Tokyo Nights

Don’t come here. Mainly because you have to forfeit £5 for the pleasure of being allowed in to buy some overpriced drinks. This was a failure on my part. A friend recommended it and I DIDN’T check with Unilocal first! *gasps* I know, I’ve now learnt my lesson.
There was no queue and we were there around 9pm so really, we didn’t expect to have to pay to get in. The place looks cool, to be fair. It looks a bit like the surreal scene in the new Total recall film — neon lights, street signs and and paper lanterns. I would recommend you come here for free as it’s pretty cool. Te music wasn’t particularly Japanese, neither were the food stalls on offer. We left after one small warm coconut water-​based cocktail in a paper cup.

Tokyo Nights… I wanted to like you, so much! I’m not sure how Japanese inspired this pop up is, especially with hotdogs and burgers being served and no sign of ramen or sushi :(Don’t bother paying to jump the queue for £10 unless you’re really short on time, at around 8pm the queue was virtually non existent. Inside you’ll find 5 food stalls and 2 main bars. Not a lot happening inside… so much potential especially the concept and design of the exterior. Try Dinerma instead!

We live nearby and had seen a huge line Friday night to get in. Thus, we decided to go early on Saturday to check it out. We arrived at around 7pm and there was no line. We paid our £5 and was given a stamp. They shared that this would also allow us free entry into the club after 11pm. Sadly, we only stayed for about 30 minutes… we didn’t feel like it was worth it at all.
I think how they transformed the space was really cool but that’s pretty much where it ended. there’s 6 places for pay-​as-​you-​go options but, to be quite honest, the food options weren’t very Japanese at all. Most of the stands seemed to be selling their regular fare with some additions of Japanese ingredients (kewpie majo, shichimi). I know their website isn’t promising that the food will be authentic but just slapping on some condiments that are Japanese-​esque wasn’t what we were expecting either. There wasn’t even a place for ramen? That’s pretty much a staple in Tokyo.
I got a cocktail with yuzu (£7) that was pretty average. Too sweet and not much alcohol in it. After having a look at the hamburgers, hot dogs, etc. available we went with the most Japanese option — the dumpling stand, Dorshi. £6 for 6 steamed dumplings. We had high hopes as most of the staff at the stand seemed to be making the dumplings to be steamed/​fried by hand. There were four different steamed dumplings to choose from. Classic pork and chive, a lamb and black pudding one and another meat option and then a veggie (I believe kale?) dumpling. We went with two of each of the meat options.
After you choose, there’s a slew of different sauces/​add-​ons you can add — soy and ginger sauce, pickled, cabbage, crispy onions, sesame seeds, kewpie mayo, hot sauce, hoisin sauce etc. We love condiments so this seemed promising as well! Though, they seem to add every single condiment if you don’t say anything, which even for two condiment lovers seemed over the top and a clashing of flavors.
Sadly, what we received were some pretty dry dumplings. Also, all three of the meat dumplings were indiscernible, we couldn’t tell which of the three dumplings we’d ordered (thus, why we’ve completely forgotten one type!) we were eating. There wasn’t enough of the sauces which could have helped with the dryness. I’ve eaten a lot of dumplings in my life, and these were so forgettable and some of the worst we’ve had.
After that, we gave up on the event and left to get some real dinner.
It’s an awesome concept and I hate giving bad reviews… but save your £5!

Cool interior with Tokyo themed decorations awesome music. Lots of space for hanging out with friends.
We went during the second night of opening, and paid 5 quid for entry. Upon going in, we had a choice of 6 food stalls and 4 bars.
If you’re a carnivore, you’ll love this place. The stalls (including Patty And Bun) offer chicken karage, chicken wings, grilled chicken, burgers, steak wraps, dumplings.
The food is ok, but to be honest, we were expecting a bit more variety. It felt a bit lackluster I guess because I was hoping Tokyo Nights would reflect the diversity of Japanese cuisine. It was nice going once, but I probably wouldn’t go again.