On the fringe of the city, where corporate money and chain style restaurants sit opposing the trendy and avant-garde bars and restaurants of Shoreditch and Old Street, is a new sushi eatery called Tsuru. Hidden away from the bustle of the main roads, this modestly sized restaurant follows the success of the wildly popular
Tsuru near London Bridge.
Just a 5-minute walk from London's Liverpool Street station, the restaurant offers a clean and contemporary interior, which sets the tone for the fresh and modern feel of the menu. Popular with those on the look out for a healthy bite to eat at lunchtime, or a relaxed and unhurried dinner service, the new restaurant is set to prove a sure fire hit with city workers and east Londoners alike.
I dined at Tsuru on what appeared to be a relatively quiet evening in the restaurant, which meant that my dinner companion and I had the full attention of the waiting staff and received an unrivalled service when making our dinner selection, but I get the feeling the service would have been just as golden had the place been packed to the rafters - either way, I certainly wasn't complaining.
Diners often have a perplexed look on their faces when presented with a menu of unfamiliar cuisine; not every restaurant adheres to the starter / mains / dessert format, dontcha know. At Tsuru every effort is made to make the unique sushi and Japanese-based menu easy to read - trouble is, everything on the menu looked so delicious it made ordering quite an ordeal! Thankfully the aforementioned waiting staff were on hand to offer their personal recommendations. Do take note - they know exactly what they’re talking about.
I dined on what seemed to be a never ending selection of sashimi, sushi and other choice picks from the menu - including Katsu, a crispy and delicious chicken dish - as well as traditional favorites to snack on like edemame beans. All the dishes were prepared in an open kitchen, which provided an entertaining and impressive spectacle that certainly got my mouth watering. For a taster of what I mean, check out
Tsuru's website where you can watch a seamless video of their head chef in action. If that doesn't get you banging down their door, I don't know what will.
Accompanying the food is a great array of beers, wines and traditional sake - certainly not for the faint-hearted! And the best thing about dining on the freshly prepared foods here? Even if you do neck a couple of beers with dinner, you're still able to feel ridiculously healthy afterwards. Of course, you'll have to steer clear of the chocolate brownie on the dessert menu if you want to maintain that feeling.
Tsuru makes a welcome addition to the growing, thriving and diverse selection of restaurants in east London, and can certainly hold its own among some stiff competition. Take my advice and seek out this hidden gem for a real dining delight.
Reviewed by Paul Wells
DESCRIPTION: Opened in April 2010, Tsuru Sushi offers sushi and Japanese foods authentically prepared by our chefs using the best ethically-source produce. Sustainability and quality are high on the agenda at Tsuru. We spend six months finding the best suppliers, from the people that provide our line-caught yellowfin tuna to Akashi Tai, a great little boutique sake brewery that helps us stock some tasty and diverse sake and host fun tasting events. Our chicken is free range, our fish from sustainable sources and packinging almost entirely recyclable... there are a couple of items we're working on but by mid-2010, we should be 100% there. (Updated 07/09/2010)