Koya Bar
Koya Udon
Since their opening in the ramen-dominating neighbourhood, the original Japanese udon specialist KOYA Bar comes back taking over Mooli’s old site. Literally expanding next-door, to it’s older brother KOYA. KOYA bar separates itself to more of traditional Japanese noodle bar with a more intimate casual affair. It’s rather small seating only 25 stools and accept no reservations.
The bar
Sit by the stools and order your food directly with the chef. Watch the chef cook your meal in front of your eyes, Having turned up around 11am craving KOYA udon noodles. Discovering it was closed the only option was KOYA bar for my fix.
KOYA kitchen
Japanese style breakfast
Some of the KOYA classics makes it’s way to KOYA bar, but it was the Japanese breakfast Yakizakana that intrigued me. You can find some English breakfast influence on the menu, fried egg, and bacon. Also, Asian style congee porridge is on offer. A blackboard with specials is handwritten items.
Yakizakana breakfast set
My Yakizankana Japanese style breakfast didn’t seem like a complex meal. Grilled fish, pickles, rice and miso soup little did I know how impressive it could be.
The grilled fish was grilled with slight browning, biting into the crispy skin it crunched, crackled between my teeth. The fished had been infused with seasoning and flavour throughout. The pickles may seem like a boring thing to talk about, a simple side, but I fell in love with the super sour pickled flavour. The pickles with the grilled fish were the perfect combination of sourness and salt.
The miso soup had to be the disappointment of the meal, water down and bland. The tofu seems to have been out for a while, too firm.
Meal plus service cost me around £15, water is filtered on site using EcoPure Waters system and a bottle of ice-cold was is given complimentary. Heading out of KOYA bar back to the streets of Soho, I forgot I was in London and not in Japan.
I do hope the KOYA empire expands to other places in London in the meantime I would happily go back to both KOYA and KOYA bar for my Japanese fixes.
Information on KOYA bar
50 Frith Street
London W1D 4SQ
{google_map}50 Frith Street
London W1D 4SQ{/google_map}
