Koya
49 Frith Street, Soho, London, W1D 4SQ - View on a map
Telephone: 020 7434 4463
Koya
| Overall 5.7 |
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| Food 5.3 |
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| Service 6.3 |
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| Atmosphere 7.0 |
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| Value 4.0 |
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| Based on 3 reviews |
what the critics say
Saturday, February 05, 2011 - I had a cold dish of smoked mackerel with fresh herbs and leaves on a bed of udon with a sensationally good sauce. It was so vividly flavoured, and yet also so fresh and (thanks to the veg) so sharply green-tasting, that it added up to a perfect winter cheerer-up. As for the noodles, they were amazingly good, with a mystifying depth of flavour and a perfect texture. The hot dish was a beef atsu-atsu. I think the meat was brisket; slow-cooked, it was falling into shreds, and came with a broth of beautifully judged weight, meaty and enveloping without being too rich.
Wednesday, May 05, 2010 - Cold 'tenzaru' udon (served with prawn and vegetable tempura) was artfully arranged on a bamboo mat in a meticulous manner; the tsuyu (a sweet soy, dashi and mirin mixture) dipping sauce was intense and savoury. There are small plates, too, and we slurped up dishes of onsen tamago ('hot spring' eggs), slow cooked in their shells at a low temperature to give the whites a silken quality and the yolks the rich texture of a soft chocolate ganache. The food speaks for itself here and news will spread fast.
Koya
I thought Koya was excellent. I lived in Japan for a year or so and this was very authentic in terms of food and ambience. The noodles were top quality, the range of dishes and the way the menu designed quite fun and innovative, and the service was quick and friendly.
The Tempura was of a high standard, with lots of light, crispy batter coating fresh ingrediants - exactly how it should be. Also, I liked the range of side dishes - some of them not often found in the UK.
If you have to queue, it is worth the wait!
Comment on this reader review
Tom
8
Overall rating 
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Monday, November 29, 2010
Koya
After first visiting this restaurant (coincidentally) on its first day of trading, I decided to give it another go. And again I found it underwhelming and overpriced. The udon noodles and the broth were ok - taste and texture were perfect even - but the beef that came in it was uninspired and a bit too chewy. I was going to get the prawn tempura one but changed my mind after I was told I would get only one prawn in it. Really? I also found the braised pork belly to be a bit dry. I’ve had better noodles – try the La Mian place in Cranbourne Street in Covent Garden – for half the price. I think at Koya one is expected to pay for the “packaging” which I am not a big fan of doing…
Comment on this reader review
Eytan
6
Overall rating 
Food 6 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 3
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Koya
Udon is nice here but I agree the price you pay for simply carbs may be a little much. However I did enjoy the noodles- lovely texture in traditional Jap style dishes.
Service is not efficient but nonetheless my dish quickly came.
NB The old seaweed udon is a bit of an acquired taste btw.
Not worth queuing for but a decent restaurant!
Comment on this reader review
Anon
8
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Monday, September 06, 2010
Koya
The service is good,but if you are in a hurry,please do not go as the waiting could be long. The food is rather expensive when compared to others Japanese restaurant.
Comment on this reader review
6
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 2
Saturday, September 04, 2010
what the bloggers say
Tamarind and Thyme
Sunday, November 27, 2011 - I wanted to try their tempura and so ordered their Yasai Ten Mori, assorted vegetable tempura. It may not have been cheap but it was excellent - light, non-greasy and crisp. I was very pleased with my Buta Miso (Atsu-Atsu - hot udon in hot broth) - the thick brown paste dolloped on top of my noodles was porky bits in a salty, savoury miso paste. I stirred this through and it made for a most comforting bowl of noodles. The udon noodles had that wonderful bite that you only seem to get from being freshly made and were just amazing.
Gourmet Chick - 7/10
Tuesday, July 06, 2010 - The prawn tempura noodles were served in a large bowl of clear, crisp dashi stock and were topped with a huge, crispy coated prawn. While I was disappointed to only get one prawn, it was a monster and the dashi was a revelation, clear and flavoursome...The down side to the great noodles and cheap prices is that no bookings are taken which means it can be difficult to get a table. Queues often stretch out the door and it took me a few attempts to actually manage to eat at Koya. The secret is to get in early, if you are prepared to have lunch at 12.01 you will find an almost empty restaurant, but one that quickly fills up.
A Rather Unusual Chinaman
Friday, June 18, 2010 - The udon was another interesting texture. Chewing on one cold was how I imagine chewing on an earthworm would feel like, with an entirely nondescript taste. The dipping sauce was light but very wet and just helped make something rather slimy into something really slippery. In all honesty, it wasn't terrible; I just found it hard to understand how one person was expected to devour a plateful of these rubbery beasties...There is nothing wrong or offensive about Koya, just nothing that exciting.
Cheese and Biscuits - 8/10
Monday, May 17, 2010 - We ordered one each of the 'Hiya-Atsu', cold udon with a hot broth. My beef broth was superb, the largely transparent liquid belying an extraordinary depth of flavour. On top we each cracked a fresh cold poached egg, a clever little thing traditionally cooked in hot springs to get a soft white but a slightly set yolk. The real star though was the udon, which for want of a better word were simply incredibly 'noodle-y', with delivered rich, fresh ingredients and an incredible texture, slippery on the outside and meaty within.
An American In London
Monday, May 10, 2010 - The udon noodle soup was (happily) quite outstanding, but for 9 quid, I was expecting more than a single prawn tempura (which arrived soggy beyond belief). The noodles were a great, chewy-but-firm texture, and the broth was elegantly clear and packed with flavor. The couple with whom we shared a table had smartly ordered inexpensive noodle soups and then ordered a portion of prawn tempura, which meant their prawns arrived (1) separately from the soup and therefore not soggy; and (2) in a generous portion - there must have been four or five on their tempura plate.
London Eater
Monday, May 10, 2010 -
Their base stock, the dashi is made with using imported katsuo-arabushi (Fermented and dried Japanese skipjack tuna), souda-bushi (another type of smoked and dried fish) and iriko (dried anchovy) and boy, was it strong. Minced pork pieces sat at the bottom of the intensely flavoured dashi base - an extreme hit of salt on my palate, perhaps a tad too salty to have on its own, but with the noodles - it was godsend, bringing about a bouquet of deep, deep flavours to the noodles...Affordable, quick, deliciously springy noodles, some say a 'healthy' alternative and a novelty factor to boot, what's not to like?
Will Eat For Money
Sunday, April 25, 2010 - Saba udon: Smoked mackerel in a hot broth, with hot udon noodles. The dashi is made from scratch in the restaurant using katsuobushi and is absolutely miles ahead of anything else I've tried in London. The mackerel was firm and the implied smokiness was decent, whilst the greens (shiso and others) wilted beautifully into the molten broth. The hand-made, fresh noodles were fantastic: chewy and slippery - all those good things...Tap water was placed on the table immediately as we sat down, which is always nice. For two people, the bill came to around 30 quid for everything; a decent price to pay for a seriously good lunch.
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