Soseki

It is hard to know what to do when you find your new favourite restaurant.

Do you tell everyone you know all about it? With the hope that the service and the quality of the food will not falter with the massive influx of new diners.

Do you keep going back every chance you get? With the hope that the experience does not diminish with each visit and the initial happiness that you felt when dining there lingers till your last breath.

Do you just Savour the memory? With the knowledge that all new dining experiences have a tall order to try and live up to your new benchmark and also with a small glimmer of hope that one may topple the incumbent.

I am not quite sure what I have done since going to Soseki, I have told many people about how much I like it, I have been back weekly since my first visit and I have thought about the surroundings and the tastes whilst sleeping, walking and driving.

Initially I was impressed with the atmosphere. The team have taken a glass and concrete box in the city and magically transformed the interior space to resemble, well, Mr Miyagi's House in Karate Kid II. Classical Japanese rusticity next to a big metal Cornichon. It invites you to be calm and it gently places you on an alternate plane.

The booth seating is warm and intimate and some seats give you a… More

Very good Japanese restaurant.
Recommend the sashimis and sushis
Service was good.
Nice restaurant overall.
When booking ask for one of their “Hut”, if you want more privacy.
Place to go and recommend

Firstly upon entering Soseki I was very surprised that a restuarant in a modern buidling slap facing the gherkin could look so beautiful and full of character. There are a sweep of seats around the sushi kitchen, window seats overlooking St Mary Axe square and some very cool raised private tables at the end of the restaurant. I won't go into details about particular dishes here as it changes daily but I loved the element of surprise, the variety and quality of dishes presented. In my experience the tippy-toes service was impeccable and I would definitelty revist. That said, it isn't cheap so go on a deal, on expenses or an a punching-above-your-weight first date.

We got the two for one offer and decided to give it a try. The place is spacious and the interior is really nice (traditional japanese). The service is good and the staffs are well trained.
The food is OK. We tried the Haiku and Tanka set menus. The sushimi is fresh. The sushi is average (Vineger not enough for sushi rice, unbalanced). My main course is beef teriyaki and ox tongue. It is really good. The beef is tender and tasteful. The ox tongue is impressive. I haven’t had such a nice ox tongue for a long time. Mouthwatering! The next course is Shokuji rice which in my opinion is disaster. The rice is way too plain and tasteless and there is no side dish for the rice. I spoke to the manager after the dinner about it and he said they are changing the menu from time to time so hopefully next time I won’t see this on the menu (if there is next time). The fish soup smells really nice and taste good as well. The dessert is green tea ice cream which all four of us are pretty sure it is Hagan Daz. Not impressive.
In general the food is OK (except the ox tongue which I think is very good). It is a two for one deal so the price is alright. I would not mind to go again but only if there is a two for one deal.