Review: Bincho Yakitori EC1

Bincho Yakitori

   

A recent event in The Little Kitchen LDN was Hayley's birthday, and what better way to celebrate than with Japanese food - one of our favourites.  Bincho Yakitori was a place that stood out to us and seeing as we hadn't heard of it before, we thought why not.  Based in Clerkenwell (the other branch is in Soho) we were an hour early for our reservation, and the staff kindly let us sit down anyway and were very accommodating with our seating preferences (we weren't being fussy, we just decided eating by the window next to the smokers was not our best choice).  

The exciting thing about the restaurant is that most of the food is made to be shared and the grill section served in skewers.  

   

What we ate: 

• We had the combo sharer dish, which is an ideal start for any newbies to the restaurant, it consisted of salmon, pork rib (off the bone), whole tiger prawn, chicken wings, asparagus and shiitake mushroom. 
• Specials: soft shell crab
• Akadashi - Red miso soup
• Buta - pork belly
• Aigamo - duck breast, wasabi and spring onion
• Tofu with kimchi 
• Tori Tatsuta-Age - Deep fried chicken with ponzu
• Ninniku Chahan - Buttered garlic rice
• Yakitori Tare (Bincho's signature sauce)

The menu was simple to read with plenty of dishes to choose from, as well as mouth-watering specials.  We decided to start off slow with our choices, and ordered seconds, that along with the red wine made a delicious evening.  The food was cooked fresh, and the chefs can be seen through a clear screen which adds to the excitement.  A few of our favourites from the evening was the Yakitori Tare, the signature sauce, it went well with the spicy tofu dish...and well, everything else.  If anything, the salmon was slightly too over-cooked and was a bit chewy than we would have preferred, and for those who do not want to get their hands messy, the whole tiger prawn may not be for you, as it comes with shell and all.   

Not to mention the quirky, neat decor, it all added to the experience and had an inviting atmosphere as soon as you step inside.  Don't under estimate the amount of food served to you because if you're anything like us, you will soon realise that this is wholesome, good food enough to satisfy your hunger needs.  Don't under estimate Bincho.  It is safe to say, that we will be making another trip here soon to try out all the things we wanted to the first time round.