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Now, I am all for supporting local restaurants. They bring a community together, make streets look appealing and stop a barrage of estate agents opening up or (another) 'little' supermarket. Tokyo Retro on the gorgeous Abbeville Road in Clapham has been something of a mystery to us Abbeville Villagers. Taking a while to officially open and a solo table set in the window simply enticed locals to wonder what was going on.
Now open, Tokyo Retro with a few tweaks to the décor, which was much needed to begin with, has finally settled in. We got talking to the very friendly front of house waitresses whom informed us that one chef is ex Nobu and another being head chef of the Japanese embassy (although please don't quote me on it I could have heard her totally wrong!), so our expectations were high and I can tell you, they have been met! They also informed us that they are trying to put in a sushi bar which at the moment they can't due to the kitchen temperatures being too warm...however we wait with baited breath...
On now our third visit, in as many weeks, we popped in and were presented with what is now the lunch menu, they have recently introduced a separate dinner menu with more options for both starters and mains.
Mr D and I fancied trying as broader range of the menu as possible, it was a treat day after all. Whilst deciding, we ordered some of their edamame - not much to report here as I'm not entirely sure you can go wrong or particularly 'wow' with beans...
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Chicken Karaage was first out and this is fantastically succulent, incredibly crisp and was definitely gobbled up rather (too) quickly, it's now our staple order on visiting.
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Their special giant shrimp tempura is a pretty spectacularly large prawn, with extremely light tempura batter. Served along with three different types of mushroom tempura - an added bonus and just as wonderful. FYI, the same gentleman was dining on two of our occasions whom seemingly travels to Japan A LOT (we could hear every word due to a booming voice) and he
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Crab croquettes were our final of the starter feast we seemed to be having, four mouth burning breaded parcels arrived. Which sadly lacked in crab taste however the crunchy outer shell and smooth potato filling was a fantastic combination. I just wish they were a little more...crabby?!
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Our mains (now as the lunch bento boxes) were chicken teriyaki and pork with ginger. Both delivered well on flavour the chicken teriyaki for one was a triumph. Always being a fan of the sweet sticky sauce I was completely sold by. The chicken was kept perfectly tender and had a good flavour throughout. The pork, fell slightly behind due to it being a little dry, flavour wise however it was excellent and there was a dominant ginger kick.
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| Chicken |
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| Pork |
Both dishes came with rice, a Japanese salad and Japanese potato salad however note that now for dinner rice is an extra as they have refined their dishes slightly...see photos below for a recent visit during for the all new dinner menu, just as delicious, just as authentic but a little more refined for suppers...
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| Beef Katsu Curry - sauce not pictured |
If you love Japanese food and want authentic Japanese home cooking you can't really beat Tokyo Retro. The food, I'm told by some regulars, is as good as you would get without actually being in Japan, so if that's not a reason to head over I'm not sure what is... I simply cannot wait for the sushi counter... but, for now, I encourage you locals to go and support it (even if the room is a little quiet!) you won't be disappointed!!
A: 57 Abbeville Road, London, Greater London, SW4 9JW
P:+44 20 3302 7574