London eater likes this place and is place under his April must eat section, Tamarind and Thyme likes it too and its nicely nestled in west London. Close to home, I like the sound of it already.
I’m always a bit worried when I’m not eating in central London (zone 1) because it’s usually residential areas…….so if you’re lost, you’re pretty much lost. But this little restaurant is situated right across Ealing Common station. You don’t need to make reservations here for lunch as it’s not very busy, but when you arrive at restaurant they do ask that question though and every table has a reservation sign on top…………..which is there just for show I think. Easy to find, I like it even more now.
Restaurant is cosy and decorated with a homely feel. There’s a few tables and seats around the sushi bar (best place to sit for sushi watching). The only thing I could complain about would be the heating! It was hot and stuffy there but after a while, I think they realised the heat, the heating was turned off.
Food. Or sushi to be precise. I’m not much of a sashimi (or sushi) fan, in fact I can’t really eat sashimi without squirming at the thought of a dead, raw fish washing in my mouth then sliding down my throat. My friend kindly suggested we could order less adventurous sushi choices for me to try first and boy! I had so much fun just sampling, for the very first time (haha, Madonna), some of the different kinds of little Japanese delicacies on the table. Here begins my attempt to review this restaurant from a beginners point of view. Bear with me.
The flying fish roe, pictured with the scallop, was wonderful! I’m not enitrely sure how sushi is meant to be, like cupcakes are meant to be more icing than cake (the american versions), so sushi are you meant to have more rice than the topping or vice versa?Well seeing as I adore fish roe, I didn’t mind that it had more roe than rice, the wasabi at the top gave it a little kick once you really started to savour the little thing. The scallop was tough, crunchy and took long to chew, it was tasteless. The mackerel was tender though I like…..but that might be because it’s cooked.
But after the little lunch adventure, I think I still like Chinese food the most. Maybe it’s to do with the way I’ve been brought up. Traditionally Chinese. But my eating companion who seems to adore Japanese food in every form, recommends this place and thinks the sushi is fresh, delicate and wonderful.
Lunch is served 11:30am-1:30pm. Dinner 4:30pm-9pm. Open Tuesday-Sunday. Closed Mondays. Perfect sushi lunch spot with Japanese chatting families surrounding you.
Sushi Hiro,
1 Station Parade,
Uxbridge Road,
Ealing,
London,
W5 3LD.
020 8896 3175
May 8, 2009 at 7:58 pm |
Japanese food isn’t just sushi! You might like another little restaurant nearby – Kiraku. It serves lots of other Japanese food including yakitori and other cooked dishes.
May 10, 2009 at 6:35 pm |
Lovely photos! Can’t believe the uni was tough, crunchy and tasteless! I can’t wait to finally make the trip out to Sushi Hiro. It’s my Japanese friend’s recommendation for some of the best sushi in London!
May 10, 2009 at 7:29 pm |
Bit of a funny place to go if you don’t like sushi or sashimi…!
May 11, 2009 at 12:43 pm |
@su-lin, oooh i might go there wen i come back from HK =P and Iread abt yakitori on tasty treats blog……its seems all too tempting and i can just see myself+frends just ordering and orderin those little skwers! So not brave enugh (well my purse isnt) to go and eat yakitori yet in Uk!!
@Helen, you should realy make a trek there, frend says its relli good!!
@lizzie, i’ve never really had sushi or sashimi, usually its just the maki rolls. So wanted to venture out a bit that day =)