversation involved a lot of "Sorry, what? I didn't catch that? Come again?" Maybe I'm just getting old...but it is something to bear in mind if you're looking for a quiet or romantic evening out. 

We had a lovely, casual and enjoyable evening at Honest Burgers. The meal was also very good value for money and I'll be sure to visit again soon.

Rating: 4/5

http://www.honestburgers.co.uk/

Il Baretto

My aunt, my sister and I caught up over dinner at Il Baretto on Friday night. This was my second visit to Il Baretto and it was even better than I remembered it to be. The place was busy and extremely well-kept considering the fact that it has been around since 2009! The décor is relatively minimalist and simple which is surprising, as it is owned by Arjun Waney – the man behind some of London's glitzy establishments such as Zuma and Coya.

Il Baretto is a classic Italian restaurant and judging by its success over the years, people keep going back for more. The hostesses were rushed off their feet and they even had to turn hungry diners away at the door. I was concerned that the service would be poor as everyone seemed to be so busy, but I was glad to be proven wrong.

We had to wait for our table for a few minutes, so the bartender entertained us by whipping up a passion fruit martini – my aunt’s new drink of choice. I went for the usual – a fruity Sauvignon Blanc which was perfect for the summery Friday evening.

We were presented with a terribly vast menu and it took us a while to decide what to order. I’m always concerned when a menu offers too much; the saying weighs true, “quality and not quantity.” But once again, I was proven wrong. The food was excellent and I’m excited to visit again to try out some of the other options; pizza, pasta, risotto, sea bass, sea bream, tuna, halibut, chicken, lamb, veal...Did I mention it was a vast menu? 

For our starter, we made a panicked decision – the Bruschetta with Tomato. In hindsight, we should have gone for something a little more adventurous. The Bruschetta was pretty average. The bread was overly toasted and too oily but the starter still tasted good as a whole.

For my mains, my sister and I chose the Beef Fillet with Red Wine Jus, Spinach and Black Truffle. Red Wine Jus is my absolute favourite accompaniment with a steak. The dish was delightful and we ordered some Italian Chips to go with it.

My aunt ordered something more typically Italian – the Ricotta and Spinach Tortelli with Sage, Butter and Parmesan. I managed to nab a few bites! The Tortelli was al dente and the Ricotta and Spinach filling was creamy and smooth – perfection on a plate!

We finished with the Milk Chocolate Fondant with Blood Orange Sorbet. It was heavenly! The sweet and fruity sorbet complimented the milky dessert really well and the presentation was beautiful. The meal definitely ended on a high.

Il Baretto is a fairly casual venue but the atmosphere, the crowd and the excellent quality of the food make it an especially enjoyable and classy evening out.    

Rating: 4/5

http://ilbaretto.co.uk/