Miyako

Remember those tacky and slightly racially insensitive 80s US movies set in places such as Chinatown in New York? You know the types - badly mulleted all-American hero does battle against badly-dubbed Oriental thugs in bustling side streets where steam escapes from the underground, chickens are kept in haphazardly-stacked cages everywhere you look and straw-hatted Chinese women weave in and out of the human traffic on rickety old bikes? Well, the Miyako restaurant may not have set out to recreate these kinds of scenarios, but this is the image one cannot help but envisage as you enter.

Simply and attractively decorated, the staff at Miyako is warm and welcoming, the aromas are authentically exotic and the vibrancy is reassuringly chaotic, comprised of city-types discussing the day's financial foibles, tourists snapping away with digital cameras and locals trying to read newspapers amid the humdrum. Healthy food is the order of the day here, with fast-cooked plates of noodles whizzing about the place every lunchtime, and fantastically rich and fresh sashimi dishes served in style each evening.

The atmosphere of the Miyaki restaurant is, therefore, part New York deli, part Tokyo noodle house and part classic central London restaurant. It is located at the Andaz Hotel on Liverpool Street in the heart of the city, and evidently attracts a wide cross section of clientele, thanks largely to its buzz, its informal setting and the brilliance of its Japanese cuisine. Dishes worthy of note here include the hand-rolled toro and avocado sushi, the tobiko and quail egg nigiri, the turbot and octopus sashimi and the fabulous array of noodle and rice dishes. Sake is a great complementary drink, while Miyaki also serves superb wines, spirits and beers too.