Tokyo Retro

Gorgeous little place on Abbeville Road in Clapham. The ambience is welcoming and the food… the food is so good! Japanese food is meant to be elegant and simple. And less is definitely more, here! Having said that, they do not skimp on portions. The ramen bowls are sizeable and incredibly tasty. Pretty close to what I would expect home cooked Japanese food to be like. I would thoroughly recommend coming here with an appetite. The menu has a lot to offer and you can be adventurous or play it safe.
We had ramen and dessert. Honestly there was no space for starters! The ramen that I had was tasty, nutritious and the pork just melted in my mouth! The chicken soup base… had a lot of depth and was super tasty. For dessert, you must try the black sesame ice cream. However, there’s also mochi buns and green tea ice cream on offer. I was honestly bedazzled for quite a while. Life really is hard sometimes!

awesome Japanese restaurant in a quiet part of town! Great sashimi. Reasonable prices. It’s really off the beaten path, so unless you live nearby, quite difficult to get to. But if you’re local, or driving (quite alot of residential street parking, but beware parking restrictions during the day) then this is probably one of the best Japanese in the Clapham/​Balham/​Tooting/​Wandsworth area.
Its more of a dinner place than a lunch place, but they do lots of noodle + rice dishes as well. And really high quality, authentic stuff.

God this place is just so delicious! Can’t believe it’s only a stone throw’s away from me — score!
Came here on Wednesday and the place was pretty quiet though they said it definitely picks up at the weekend so make sure you book in advance.
We got lots of delicious sashimi and sushi and I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. The fish was so fresh, it will make you drool!
Service was great too, our waitress was both helpful and super sweet. She picked out a delish sake and was happy to help.
Going to have to come back to this place: every single day of the week!

Had a really great supper here last night, and would definitely come back again! The sashimi was especially good — really fresh and delicious and well-​presented — in fact the assorted sashimi platter was so good we ordered a second one! The staff were super friendly and knowledgeable — I definitely felt happy to follow their recommendations — especially in relation to the delicious sake.
Would definitely recommend to anyone in the area who fancies seriously good sashimi in a friendly, calm atmosphere. This is a really great wee place!

I will preface this review that this restaurant just opened to the public, and still has a few bits and pieces to sort out, but that’s the reason I’m giving Tokyo Retro 4 stars instead of 5. I fully expect to come back in a few months time when this place is running like a well-​oiled machine to be a 5-​star restaurant.
I live just around the corner and only moved here recently. My flatmate told me he’d been eyeing this place for a while and wanted to try it as soon as it opened, which couldn’t have been more than a week ago. He went Friday night to try and get some ramen, but currently they’re only doing it for lunch. He got some scrumptious crab croquettes instead and invited me for a ramen lunch the next day. No objections from me.
The décor is minimal and the seating is plentiful, though I can see this place getting busy pretty quickly. For lunch there were maybe 2 other tables seated and my flatmate said about three other tables were seated when he went for Friday dinner. The servers were very polite and armed with big smiles. I believe they’re still a little new serving, as we had to wave them over and then wait a few minutes for service despite 2 servers waiting 3 seated tables.
I ordered the Negi Chasiu Ramen (ramen with a double helping of pork belly + spring onions) while my flatmate ordered the Chasiu Miso Ramen (miso ramen with double pork belly). We ordered the burned rice tea, which the servers kindly refilled with hot water once the pots ran empty (I believe there are unlimited refills). The tea paired really well with the ramen, as it was a tad on the salty side, but that’s my only complaint. The soup tasted very good, the ramen was perfectly cooked, and the pork belly was SPOT ON. I could not quickly recall when the last time I had pork belly this good. The double portion (4 slices vs. 2) was just right for me, though a few people might find it a bit on the generous side. This is my go to ramen shop now, as going all the way to Bone Daddies for an equal-​par ramen just doesn’t make sense anymore.
The little logistical things that will be sorted out:
— I believe they’re doing somewhat of a soft opening right now, so not all of the menu items may be available at all times. I believe this will be quickly sorted out.
— Waiting time (both for service and food). A few parties came, ate, paid, and left before we completed the cycle — perhaps because we were located at the corner of the restaurant by the window. This was due to slower service and waiting about 5 minutes for the check when we were finally finished and presented with the bill (I think the waitress just forgot). Also, the food took a good 10 – 15 min to come out, though I think it was because we ordered ramen vs. other people ordering non-​soup dishes. I hope it doesn’t become a logjam once things scale up, but I guess that’s why they have soft openings — to get these things fixed.
— Door doesn’t close well. The day was a bit chilly and windy. The waitress shut the door but it kept blowing open. She went and got a hammer and tried to sort it out, but it didn’t really work. I just thought it was kind of strange seeing a waitress hammering at a door hinge while I was eating — though I’m sure they’ll get that fixed too.
All in all, I think this place will find its own on Abbeville Road and the days of only 3 – 4 seated tables will quickly disappear. And as this place grows, I will continue to enjoy my ramen lunches and the occasional dinner there.