Bento Cafe

This place was fantastic 2 or 3 years ago, now it has gone down hill so much,

Im all about the food, I dont really care at all what its like inside, as long as its clean and has the basics,

The food used to be very good when i first started eating here, fresh good tasting sushi and a good fair price.

Now its not good fish, most of the fish is tough, almost like it had been frozen for a longtime or used from the day before,

If Bento read this please sort it out you were a great place to eat,
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hannah
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 2
Sunday, February 07, 2010

Called on Friday to book a table for 6.15 on Saturday. They said a reservation wasn't necessary as they don't get busy until 8. So it was a problem when we arrived on Saturday (at 6.15) to be told that we could have a table only until 7.30. They then extended this to 8. Not wishing to have our evening ruined by the table and clock police we chose to go elsewhere. Bento Cafe is OK but not that OK that they can be so rude to customers. There are better restaurants, including Japanese, in Camden. Shame on you BC.
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Lisa - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Saturday, January 16, 2010

Sharing my new experience of King Crab Sashimi in bento cafe......yummy.

Friends, It is a busy restaurant don;t forget make reservation to avoid disappointment. Always busy.
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Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 10
Monday, October 26, 2009

I went to bento cafe with my dad and i have got to be honest unless you don't order alot of food bento has taken a turn for the worse. Even though i was only allowed to spend £12 it was a bit more of what I ordered but my dad payed the rest. I ordered spicy tuna roll, you can't really detect as much spice as the last time i went to bento which was before this one. Now only if you stop halfway through you will get PESTERED bu the amount of spice. My dad ordered a salmon and avocado in-out roll which was no difference from the previous time i was there and no other words to say but amazing. We then shared a bento box which was the griled beef terriyaki served with pumpkin korroke, steamed rice and vegetables and grilled beef in a terriyaki sauce which was very nice but much less portion-wise than last time and very sweet. Not very good value for money as it costs around £3 a roll. Do not go unless you are with loads of people. I much rather prefere atariya in Hendon. NO ATMOSPHERE at all when we were there even though it was the summer holidays. i think its lost how good it was 2 years ago.
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Jonathan Rashti
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 2
Thursday, October 22, 2009

PRICES UP - QUALITY + QUANTITY DOWN!!

Ive had my lunch at Bento Cafe many times over the past few months and it has always been good - and i kept coming back, but it has taken a turn for the worse!

Firstly - the Bento boxes have gone up 50p. Second- the Ramen (which I normally get) is now being made with hardly any meat at all! I usually get the chicken ramen and it came with a few nice big chunks of chicken - justifies the £5 spent. They have now changed it, so you pick up the ramen from the fridge area and they fill with soup - when i got back to the office i noticed there was hardly any chicken, just tiny shreds and scraps.

A total rip off. I will not be going back.
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Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 3
Wednesday, September 30, 2009

I'm extremly surprized to find such a nasty comment about Bento.

you might argue about service, cause sometimes staff looks a bit unfriendly and in a rush. But they are definitely Japanese...The food quality I think is just PERFECT. I' m a big fun of Japanese food and tried a few i London and it's definitely one of the BEST. especially its very good value for money.
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Anna
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 9
Friday, July 10, 2009

Bento Cafe is my favourite restaurant. Lovely food.
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Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 10
Saturday, July 04, 2009

I was here for lunch today. I ordered yakitori (chicken skewers) and a sushi set menu. The yakitori was undercooked. The sauce was fine but did not taste homemade. The portion rather small (3 20p-sized chicken chunks x 2). The sushi set consisted of salmon, tuna, seabass, mackerel, and crabstick and a cucumber maki. I am not sure if crabstick was pictured - I found it disappointing to find a whole fridge-cold crabstick attached to the rice with a nori band. The mackerel was tough - again, this was a cheap choice. Seabass and salmon were fine, and tuna tasted a little old. The set was complemented by miso soup and black pickle (seaweed?).

Overall, the meal was adequate but certainly not something to go back for. Generally speaking, I like my Japanese food, and particularly sushi, to be made by Japanese chefs - the staff here are Korean, I think.

The staff were not too pleasant (I had male waiters, the women only seemed to clean) - both the serving style and the food arrangement was lacking in the finesse I associate with Japanese food culture.

I also object to the 10% non-optional gratuity - especially if I'm having a quick lunch on my own and am out the door within 20 mins.
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JJ
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 6
Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Another happy stumbling...

The Salmon Carpaccio is stunning, in fact its all great, so fresh.....

A local favourite, as you can tell given its packed noon and night on a daily basis, but if you are prepared to wait 10mins for a table, its well worth it.

This has become a little treat for myself and my closest friends (if everyone knew about it, you'd never get a table)

Its not cheap, but not overly expensive, and you will leave satisfied, I guarentee.
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Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Thursday, April 30, 2009

Randomly stumbled upon Bento Cafe whilst in Camden and it was one of the happiest stumblings I've had in London. We tried a bit of everything and it was all really well made and just incredibly fresh. Seriously recommend the seared tuna with miso dressing and Volcano sushi. Great value for money too.
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Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 9
Thursday, April 09, 2009