If you hadn’t already noticed I’m OBSESSED with Japanese food right now. I’m practically living off sushi and I expect to look like an extra-large fatty tuna nigiri by the end of it all. With my addiction still very curent, I made my way over to South Kensington one evening to check out neighborhood local, Tombo. We arrived mid-week expecting to find a desolate dining room, but instead we were faced with a huge queue spiralling out of the door. Thankfully our reservation meant we could skip that part and get to the nitty-gritty – eating and drinking (hard life I know).
Tombo is a family run cafe which has recently had a makeover and decided to turn a proportion of its space into a slightly more formal restaurant, but with the cafe side of it still very much at the entrance. The food is also very, very healthy. Perhaps a little too healthy for myself if I’m honest. To get us in the healthy(ish) mood we treated ourselves to a Match tea cocktail, laced with Shochu – it was nice, but nothing spectacular mind you. Sushi is my guilty pleasure, so trying the offering here at Tombo was a simple decision. A selection of neatly presented maki rolls, filled with salmon teriyaki and a prawn tempura. The biggest issue I had here was the rice, it was much too stodgy and in fact had little flavour. The fillings were very good and the tempura batter light and crispy. As far as sushi offerings go in London, I sadly regret to inform you the stuff here at Tombo is really very ordinary.
We admittedly weren’t very healthy at this healthy cafe. A large cup of chilled sake was absolutely delicious. Fruity, ever so slightly nutty and full of freshness – one of my favourite summer tipples. With its pristine purity we decided to match this drink with a large don bowl filled with a mountain of well cooked multigrain rice, steamed vegetables and teriyaki chicken. While its portion size may have been good value the dish was severely lacking in seasoning. The chicken was very well cooked (the brown kind) and oh so juicy – but I just couldn’t get over the lack of flavour. It was essentially a bowl of food not too dissimilar to something I could rustle up at home – so that may give you an insight into my cooking skills.
The best dish and easily one I’d return for alone for was this beautiful katsu curry rice bowl. Succulent pieces of chicken wrapped in a golden panko crumb blanket and with more of that well cooked rice. The sauce was really very lovely containing just a faint whiff of curry powder, a good stock and seasoned to utter perfection. With dishes such as this here at Tombo, it does beg the question of why everything else here can’t have just as much pazazz as this. Tombo was certainly an interesting find in South Kensington (conveniently by the underground) and while its queue may be spiralling out the door, it’s very much attracting a certain type of clientele. I was the only person drinking alcohol and not dressed in my running gear – I think that explains it all. Tombo isn’t the worst restaurant in the area by no means, it’s just a little too healthy for me personally.
6/10
