Food reviews

Bincho Yakitori

Japanese food is full of variety and Bincho Yakitori serves up a diverse range of interesting and unusual and fare. The second branch of Bincho opened on Old Compton Street recently and it’s designed to let diners watch the action: Yakitori translates as “grilled bird”; so it’s all about chicken, and all about grills. Five busy grills are manned by manic chefs moving skewers of meat around very fast, and there are lots of them since you can easily manage to eat four skewers each. The idea is informal and fun; and great for sharing.
We ordered a strange spread. An iced beef tomato salad with green tea salt was bizarre and delicious; white and red miso soups were warming. Most of the menu focuses on the small grilled skewers, most, but not all of them chicken-based. We had corn-fed chicken and spring onion, duck with spring onion and wasabi, eel and ginko nut, plus Japanese pickles, salt-grilled horse mackerel and buttered rice with garlic. The chicken options include chicken skin, chicken gizzard and, intriguingly, “other chicken parts available on request”. We shared everything between three of us and were soon feeling very full – it’s a meal that provides lots of entertainment by way of identifying strange and delicious things, and an eaterie that’s destined for success. l PH