The Japanese Canteen

There were quite some mixed reviews for this place but we really loved it! I had the chicken teriyaki over rice which was really lovely — the chicken was chargrilled and the sauce was great. My friend had a Korean style chicken dish (the chicken pieces were fried) and it was really good. It said spicy but to be honest it was bearable — you might want to add some of the Sriracha for heat!
Price wise we were really impressed. The food was served quickly and the service was good.

Meh is right. It’s mostly Korean food, which is usually amazing — not sure why they’ve called it Japanese Canteen? Perhaps this should have been an indication that it would be a mediocre experience…
Shared 2 bimbimbop’s which were quite flavorless and had way more rice than anything else. Lacking in chicken and seafood. It’s brought out in stoneware which is insanely hot and they didn’t give any warning, and I burned my finger on it.
Average service. Not busy on a Sunday evening and had to keep flagging down wait staff, reminding them to bring out what we ordered ages ago.
Asked for more kimchi and wasn’t told that it would be an extra 1.95 on the bill. Ditto for tea — was told the portion was a pot but we still had to pay 1.95 each instead of the 1.95 on the menu for one.
This place really needs to get their act together…
To top it all off hubby got seriously ill from the meal.
Do yourself a favor and go to Hurwundeki further up Mare to get your Korean fix. The food actually tastes of something and is significantly better!

But too hip for its own good. Food certainly has flavour but some dishes are shockingly low on meat when that is intended to be the main ingredient. My beef bibimbap had the equivalent of 1 large cube of stewing steak. Won’t be rushing back which is a pity because despite all the above I kind of like it…

I wanted to like this place. The only thing good about it was the service. But even competent waiters can’t save customers from their hardened microwaved dumplings, chicken wings which had a fried outer layer that was peeling off from the weight of its lumpy sauce, and a bunch of random salty ingredients trying to pass as a ramen.

Well the food is lovely. I can’t fault them there. The place was packed which is always a good sign. The service wasn’t exactly what I’d call «efficient» but I’m willing to forgive that because when my good arrived I woofed it down in minutes.

This place is literally my favourite place to eat in London. Asahi on tap, cheap (ish) delicious food, vegan options. SO good.
I love the Sriracha on the table, I love the chilled vibe, I love the food, I love the ASAHI.
I went 3 times in one weekend when I discovered it. Get involved.

Hit and miss with this particular Japanese Canteen. On our previous visit the waitress we had was quite brusque. But when I went in again yesterday the lady I had was really sweet.
The food is really good value. Been is good too! I had the hot stone bibimbap. Beware — it is a damn hot stone! But very tasty and very filling.
The location is also really good as there isn’t too much going on in that part of Bethnal Green so all the new places under that arches are a welcome upgrade.

Had some chicken wings, squid and a bibimbap. Everything was ok but nothing special at all. Very standard food fare.

Horrible kimchee and bland ramen

For a fairly quick bite near Bethnal Green this place is fine. Under the railway arches you would expect the restaurant to be a fairly loud place, but whether the trains were quiet or the arch well soundproofed it was surprisingly peaceful. The style was very clean and temporary, it felt as though it was a pop up.
The food isn’t particularly Japanese though it is of decent quality and value. The range of beers that were on the menu impressed me, however they weren’t all available on a Friday night.
The staff weren’t particularly attentive and we were served after people who arrived later than us. Catching the eye of the staff was quite difficult, but as we weren’t on too much of a time constraint we were willing to watch the graffiti artists at work on the wall outside.
All in all it was decent, with the staff just a little sluggish in their attention.

Really good food and quick service but they could have been a little jollier.

Totally addictive Korean Fried Chicken/​Tofu – they got the spices so so right. Sushi was pretty good, despite the fact that the rice isn’t sushi rice. Service is great!

Went for lunch. Quick service decent price. Had the Volcano roll which was excellent, the highlight of the meal. Wife had the K Strips Donbori and I had the Sweet and sour with health rice. Mine was really salty. Like really salty, like it was leaving Gomorrah and glanced back. Boom, Old Testament reference. And my wife’s had way too much sauce. All in all, I’ll go back for the sushi. But probably pass on the Korean dishes. How’s that.

Food is generally good and value for money. However my last visit I ordered a miso soup which I was not given and after chasing them 6 times they finally serve it to me. What a dissatisfying experience.

OK but not amazing food. Suits the price point for what you get. Portions are good sized. For having «Japanese» in the name it had a LOT of korean food on the menu (korean fried chicken, kimchi, etc).
On our visit the service was bizarrely rude — i.e. asking who ordered which drink when delivering them to the table and then still putting it in front of the wrong person — and generally unhelpful about the menu.
For example, they offered as a small plate that sounded a lot like a steamed bun/​hirato buns/​bao/​whatever you like to call it in its description. (I can’t remember what they call it). I asked the server to describe it and she offered something along the lines of «it’s like a chewy dough … it’s soft …» I asked her if it was indeed a steamed bun. She confidently said no. I described the steamed bun anyway (puffy, doughy, slightly sticky buns that are folded over meat?). Again she denied this was what they offered. She then asked if I’d ever been to a Japanese bakery. I said no. Frustrated that no one at the table had visited their local japanese bakery, she gave up describing it altogether and just stared at us. I ordered the damn thing anyway and guess what? It’s a godamn steamed bun.
I also tried the Korean fried chicken but wasn’t overly impressed with the flavours. The rest of the table ordered their signature super hot bowls of noodles and meat … the bowl is so hot the meat arrives at your table raw and by stirring it all together, it gets cooked. Sounds suspect but it indeed cooks the ground (minced) meat but the bowl keeps the food so freaking hot that it takes a very, very long time to consume the food.
If this was local to me I’d prob go again for lunch, but it’s not worth going out of your way for. If you’re in the mood for fantastic ramen or sushi or steamed buns, there are much better places to get your fix.

The Korean Fried Chicken dish with rice included crispy boneless chicken and a tangy, spicy sauce. Would order again. They also have Asahi on tap in half and full pints which is a good pairing with the KFC. Decent lunch for a tenner.

Un restaurante japonés, creo que franquiciado, bajo las vías del tren aprovechando la estructura de ladrillo, bien acondicionado y con comida rica: esto es este The Japanese Canteen. Estábamos recién llegados a Londres y teníamos antojo de ramen, así que buscamos algo por el estilo cerca de Bethnal Green y Shoreditch y nos apareció este sitio.
A mí me agradó bastante. La comida estaba bien rica, nos pedimos un ramen muy rico y un plato coreano que ahora no recuerdo, pero que llevaba arroz y picante, delicioso, pudo ser un bibimbap. De beber, dos pintas de Asahi bien frías, y eso que en la calle no se sobrepasaban los 6 grados centígrados.
Me gustó el sitio, la verdad. El hecho de que el tren pase literalmente por encima de tu cabeza y se note el meneo dentro del restaurante le da un puntito interesante, aunque habrá gente a la que no le guste. El local es amplio, moderno, bueno para grupos y con un precio acorde a lo que estás comiendo y dónde lo estás comiendo. No te olvides de que aunque no estés en la City, esto sigue siendo Londres.
Seguramente por la zona hay cosas mejores, pero bueno, para ser nuestra primera incursión recién llegados desde Sevilla estuvo muy bien :)

I had a ramen with pork in two ways and it was perfectly balanced rich with flavour and ingredients. Noodles maintained the promise of freshness. I loved it.

A good spot. A hip setting. Tasty food at pretty decent prices. As the word ‘canteen’ implies, this place is relatively low-​key — a very nice place for a casual meal.

I love the Korean Fried Chicken and I love even more now that I can get it a bit closer to home!
The Arches are kind of the up-​and-​coming spot to be nowdays in Bethnal Green and the new Japanese Canteen is one of the first businesses to open up shop in the renovated spaces.
It’s a little different than the other JC’s (table service, open-​air & outside seating).
Check it out!

Ah, i’m the first one and it’s only natural because the place opened yesterday!
I’ve seen people working on it for more than 2 months when i lived in bethnal green and now i had the chance to finally test it.
I think it’s a franchise, because there are other similarly-​named places in London, just like Wagamama.
And like wagamama, they makes a mix of japanese and korean food.
For my first test, i ordered edamame and ramen noodle soup.
The edamame was ok, while the ramen was excellent in taste, but not in quantity unfortunately. I would have eaten a second bowl, because the stock was excellent and the noodles really delicious. I hope they increase the quantities or give the option of «supersize» them.
Total spent: 12 GBP (service included)