Tosa review by Sean
Tosa is one of my favourite London restaurants. When I lived in Hammersmith I was a regular. Now that I am not, it is somewhere I always look forward to visiting with friends.
Their speciality is a wide selection of grilled dishes from the robata. The wide variety of skewers is a delight to explore with high quality ingredients, well flavoured and expertly cooked. My particular favourites however are the grilled fish at the bottom of the grill section - grilled salmon cheek, gilt head sea bream and mackerel are all outstanding.
The menu also offers many of the Japanese standards (sushi, sashimi, noodle and rice dishes etc) and those that I have tried have been very good if not in the league of the grills. There is always something interesting on in the specials menu so be sure to ask for it (they only ever seem to have one copy of the menu as far I have worked out and it is not consistenly distributed).
Prices have always seemed quite reasonable to me, especially in relation to other Japanese restaurants in the area (never mind the West End!). Value for money is excellent on the basis that I have always enjoyed the feast and felt somehow I was underpaying when it came to the bill. It generally seems to work out at around £50-55 for two on a very wide selection of grills, mixed sashimi, some onigiri, a few staples and the odd special, bottomless cups of green tea and maybe a large sake.
The venue and decor are innocuous and there is little in the way of atmosphere. It can be fun to sit at the seats along the grill. While the seats next to the front windows would seem to be the best option I find the large lamps above them uncomfortable to sit under and I prefer to be at the back.
The staff are attentive but unobtrusive and are very friendly and helpful if you engage them. The owner/robata chef is not the chatty type but is clearly passionate about his cooking. His wife is an excellent front of house. Both have lived and worked in Japan for many years but their staff are from all over Asia.
In general service is very good though when they are very busy (which to be fair is now much of the time) it can get a little ragged and food off the robata can arrive in dribs and drabs. I once went very late on a bank holiday Monday evening and they had run out of nearly everything. They were very helpful making clear what was available and accomodating us as well as possible. We still managed a satisfying meal despite its limited range.
In summary go for the food not the atmosphere, go early or on a slow(er) night if you are not a patient diner, balance the grills with a wider selection to tide you over any waits, ensure you are with good company when you go and do ask the staff for their recommendations. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Monday, September 03, 2007
Overall rating 
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 9
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