Matsuri

I used to love Japanese food until I spent some time in Japan and overdosed. And realised too that sushi and sashimi are rarely eaten by real Japanese people…

Anyway...This is a huge main dining room that gives an authentic experience. It is high ceiled, light and airy and there are banquette style seats as well as smaller tables. Simple and modern wood and steel designs – but it doesn’t feel cold or clinical.

Newbies to Japanese eating won’t feel intimidated. The staff are softly spoken and helpful – although sometimes it can take a while to get through the language barrier.

So I was there for a relatively quick lunch. I opted for the £17 tempura lunch. The light batter of tempura was introduced to Japan by Portuguese merchants – so I am never sure if it is truly authentic Japanese food – but I like it anyway. This came with miso soup, a small but adequate bowl of rice, a dish of pickles and a large plate with around eight pieces of tempura – four huge prawns, some eggplant and a couple of other vegetables. My colleague had wondered about the beef curry but I urged her instead to try one of the specials which was stir fry beef (£11) which also came with the miso soup and rice. It was a tasty and nicely served meal that suited our time constraints.

They have some good selections for dinner menus - £47, £57 and £77. Sushi platters are from £19. Sashimi selections range from £16 to £58.50. Teriyaki and other seafood and meat main courses (including chicken, duck and Scottish fillet steak) range from £18 to £35.50.

I didn’t go downstairs but was told that there is a teppan-yaki room (where they cook at your table) and a private dining room that seats up to ten. On the ground floor there is a separate sushi counter and a bar counter.

The only disappointment was the dessert menu which was mostly ice cream and sorbet based. Some interesting options if you like green tea (which I don’t). So we moved straight to coffee and my double espresso would have passed for Italian.