Food reviews

Yakitoria

Above: Paddington's Yakitoria

Winner of last year’s prize for décor at last year’s Time Out Eating and Drinking Awards, Yakitoria is a strikingly designed eaterie, located in the new Paddington Basin with an attractive view of warehouses and water. Inside it’s a strange and impressive space, a mix of the industrial (soaring ceilings, exposed piping) and the girlie (lots of pink, a big crystal curtain). There’s a subtly changing bamboo projection, a strange reception desk made from what looks like volcanic stone, a padded wall, a neon-lit bar and a recurring wasabi-green colour scheme. And there are even a few outside seats for summer canalside dining.
We were here for lunch, to try the new menu that includes lunch boxes and set meals. The menu is bafflingly vast and exotic, so we chose from the set lunches: a spicy soft shell crab donburi box and a sushi and kushi yaki skewer platter, both of which incorporated lots of different components. Deep-fried soft shell crab was sweet and irresistible, served in a beautiful lacquered box with rice and coconut-flavoured cabbage. A selection of sushi included fresh sea bass, mackerel and omelette, while delicious skewers comprised pork belly, chicken liver and blackened shishito pepper, all stylishly served to suit the stylish surroundings.