Jin Kichi

There is a reason why this restaurant has existed for years, even after the crash of the Japanese economic boom that promised a constant supply of Japanese customers in the eighties - they manage to keep a good client base.

My parents used to bring me here 20 years ago when I was still a kid, and now it's my turn to take them for a treat. It's good authentic dishes in a relaxed environment that bring people back. It's not as pretentious as Nobu or Defune and the like, but not as "cheap" as Asakusa - a comfortable inbetween.
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Maki
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, October 04, 2006

I have been in Jin Kichi several times as I live in the area. I was really excited going there first time as it is rated awfully high in ZAGAT (27 on food). Well, I was not dissapointed, however, I felt ZAGAT rating is somewhat overinflated. Generally, you do not want to come there too hungry as service is slow. However, the waitreses are very sensitive and upfront about any delays, which certainly helps. Well, I am just about to go there again right now and got here to check the telephone number for booking. Jin Kichi price/quality ratio is excellent. However, if you don't live in North West and want to come to othe area just for a restaurant's very special treat - don't bother.
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Pavel
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 10
Thursday, August 17, 2006

BE WARNED We went recently and were overcharged by £30 it took four unreturned phone calls and a visit to see the very unhelpful manager before we were refunded our money. This is simply not good enough. The food is good but along with a large number of people here we found service from the management to be very poor. I for one will not be going back
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Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 0
Thursday, August 03, 2006

We've been eating at Jin for the last 3 or 4 years. The sushi is excellent, but don't go there just for that - go for the skewers and the small dishes. We always order a mix of stuff, and will always be asked what order we'd like the food in (though sometimes it's not possible to have sushi early because of the backlog - I keep thinking we should phone ahead and pre-order the sushi before we arrive!) If in doubt what to drink then order the grapefruit cocktail (sochu, 7up and pink grapefruit).

The ambience is perfect, just like being in a neighbourhood restaurant in Tokyo - but with half the customers being Hampstead types rather than Japanese. The only complaint I'd have is smoke drifting across from other diners - but I'm sure that'll stop from next summer with the smoking ban coming into effect.

The service is always friendly, and has been increasingly so as we've become more and more regular diners. Alas head waitress Yuko is now returning to Japan. She'll be sorely missed.

Prices are quite high - about £80 for two (we're both big eaters) - but still much lower than at one of the high end places in the West End, and frankly they just don't have the same atmosphere.

I'll be eating here for as long as I live round the corner, and probably much longer!
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Giles
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, August 02, 2006

My husband and I have been eating at Jin Kitchi for over 6 years and we always love going there. However, recently the service has been slipping - we decided to take my father in law and brother in law there for lunch yesterday and the service was appaling. The waitress did not speak English and messed up our order and our food took over an hour to arrive. The other waitress who knows us, did not bother coming over to our table to explain anything or to apologise and then to top it off they had the nerve to add 10% service onto the bill when usually it is discretionary and is not included. My husband and I were both do dissapointed in the way we were treated and although we will give them another chance if the service and their attitudes do not improve it looks like we will have to get our sushi fix elsewhere!
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NS
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 4
Monday, July 10, 2006

Lovely little restaurant with a good atmosphere. Menu on a par with the excellent Cafe Japan in Golders Green and Sushi of the highest quality. Service was good but we waited over and a half for our meal with little explanation.
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Dan
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Saturday, April 01, 2006

By a long way the best Japanese food north of Nobu or Defune. Go for the robotoyaki stuff, but also the ingen-gomae and tempura. The proof is in the pudding: note the number of local Japanese expats eating in here.
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PKS
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 7
Thursday, March 16, 2006

Well I'm not sure why there are so many bad tempered reviews for this restaurant. Ok the waiting staff aren't the most cheerful I've ever come across but it's a cheapy neighbourhood place - what do you expect? The food is excellent - with what I found to be pretty unusual stuff. Most of the food is cooked on a charcoal grill which as you might expect gives delicious results. I think my favourite skewers were quails eggs, chicken livers and duck (the gizzards were a bit nasty to be honest). We had an excellent grilled aubergine dish too with ginger and bonito. I know the sushi's not the point of this place but the spicy tuna we tried was pretty good (including shiso herbs was a nice unusual touch). £40 for 2 seems pretty reasonable for me - I'll be back!
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Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, February 22, 2006

The food was fine but I found the service horrendous. They treat you like they are doing you a favour by serving you at all. We had booked a table but after sitting down were informed that we couldn't order sushi as it would take longer than our table time allowed, which was one and a half hours! No apology that their kitchen was backed up, just a "live with it" mentality. A very bad experience and I'll never go back.
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Craig
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 2
Saturday, January 07, 2006

As a local restaurant Jin Kichi is great - somewhere casual to wander along to when you're not feeling like venturing into town. It doesn't offer London's best sushi by any means, but the grilled skewers are tasty, and the main dishes always go down well. Yes, it's cramped and physically undistinguished - but that just adds to the cosy, neighbourhood feel.
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Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 6
Friday, December 30, 2005