Bincho Yakitori

mvk0016

One of my favourites in London 11th September 2008

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Bincho Yakitori in the OXO tower is one of my favourite restaurants in London as it combines the 2 things that I always look for in a restaurant: Good food and a great environment to eat it in. The concept of yakitori is grilled skewers of traditionally chicken, but other types of fish, vegetables and meat are also on offer. Some that stand out are unagi (eel), momo (corn-fed chicken), ika (squid), enokibacon (enoki mushrooms wrapped in bacon), mehikari (fried fish with 7 spices), and the best dessert ever, layered banana cake with green tea ice cream.

The ambience is great, and the views to the river fantastic, if you go make sure you book in advance and ask for a table next to the window, I've never been disappointed as they always give me one.

acrobat

Yaki in London 4th August 2008

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As Yakitori-ya's go this is pretty good - and of the various ones I've tried in London it has the best view and a good but not overly long selection of Sake. You can't really go wrong with grilled chicken - and vernturing off the beaten path in to hearts and kidneys is well worth it.

lenalouise

Alright, but just alright. 27th November 2007

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I was quite excited about this place as I thought the concept of Japanese tapas sounded really interesting. The menu looked really cheap aswell but actually isn't. For the skewers, you have to order at least two and most dishes are sort of bite-sized so in the end, it's the price of an average meal in London if you wanna order enough to be full. We went for most of the more unsual dishes.

We had:
*suimono (clear seafood soup) and motsu nikomi (daikon and tripe soup). Both were really good, really flavoursome.

*chicken skin and chicken gizzard yakitori. I thought the chicken skin was slightly salty and loved the texture of the chicken gizzards.

*beef tongue, pork belly and aubergine kushiyaki. The tongue was a bit strange but I like it - a bit tougher than the other stuff but really flavoursome. The pork belly was delicious aswell but I wasn't keen on the aubergine... a bit sweet for me.

*horse mackerel yakimono. This was fairly nice, the fish wasn't overcooked and was seasoned properly.

*Oyako don (chicken, egg and spring onion on rice). Eggy goodness, mmmm.

*layered banana cake with green tea ice cream. This was really enjoyable, the cake was gently sweet and the ice cream had subtle flavours. Combined together, this dish was really good.

I did enjoy the meal but the problem with this place is that after you've been there once and tried what you've wanted to try, there's no reason to go back again. It's nice enough but not to go back again for the price. The view is pretty stunning though, it's based on the 2nd floor of the oxo tower and I can imagine it'd be breathtaking in the evening (we went for lunch). I'm glad I tried it anyway.

ramanauskas

Chicken skin and sparkling sake 23rd October 2007

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No really, the chicken skin is really tasty.
Pretty much evry table has a view of the river, plus a view of the Japanese chaps in bandanas turning chicken-y bits over the open charcoal grills.
Order lots and lots of bits - chicken, pork, mushrooms with bacon (mmm), eel (if you like), more chicken, tuna ... Four people can end up with a couple of dozen empty sticks, which with beer and sake still ends up being a very cheap night out.
I love the 'sake in a box' pouring ritual, even if I'm not sure if you should drink the extra sake from the box or pour it into the galss. If you find out what the accepted process is, do let me know.
Staff are ultra-friendly and good at explaining what's palatable to non-Japanese tastes.