Issho-Ni is a Japanese restaurant in East London. We ventured to West London last week, so we thought to keep it local this week. Plus, I’ve missed sushi. Issho-Ni is bang in the middle of Bethnal Green and Shoreditch, but it still seems off the beaten path. Honestly, if you were in Shoreditch looking for a place to eat you’d go past several really intriguing restaurants before you arrive at Issho-Ni.

I came across Issho-Ni on Instagram so that wasn’t an issue for us. Dinner at Issho-Ni was booked for 6:30 last Saturday and when we arrived, right on time, we were the first. The service was very friendly and attentive, plus we were welcome to any table in the rather chic and casual restaurant.

I was really keen on sushi so I ordered unagi sashimi, a bunch of nigiris, and Wagyu oshizushi which is their special pressed sushi. We also ordered padron peppers from snacks, calamari from fried. Iberico Kushiyaki, Chicken Yakitori, Beef Brisket and Spicy lamb chops from grilled, and Shiima ordered Striploin steak for her main.

The Food

Sushi

The seared salmon nigiri was wonderful. Absolutely melt in the mouth and delicious. Sadly, that’s about it for the sushi I enjoyed. I wasn’t exactly disappointed, but I was very close. Particularly with the Wagyu oshizushi because I was so excited about it. Sadly, there was too much rice and too little Wagyu on each piece, and the rice was rather salty.

Snacks and Fried

We didn’t enjoy either the padron peppers or calamari, and didn’t finish either. The padron peppers needed to be under the grill longer and the calamari was tasteless.

Charcoal Grill

Shiima enjoyed the chicken Yakitori. It wasn’t among the best chicken Yakitoris she’s eaten, but it was the only thing she liked at Issho-ni so I left it to her to finish.

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We didn’t enjoy any of other dishes from the charcoal grill. So much that we didn’t finish any of them.

Shiima’s Main

No. Just, no. It was too fatty and covered in too much sauce, which we didn’t enjoy at all.

Dessert?

We decided against ordering dessert.

Verdict

We didn’t enjoy Issho-Ni. The décor is really chic and casual, the service was very attentive and friendly, but we didn’t like the food. With that, we can’t honestly recommend Issho-Ni. Issho-Ni is fairly priced though, so do check it out if the menu intrigues.

Cuisine: Japanese
Dress Code: Casual
Amen’s Star Dish: Seared Salmon Nigiri
Price: £30-£40pp
Rating: 2 out of 5

Issho-Ni
185 Bethnal Green Road
London E2 6AB
Reserve at OpenTable,
Or call 020 7366 0314