London: Sushi at Donzoko

Not having enjoyed any sushi what-so-ever since I've been in Nice, I was hellbent on finding some as soon as I was in London. I asked my friends who live in London, Tom & Lindle, and they in turn asked a friend of theirs who had a particular affinity for Japanese food, and he recommended us to Donzoko.

It's in a very lively area of London, sandwiched between the Oxford Circus and Piccadilly Circus tube stations, which was quite helpful considering we were told to be sure to make a reservation. We made a reservation for 8, which was lucky because when we entered the restaurant, there were hardly any available tables.

Nayereh and I got seated on the "bar", which was nice because we got to watch the sushi masters at work, delicately and carefully preparing each roll. To start with, I ordered an iced oolong tea, which had such a full-bodied, earthy taste that I didn't even sweeten it. It was a nice drink to clean my palate between sushi, with not too much caffeine to have in the early evening.

For the sushi, we had cod roe and squid sushi, which was tender and delicious. In terms of Nigri, we had, between the two of us, a toro (medium fatty bluefin tuna belly), a squid, and another white fish I cannot for the life of me remember (this is what happens when you post too late and forget all the details of your amazing meal!) .

I was super excited about the toro because I've watched Chef Morimoto use thin slices of it, like this one, in all sorts of recipies on Iron Chef almost like it's a little shaving of truffle. You could definitely taste the high fat content but it was so tender and delicious! Other parts of tuna can be a little chewy, even when raw, but the belly was just packed with flavor and juiciness.

We had several other sushi rolls, but we were so excited to devour them that I didn't get a chance to photograph them. Afterward, though, we ordered a plate of octopus tempura. It was a little chewier than other octopus's I've ordered before (this might be because I've often had baby octopus or just the tentacles, like they serve at Zaytinya in DC), but it was still intensely delicious and was accompanied by a great sweet and spicy dipping sauce. I don't have too much experience to compare to, but I loved Donzoko and would definitely recommend dropping by next time your in London for great Japanese food. For those less interested in sushi, they had pages and pages of hotpots, noodles, and a series of garlic dishes that they are supposedly very well-known for.

Donzoko
15 Kingly Street
London, W1B 5PS
Tel: 08713328395
Tube Stops: Oxford Circus or Piccadilly Circus