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    Koya City

    3.8 (19 reviews)
    Open 7:00 am - 10:30 pm

    Koya City Photos

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    Reviews With Photos

    Kitsune Udon
    Chie J.

    Wow to my surprise (sorry I had a low expectations), Kaya was amazing! Just what I needed after eating having northern European winter food for a week. Their home made noodles were on the soft side but still bouncy. Their fried tofu skin was thick and juicy. The broth had great depth of the Dashi. Extra point for them having authentic salted sour plums on their menu. They had interesting sake menu. I was pleasantly surprised by the selection including a great french sake. Simple decor with quick service. Only complaint was our server was eating standing up by the bar then coughing into his hands then not washing his hands.

    Niku udon with tamago and prawn tempura
    Tiff L.

    We initially came during dinner but they were busy and told us that they did not take any walk ins. The following day we came during lunch with a reservation and it was less busy (which looked like you can do walk ins then). I made a reservation for inside but they sat us outside because there was no space. I felt it was poor planning on their part as the table in front of us was a walk in with no reservation. We were on time for our reservation as well. I ordered the niku udon with a prawn tempura and tamago plus a soju tasting. We also ordered a fried tofu for the table. 1. Niku udon with added tamago: broth has an ok flavor. The noodle was nice and tender as well as the beef. The egg really added depth to the broth. This was good but, not the best niku udon Ive had. 2. The prawn tempura was the highlight of the experience. Nice and crunchy! Order this with your food! 3 . Fried tofu: nothing special 4. Soju tasting flight: nothing special but i like how they have filtered to unfiltered soju. Overall, food was good but, service was ok. I would come here if it wasnt busy and I got to sit inside because the outside is quite cold without the heat lamps.

    Tempura udon
    Connie C.

    Solid udon at Kota City. I've been to all three Koya locations and the location is my favorite.

    Chantee F.

    This was one of my first outings post lockdown and it did not disappoint. I've been to their Soho location and this one is definitely more spacious but with the same level of care and attention to detail. Every dish was cooked perfectly. Dashi broth had a heavenly unami flavour and was the best companion with the udon noodles. The dish I had sounded simple but had three kinds of mushrooms, cabbage and a miso walnut paste that added even more depth to the broth. I probably didn't need to add the poached egg but who could resist? My dining companions also enjoyed their vegetable tempura, hot and cold noodle dishes. The fried tofu was also the right consistency with a delicate sauce. Excellent service added to the ambiance and made this a wonderful experience. Note that it is very cold sitting outdoors here even with heat lamps so dress accordingly.

    Michael W.

    Very good Udon Noodles and broths. Simple menus with only three pages included drinks menus. The Buta Kasu-Miso (Pork udon) has the best broth, the pork is not the best! But I still enjoyed it very much! The Tempura udon looked the best and the prawn was very delicious too! The Niku (Beef udon) was similar to the pork, but the broth is no as good! The black hose was the Kitsune (Sweet Tofu udon), it was very tasty. One of my friend ordered the Sakana (White Fish and poached egg udon). Looks good, but I don't know how good it was! The three waitresses there are very nice and helpful. Good services and attentive. Good choices for quick meal specially they open until 10:30pm.

    Andrew M.

    Couldnt give more than 2 stars since the udon was too hard and overall the food was not good. Thought would be bettter than marugame since its more pricey. I gotta give to the breadcrumbs for the tempura because they were good and make sure if you come here only order these because the udon wasnt good. Not recommended for the udon. Marugame has better ones and more worth it!! Not recommended unfortunately from me better go to marugame. Ive tried so many japanese food and this is not for me. Cheers! I hope this helps!

    Lamb Udon
    Katie S.

    I got the lamb udon and it was delicious! The noodles were perfectly cooked and the lamb was both sweet and spicy which was such a great combination. The two other people I was with got the duck and the chicken and said the duck was delicious but the chicken was not as much of a hit. Would absolutely recommend!

    Chris M.

    I don't know if it was an unfortunate evening but, although Udons were really good, toppings (my smoked mackerel) were just ok-ish; not bad but not worth the price.

    Denise L.

    Came here on a blustery weekday afternoon for something to warm me up in the middle of the workday, and Koya definitely lived up to its hype! Super quick service, and the waitress gave good recommendations. I wanted something on the lighter side that still had a lot of flavor, so I ordered the pork in miso broth with hot soup/hot udon. The soup, as promised, was piping hot, and while really flavorful and rich from the pork, did not sit heavily in my stomach. The noodles were thick, PERFECTLY chewy, and plentiful. I finished the whole bowl and was satiated for the rest of the afternoon! Really lovely service. The waitress noticed my employee badge, and gave me a discount that I did not know we had access to. I'd love to try out their Soho location for breakfast!

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    8 years ago

    Fun atmosphere and good food but slowest noodle restaurant on the planet. And despite what Yelp says, it is open on Sunday.

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    Review Highlights - Koya City

    I've been to their Soho location and this one is definitely more spacious but with the same level of care and attention to detail.

    Mentioned in 2 reviews

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    Hare and Tortoise - Duck andd rice

    Hare and Tortoise

    3.9(44 reviews)
    0.5 miBlackfriars
    ££

    This branch is near the river and is located underground with no windows. Black decor throughout…read morewith a serene sense of Zen and calmness. Small attractive tasty dishes. Generally good service and ambiance. Grilled salty mackerel is very good, as is their crispy soft shell crab (a classic dish). Calamari is excellent though be warned: it's spicy! If you are a fan try their tuna tartar (see photo).

    A little hidden away, but definitely worth the descent into the catacomb-like interior…read more The vibe is intimate and the food is a legit take on Asian Fusion; mostly Japanese-inspired, but definitely with a bit of Chinese and Thai in there. The starters alone are worth a trip, and there were so many I wanted to try, they're actually all I had. Don't judge. They were amazing. The Pumpkin Croquettes were a slightly sweet and crispy version of traditional croquettes, deep-fried to perfection, with a light and smooth finish. Two will set you back a mere £3.10. While the spring rolls are good, I highly recommend the Vegetarian Duck Rolls, made with slightly sweet tofu skin, spring onions, cucumber, and Hoi Sin sauce. Three of those healthy rolls are a whopping £4.60. Finally, the Chicken Yakitori was also a dish worth it's weight in pounds, char-grilled to perfection and doused in a sweet yakitori sauce. A few skewers costs around £4.10. The rest of the menu is not only enormous, but sure to please any seafood-lover, especially sushi. They serve just about any Asian-inspired dish you can think of, including salads, ramen dishes, rice dishes, noodles of many different varieties, tempura, and sushi rolls, with a perfectly-paired sake menu to boot. But really, those side dishes are to die for.

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    Hare and Tortoise
    Hare and Tortoise
    Hare and Tortoise

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    Ribon

    Ribon

    4.1(16 reviews)
    0.6 miBlackfriars
    £

    Thanks to Katie B for stepping in as interim Yelp Ramen Club organiser in Josy A's absence…read more Ramen Club 8.0 took place at Ribon and Katie went to great lengths to make our booking and also to make sure that they had ramen available - for large parties, it's best to warn them as they only make a limited amount of broth each day When you get to the restaurant, don't be put off by the fact that the ground floor looks shut because it is shut! Descend the stairs to the subterranean dining room. Our party of 15 took over most of the main dining area though there are private rooms, which also offer karaoke The starters were my favourite part of the meal with the black cod and chicken karaage being top of my list even though the portion size was tiny for the cost. As far as ridiculous prices go though, I think my glass of orange juice from a carton for £3.30 was criminal - I can get 2 litres of Tropicana for less. Other starters like the pork and kimchi were rather bland The ramen was a disappointment. The broth was rather bland and the chashu was dry. Perhaps in keeping with the rather mean attitude to the volume of food served, there was no egg. In an age when Bone Daddies and other ramen joints in London have raised the bar, bowls like this won't cut it any longer It was a really fun evening but the food wasn't up to scratch, especially the ramen. Roll on, Ramen Club 9.0!

    Thank you Katie B for being a star and getting such a huge crowd of us involved in ramen club!!…read moreRibon was a strange ramen experience...ramen is only listed as a side note on the specials menu, but after seeing a photo of their ramen in the magazine "zoom Japan", I was keen to try it. Ramen: The miso soup was really good; hot and delicious... BUT my noodles seemed like over-cooked, squidgy cup-ramen noodles. I liked the toppings, but I was sad not to have an egg, and the cha siu was forgettable. So all in all the ramen isn't as good as many of the other ramen-joy-lands in London. Plus they took aaaaages to make, even though Katie had told them in advance that we would order lots of noodles. Izakaya menu: We also tried the agedashi dofu (really nice, but without much dashi!), the karaage and the gyoza. They were all lovely, and the general izakaya menu sounded full of tasty dishes. I'd be up for trying more of them. Other: A group of my friends from Japan have been here several times, and they all really liked it... so I know this place could be amazing. I'll have to come back to try non-noodle items, and to have a sing in their karaoke booth.

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    Ribon
    Ribon
    Ribon

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    Sushi Tetsu

    Sushi Tetsu

    4.8(23 reviews)
    0.9 miClerkenwell
    ££££

    For his birthday, my friend's only wish was to come here for an omakase and I cannot stop thinking…read moreabout it! I had to make about 200 calls to get a reservation but it was worth it. There are two sittings for omakase each day, one at 5:30PM and one at 8:30PM. The interior is very intimate and each sitting serves 7 people only. Bookings are made at least two weeks to one month in advance depending on their policy which changes from time to time. They only accept reservations through phone calls and based on my experience, it was pretty hard to get through so I'd definitely recommend reading through their website for what to do to secure yourself a reservation. My friend and I both got the sushi & sashimi omakase, which comes with three plates of sashimi, 7 pieces of sushi (all seasonally selected!) and a sweet tamago at the end. The sashimi and sushi are all seasonally selected and exotic! I got to try gurnard and turbot sushi which I've never had raw before! The fish is not only high quality and delicious but prepped and presented beautifully too. The variety of condiments selected for each sushi was carefully thought out, elevating each mouthful. The service was impeccable as was the food. The chef's wife and the waiters always came to check-in with us and walk us through the proper dining etiquette. Under the chef's wife's recommendation, we also shared some sake and plum wine. It was lovely watching the chef prep and make each piece of sushi, exhibiting his intent and passion with every movement. The whole session lasted a little over 2 hours and we enjoyed every bit of it! I highly recommend checking out Sushi Tetsu at least once in your life! Not to mention the omakase was only for £96 (excluding alcohol and any service charge), which is cheap for the amount of food you get and cheaper than many other omakase meals found in London.

    Went for dinner with a friend, who had to call 139 times to get a reservation. But it was worth it…read moreall. She had omakase, whilst I had a la carte. I had a combination of octopus sashimi, tuna sashimi, squid nigiri, sweet shrimp nigiri, jumbo shrimp nigiri, scallops nigiri, tuna rolls, razor clam rolls and yellowtail hand roll. Everything was remarkably fresh and perfect, down to every ratio of sushi to rice and the temperature. Afterwards, we commented whether we would ever be able to have sushi elsewhere. Ambience was very cozy and intimate. Maximum seating of seven seats, hence very difficult to get a spot. Felt like I was in a local restaurant in the heart of Tokyo. Perfect for an intimate date or professional meal. Service was also top notch. At times, I felt they were a bit too mechanical, but I guess precision and propriety are part of the Japanese experience. Would go back in a heartbeat.

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    Sushi Tetsu
    Sushi Tetsu
    Sushi Tetsu

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    Koya City - japanese - Updated June 2026

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