I’ve reviewed many food spots across London over the past eight years of living in London. To think I’ve lived in the big city for so long! My husband has been the one I’ve dragged along to most of them and suffice to say, there have been some unique ones that have caused him to raise his eyebrow in uncertainty. However, when we rocked up to Inko Nito, he was pleasantly surprised. Yes, Sam, I do deliver when it comes to food and Inko Nito did not disappoint.
We found this food spot using OpenTable. OpenTable is a handy platform whereby you can find all types of food venues throughout London and beyond. Inko Nito was one that jumped out to me as being one of the favourites to try when it comes to Soho restaurants.
*This is a collaborative post.
*This is a collaborative post.Inko Nito can be found in Soho although the closest tube station is Picadilly Circus. We were traveling to this location during a rail strike so we decided to walk from Bond Street, which was only a twelve-minute walk and included a little excursion through Carnaby and Regent Street to see the Christmas lights.
The bright green neon lights of the restaurant make this place easy to spot and as we approached the venue, Sam was buzzing with excitement. Japanese food has to be one of our favourites when it comes to dining out, so our expectations were high. We’ve been to Nobu and if anyone is a huge fan of Japanese food, they’ll know Nobu is the creme de la creme of this cuisine. I’ve also been reviewing places and products for years now and I’ve learnt to be honest about what I think of a product or place, regardless of whether I’m paid for it or not.
When we arrived, we were quickly sat down and one comment we’d make about Inko Nito is their efficiency for plating up and removing those plates as soon as you’re done. Some may feel rushed with this approach but to be honest, who wants empty plates taking up precious table space? The vibe in Inko Nito is immaculate. The who restaurant surrounds the main grill area, with an extra kitchen off to the right. We sat down, got ourselves a bottle of Picpoul De Pinet – a favourite wine of ours and took a look at the menu.
We quickly gravitated towards the tasting menu which I feel you need to do when it comes to visiting new restaurants and especially when it comes to tapas-style dishes. The woman who served us suggested to pick 3-4 dishes each but we were very much set on the tasting menu at £49.50 per person. For London prices, that’s cheap considering this is what was included in the menu:
Edamame with ginger soy & sea salt
Yellowtail sashimi, Japanese leaves, grapefruit & citrus dressing
3 sashimi selection – tuna, yellowtail & salmon
Crab & salmon tartare with shichimi rice cracker
Spicy tuna tempura, chili mayo & chives
Japanese breadcrumb fried chicken with peanut, chilli garlic & yoghurt
Steamed prawn and leek dumplings with ginger & yuzu
Chicken yakitori with smoked teriyaki sauce
Beef cheek & butter lettuce wraps, Korean miso & pickled daikon
Salmon fillet with ruby grapefruit & Sansho salt
Tenderstem broccoli with onion wafu
Aubergine with garlic lemon miso & spring onions
Inko Cheesecake
While these are tapas-sized plates mostly, we could only just about finish the cheesecake. The value for money is incredible for the number of dishes that we got. Value for money and London don’t often go together in the same sentence, especially when this is a venue located in Central London.
Let’s dive into the dishes and let me just say it now, I didn’t take photos of all the dishes. This is because, at times, I was so hungry, I completely forget to take a photo. I’m just going to be honest. If anything it’s a testament to the restaurant providing such incredible, tasty-looking dishes.
As it was a tapas style of serving, it meant that the dishes came out as and when they were ready. However, I noticed that they’d deliver them in sections that had been carefully paired together. The edamame is a staple for me and Sam when we go anywhere that serves sushi. This dish had ginger soy, which was noticeably different from the plain sea salt edamame that we’re used to in most restaurants. The yellowtail sashimi which isn’t included in the above photo was a very light dish that helped kick off the tasting menu in the right way.
You know the food is good when you find yourself smiling and doing a little shimmy dance as you’re eating. The three-sashimi selection was delicious but I’ve slowly realised that I’m not a huge fan of the tuna sashimi. There’s not really much to it when it comes to flavour.
The crab and salmon tartare were delicious but I would have to make one comment regarding the shichimi rice cracker. When chewing it, it slowly got gummier and then once it had dissolved to that point, it was just incredibly oily. It’s such a small tweak that would make a big difference to the dish. The spicy tuna tempura was very tasty with the chilli mayo and chive combo. The wasabi they have wasn’t too spicy, especially as I’m not a huge fan of horseradish so I get quite particular with my wasabi preferences.
The second lot of food came out fairly quickly and one of the wonderful food experiences that comes with Inko Nito is being able to see the food being prepared, cooked, and served up in front of you. The beef cheek was probably one of our favourite dishes, with Sam really enjoying the salmon fillet.
The beef cheek practically fell apart and the idea of this dish was to wrap it up in the lettuce leaves with a bit of Korean miso and pickled daikon added. The result was a rich, slightly salty, and tart combination. The salmon fillet was a fish that fell apart too. The ruby grapefruit squeezed onto the salmon and sprinkled with the sansho salt resulted in a sweet and salty flavoring that just hit the spot real good.
Again, I have to show appreciation for the presentation of the dishes and the value for money. Even if the food wasn’t half as decent, I would have still thought it was good value for money but the food was incredible. It wasn’t quite Nobu-level but it definitely beat our recent visit to Sushi Samba. Anyone who’s visited Sushi Samba will know that it’s fairly pricy for what you get and Inko Nito is certainly a better option in comparison.
Inko Nito has definitely secured a future customer in me and I’ll definitely have it on my list of places to revisit whenever we’re needing an option for food out in London. I urge anyone who loves Japanese food to try this out. You can book Inko Nito via the OpenTable website or via the app which is available on iOS and Android. OpenTable is a fantastic app for booking London restaurants made up of a variety of cuisines.
*Disclaimer – This is a collaborative post with OpenTable. This post shares my own, honest opinion that is not influenced by payment.
