Little Japan

Waiter was rude. It was raining when I came in so all the umbrellas had to be placed in a bucket before coming in. I did not see this so-​called bucket and the waiter literally grabbed the umbrella out of my hand before seating me.
I had been living in London for less than a week when I first came here, so I was not really accustomed to the restaurant service culture here. However, over time I noticed that things like water need to be asked for and are not necessarily given to you upon being seated like back in the States. I had to ask for tap water, and I did not get any refills unless I asked for them.
This place was cash only (which I did not know about). I asked the waiter if he took card and he responded rudely that it was cash only.
I only came back a few times because it was near my university and it was one of the decently cheaper restaurants in the over-​priced South Kensington area.

Originally don’t want to give points, because didn’t eat, bad review to the waiter, no enthusiasm, neglect, not the concept of first, too snobbish. In short, highly recommended.

Avoid at all costs; although the waitress is nice but the food is catastrophic! I don’t think there are even Japanese chefs. too bad for its location!

Avoid at all costs. The food is terrible and there are no safe options, the gyoza are soggy and gummy, the curry is soupy and bland, the rolls frozen, the pork tastes like fridge… need i go on? Oh and they only accept cash.

If you want inexpensive asian food and filling and you don’t mind that the restaurant is not fancy… then this is your place!
I had the tofu bento box and it was pretty decent!

There are a few times in life that you have a meal this bad. It was almost a comedy of errors it went so poorly. I am still waiting for a call from the ownership to apologize — which they alleged they would when I emerged from the bathroom after being sick.
We knew it wasn’t Japanese food — despite the name — but that was the least of the problem. The bento box I ordered seemed more like something that would come out of a dried up nursing home cafeteria reheated (in a 20 year old microwave) their Chinese themed dinner. The rice was visibly old. The sauce in the chicken teriyaki wasn’t even salty as previous reviews suggest, I wish it had some kind of flavor. And maybe if it had been prepared by someone who had washed their hands (an observation I made while I spent unplanned time in the bathroom — there was no soap) Nasty…

What a mess.
I adore the simple and delicate flavours of well cooked japanese food. I highly doubt, however, that they even have a japanese chef standing in the kitchen. The teriyaki was a salty mess with overpowering notes of soya sauce and salt. The yakisoba tasted like cheap chinese take away box noodles (those which already have heaps of noodles prepared lying in the window), lacking that subtle sweetness and tasted of old oil and glutamate.
Having said that, the waiter was pleasantly polite and quick.

Please don’t waste a precious meal at this place.
This is not Japanese food. The menu has a mix of all different Asian foods and the ones that are supposed to be «Japanese» have ingredients not typically seen in Japanese dishes. The most authentic thing about the entire meal was the one piece of takuan (yellow pickled daikon radish) in the bento box.
Eight of us were looking for a place we could sit down and eat that had budget-​friendly prices. Just looking at the menu posted outside I knew this was not going to be a great dining experience, but I didn’t want to be THAT person that makes the whole group go somewhere else.
Service: only one lady taking orders and she never brought water to the table or asked if we wanted anything to drink.
Food: I had the chicken teriyaki bento box. Honestly, I only got this because everything else on the menu looked so unappetizing and I didn’t want to spend more money than I had to on a meal I knew was going to be rubbish. By picking the chicken teriyaki I settled for a dish that a baboon couldn’t mess up, but what came out could not really be classified as chicken teriyaki. At all.
About the bento box (£5.90 and not filling):
–The chicken was SWIMMING in a dark, super salty sauce. The chicken itself was not great quality and had squishy skin on it.
–The rice was Chinese steamed rice and not Japanese rice
–There was a side salad which looked like the stuff you get in a McDonald’s burger.
–There was some diced konbu which wasn’t that bad
–There was a small heap of cold, steamed green beans. I’d have to say this was the best part of the bento box.
–Oh yeah… and one piece of takuan, which is just purchased from some store so you can’t really mess that up.
A friend ordered chicken curry and when it came out we had to ask the server if it was the right order. It was, unfortunately. First, the curry was atomic yellow. Secondly, it had a whole mess of stuff in it, from red AND green bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, carrots, meat that did not look like chicken, and more, but I had to look away because I didn’t want to get caught staring in bewilderment.
Anyway, long story short: all the food was super salty and low quality and there was just no love or passion whatsoever put into any aspect of the business. Just an overall hot mess.

I stopped by here with a friend one evening to catch a quick bite, but if you want something quick, it is definitely not the place to go. Even though they were fairly empty, the waiter took forever to let us order and then another age went by waiting for the food. My friend noticed that our plates were ready and on the counter but the waiter took another ten minutes to realise this before he actually brought them over.
The salmon sashimi was not very good and the Singapore noodles were just barely tolerable, although they were certainly generous with quantity. I had the udon noodle soup which was very generous as well, and I think because I love udon noodles and they had prepared the noodle part fine (not under or overdone), I was happy to have them. I could give 2 stars for the udon being decent, but I think the rest was so poor it will have to be just 1.

Really why such all the bad reviews? I love this place sure it’s not polished, it looks like a canteen, they don’t except cards and at busy times (as it’s a small place) you might not get a table
But the food is exceptionally reasonably priced (very budget friendly), the sushi is completely expectable I’ve never been poisoned by this place and it’s really conveniant!
I’ve taken my brother, my mother and numerous friends here and we’ve had a great time. Although my mum was a vegetarian, she got something that she wanted, and brother is a little picky and was perfectly happy with his lunch!
If you want gourmet, go somewhere else but if you fancy something fresh and tasty, then this is your place!
Did I mention the portion sizes are really good too?
Nom nom

Stay away. Seriously, go to Tesco for sushi instead. It would be better and cheaper, and the self-​checkout machine is more human than the staff here. We ordered ‘sushi set 2′ and gyoza. The gyoza was greasy, heavy and dense, like little soggy sausage roles filled with mystery meat. California rolls were made with crabstix rather than actual fish, cheap brown avocado and mayonaisse. It all fell apart with the lightest squeeze of chopsticks. Worst of all, the tuna was riddled with red lines, which on research seem to be either blood or worms. I wouldn’t feed it to a starving dog. This place should be closed, it must be contravening some law. It has nothing to do with Japan and the only way I will ever look at their food again is when I will probably be vomiting it up tonight.

Ick! I’ll spare you a rant, but the basic point is that the food is disgusting, and the staff are rude. No reason to go there.
If you’re really super hungry, just go to the Pret across the street. At least their food is fresh.

Recommended by a friend who lived in the area this place was great for a mid-​week lunch. No menu item exceeds £6 and the portions are very generous. I strongly suggest trying one of their Bento boxes. The teriyaki salmon bento was well cooked and incredibly flavoursome.
The only gripe I have with this quaint little restaurant is the tacky décor and lack of atmosphere, however these can be overlooked for the food and the price.

I love Japanese food so when I saw this place I got excited. It is a very small restaurant with one lady working the counter. Maybe 5 – 7 small tables.
I got one of their Bento boxes and I have to say it was great. It came with a good portion of pork, rice and salad. Their Bento boxes range anywhere from £5 to £10.
I am a big guy so it would not fill me up for dinner but if you are looking for a small lunch and love Japanese food, check this place out!

This place is not that good. A group of us was looking for food after attending the Science Museum Lates. Our first choice was Café Daquise but they rudely told us that they had no available seating for the evening (perhaps it was a language issue but most restaurants would apologetically say «Sorry but we are all booked for the evening» but the host just said one word in our request for a table: «No»).
Anyway, we had to look for alternatives… I had been to Oriental Canteen before so I wanted to try something different. I noticed Little Japan had a 3.5 star rating on Unilocal so I figured it can’t be that bad.
And it’s not — it’s not terrible. But I was sorta hoping that it’d be a somewhat authentic Japanese restaurant. However, their menu is a combination of Japanese and Chinese dishes. I got the chicken katsu curry and it was less than average… the curry had a consistency more like Chinese sauces. The other people in my group were not too thrilled with their dishes either.
The evening I was there, they only had one waitress working at the place. Not sure how they figure they can get by with one person serving everyone. We had to wait a while to get her attention.
One thing I’ll give them is that it’s cheap. You can get a lot of food for about £6−7.

I was hungry after imbibing more than my fair share of Asahis at the Science Museum Lates on an empty stomach, and Little Japan was right outside of the Tube station.
Only Japanese people were eating inside it at 9:30pm. If that’s not a ringing endorsement for its food, then I don’t know what is.
The café was small and unassuming. The server at the take-​away counter was far from friendly. I had to leave to get cash from a cash machine after noticing the ‘cash only’ sign. When I returned and waited for my food, I noticed two middle-​aged white men emerging from a curiously unmarked side door near the takeaway counter while exchanging knowing nods with the brusque counter person (I don’t know what that was about. My mind jumped to ‘massage’).
Nevertheless, by the time I got my ‘tofu box’ all the way home from South Kensington to Wandsworth Town (quite a trek), it hit all the right spots. I wasn’t quite sure what it was when I ordered it, as ‘tofu box’ is a bit vague, but when I greedily opened it up in the comfort of my own home, I found that that’s pretty much what I got. A box filled with slices of fried tofu in a tasty broth. And, that late at night, it’s all I wanted without knowing that it was all I wanted. Perfect.
And, golly, was it good.

Oh the times I took away bento boxes at 10:30pm after lectures. You get a really good volume of food for the reasonable prices paid, and although it’s not strictly the most authentic Japanese cuisine, it’s close enough when you’re hungry.
Food never takes to long, location itself is a little rundown but clean, fine.

Übelstes Sushi! Bloß nicht hingehen!

Little Japan is a small café/​restaurant next to South Kensington Tube station. However, its menu does extend a little beyond Japan to encompass dishes such as Singapore fried noodles and roast duck bento boxes.
Be warned that there is no waitress service for ordering, so go up to the till to order. Prices are low-​moderate but unfortunately, so is the food here. Sushi was just better than the pre-​packaged stuff. Sauces seemed to be very gloopy.
With so many other eating establishments around, I would look elsewhere and spend a little more.

I got the dumplings they are quite expensive but very tasty and filling. The staff are very friendly, and their sushi is quite cheap. It is very close to south ken station so convenient to visit, and has sitting table or takeaway. would recommend.

This was bad, really bad. I ordered the Chicken Katsu Curry, it was totally tasteless, swimming in fat and I’m pretty sure it wasn’t chicken.
Makes me shiver at what the sushi must be like, so grateful they forgot to bring it.