Cafe Japan

This place is simply one of the best sushi places in EUROPE!
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Ben
9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Monday, December 06, 2010

One of the best Japanese Restaurants in North London. Think Nobu, without any pretentious people, excellent food and a great price, and then you get Cafe Japan.

Everytime I go here its full to the brim with the same people who come back for more really good food.

I am always greated by the same individual who knows me on a first name basis, and the specials of the day are excellent (just get the waiter to translate them into english for you).

Recommendations: Sit at the Sushi Bar, order a cold bottle of Saki and ask for the Butter fish Maki (an amazing fish thats fried and rapped inside out and smooth to the pallet like butter)

Enjoy.....
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dieselthirteen
8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, July 21, 2010

I have been to many sushi restaurants in Europe, and I from the start have to say or want say that cafe japan was the best by far. I went during lunch, it was very busy but the service was cool an polite, and the food came in a good time. The sushi was perfect, and you can see that the rice is imported directly from japan. The fish was absolutely delicious, the sushi form, meaning how it was handled by the chef, it was nice and firm, and it tasted absolutely wonderful. I was taken by my family, and not even one item made us unhappy. I really think this is the best sushi restaurant in Europe, I mean of course I haven't been to all of it but trust me even when I go to Paris or Milan I still go to sushi restaurants to see how it tastes in each country. Last but not least the price was a bargain that just was too good to be true, I ordered a tokujyo- the most expensive one, costing me 12 pounds, but this was because it was lunch time, still the sushi that came out, in other places it could easily cost 35-40 pounds. I read one unhappy review, so my advice to that person is to go there just one more time, trust me buddy, its the best! However one last thing, maybe the matcha ice cream could taste a bit more refreshing? its taste was a little bit average, and I think with that kind of sushi, why not upgrade the dessert a little bit? any way as long as Im in Lonodn, I will go here for sushi and only recommend here for sushi! Gochisou sama!
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Simon Nishikawa
9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, June 02, 2010

I am a restaurant owner and I have been using Cafe Japan on and off for almost a decade! I have always found Cafe Japan to be an honest and wholesome place to eat.. the food has always been beautifully presented and of a very high quality on every occasion that I have visited.. and these have been numerous and frequent.

The service is polite, expedient, hospitable and unpretentious.. The Miso soup tastes like it has therapeutic qualities, the Fried Tofu is to die for, the sushi & Sashimi platters are exquisite, the tempura is fantastic and the grilled black cod in miso paste is heavenly

We make a pilgrimage from Hertfordshire to visit Cafe Japan and this has got to be my favourite restaurant, informal, great value, welcoming and fantastic food... my wife insists that we visit at least once a month and this is affirmed by my daughters who now love sushi thanks to Cafe Japan
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Gels
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Thursday, May 20, 2010

My husband and I live in the area and have been fans of Cafe Japan ever since it was opened many years ago, to be more precise it must have been around 14-15 years ago. We absolutely love the place, our children, our neighbours we are all love it, the food, the atmosphere and the service. I cannot understand the criticism of one of the reviewers, Dave who, trashed Cafe Japan and I feel hurt on their behalf. It is unjust criticism! I have friends who have travelled to Japan many times and praise Cafe Japan endlessly saying how authentic it is, and the sushis are gloriously fresh. There are actually a few other Japanese restaurants in Golders Green who are not good at all, we went once to the one next door to Cafe Japan because it was full to the brim and it was terrible! You can see how the customers keep coming back and there is a large Japanese community loyal to the place which muct be a sign that they are doing something right.
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Ana
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Saturday, May 08, 2010

This is the third time I went to Cafe Japan. I wasn't overly impressed the first two times, but the Korean restaurant I wanted to go to was full and I was taking friends out for dinner.

We managed to get a table, which is a good point in favour of the restaurant, but it went downhill from there. The girl serving us took a while to understand our orders, but if you go to an authentic restaurant you can expect that kind of thing to happen.

The starters arrived quickly enough and I do have to say that the quality of the sushi was above average. One of the starters we ordered was missing though.

Then the mains arrived. We got three mains simultaneously, but one of them was missing. The mains came without rice, which we had to order retrospectively. I would have expected the waitress to inform us of the fact that there was no rice with the dishes, but I might have been expecting too much. The last main dish didn't arrive, but at this stage we got the last starter.

The table next to us then got a main dish from the waitress, whilst we were still waiting. After a few minutes, the waitress took the dish from the table next to us and placed it on our table saying that she had brought it to the wrong table. Luckily it hadn't been touched yet.

The person who got that last dish then realised that her dish was badly cooked and asked for it to be taken back. After about five minutes the dish came back, looking sort of cooked.

On the whole I would say that the food was good, apart from the badly cooked dish. But the service was absolutely deplorable and marred the overall experience. We ended up paying full price for this dinner, which was overpriced like all japanese restaurants are, and the saddest thing is that we did not even get a word of apology for the late starter, the main dish which ended up at the wrong table or the raw chicken.

I would say avoid this place, there are other Japanese restaurants in Golders Green which are just as good and offer better service.
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David
3 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 2
Sunday, March 21, 2010

Cafe Japan transformed my eating habits and tastes.

I used to be reluctant to eat sushi, but one trip and a couple of bites has made me crave more, more and more!

Firstly, the food is excellent, easily one of the best Japanese gems in London. A highlight would definitely be the bento boxes. Recently (last 3 months or so), they've come down in price and have a whole load more - the pictures are a little deceptive actually, from what I've noticed you end up with more than what's shown in the menu!

For example there's a delicious Teriyaki Chicken option I go for quite often, and it shows a lovely portion of chicken, rice and some salad. Yet what you end up with is chicken, rice, sushi rolls, salad, miso soup and to top it off, some tofu squares! It's brill, and the price isn't too extoritionate either - a regular meal, with some sushi on the side sets me back around £10 with a small cup of Japanese green tea.

The food is the most important thing, so you'd expect a few corners cut in other areas. But no - the service and atmosphere is still top notch! Friendly staff (though do take a bit of time when sorting out the bill oddly enough), fresh and quick cooking time and well thought out seating and style. Consistent furniture, sleek, black and sophisticated!

It's hard to sum it up really. Just go! Plently of options to cater for all, one trip and it's made me crave sushi and Japanese food a lot more than I used to!
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Jorge B.
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Thursday, October 08, 2009