London Restaurants | London Guide

YO! Sushi opens at Southbank Centre with first outdoor conveyor belt

 YO! Sushi’s famous ‘kaiten’ conveyor belt has decided to get in on the al fresco action this summer and is set to steal the show along the South Bank with their new restaurant’s first outdoor belt. Now open at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, YO! Sushi diners can now enjoy the sunshine with stunning views from the riverside terrace while enjoying over 80 Japanese inspired dishes from the kaleidoscope of coloured plates on offer.

With typical British uncertainty on the weather front, YO! Sushi ensures all will be well courtesy of expansive canopies featuring hidden heaters so al fresco dining can be enjoyed come rain or shine. If you want to get close to the action, grab a table inside the contemporary restaurant, where the professionally trained sushi chefs or ninjas as we like to call them, will be slicing and dicing anything from traditional sushi and sashimi to hot classics like firecracker rice, and chicken yakisoba, all in-front of expectant guests. This particular restaurant is great for your little ninjas too, along with the usual conveyor belt keeping kids entertained, plenty of balloons and funky high chairs are also on hand.

As the belt zigzags through the restaurant, other tempting treats include spicy chicken katsu roll, salmon and tenderstem broccoli salad and vegetable hand roll. Diners simply help themselves to dishes that catch their eye from the selection of colour-coded plates ranging from £1.70 to £5.00. To accompany, a refreshing selection of beers, wines, sake and fizz complete the partnership.  

YO! Sushi Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre is at the heart of one of the most popular tourist destinations in the capital, with an unrivalled view of London’s skyline, it’s close to the area’s many art galleries and the National Theatre as well as the Royal Festival Hall itself.

Open from 11am to 11pm Monday to Saturday, and until 10pm on Sunday.

YO! Sushi Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre

Festival Riverside

Royal Festival Hall

London SE1 8XX

Tel: 0203 130 1997

Awana Creates New Ramadam Menu

 Awana has created a feast perfect for breaking fast with this Ramadan. They have devised a menu which showcases some of the restaurant’s finest dishes in a celebration of Malaysian cuisine.

The menu will consist of seven wonderful Malaysian dishes which will leave you well and truly satisfied. Delectable starters consist of a Date Korma as well as Roti Canai, a Malaysian bread made from a traditional family recipe and Satay Udang, delicious fresh tiger prawn skewers served with the signature spicy peanut sauce. A perfect Malaysian start to the midnight spread.

Awana will spoil you with the delicious Malaysian mains on offer. Customers can enjoy Kari Ayam, an appetizing corn-fed chicken curry with coconut, potato and snake beans accompanied by Sayur Sambal Goreng, a mix of fried vegetables in sambal sauce and Nasi Putih, a form of steamed rice which is a staple accompaniment to any curry.

Finally, round off the perfect meal and with the mouth-watering dessert of Chendol- pandan pearls with red beans in coconut cream with caramel and shaved ice. Awana’s feast will leave you feeling satisfied and prepare you for another day of fasting.

The Malaysian feast can be enjoyed in the stylish surroundings of teakwood, traditional batik silk and luscious dark red leather, creating a contemporary interior reminiscent of a Malaysian plantation house. Come and enjoy a late night meal with friends, family and work colleagues. 

You are able to enjoy Awana’s ‘Feast for Ramadan’ until the end of Ramadan on 11th September within their opening hours of 12pm-3pm or 6pm-11.30pm

Busaba - New Thai Restaurant on Old Street

Opening 19th August 2010, the latest Busaba Eathai is nestled between Hoxton Square and Old Street, EC1. This is the first opening for Busaba outside of the West End and into the thriving heart of East London’s Hoxton.

Staying true to the original design concept the interior incorporates materials including, bronze, rattan and hardwood which are warmed by the soft lighting from the watercolour paper lampshades. The decor provides a soothing backdrop to the animation and acoustics created by the dynamics of group eating whilst seated on sculptured benches around large square tables.

There are 140 covers available from midday to 11.30pm (10pm Sundays).

Ten years since its inception, Busaba is still providing London with a youthful yet sophisticated Thai casual dining venue offering an affordable eating experience. With the long standing popular dishes of Thai calamari, Stargazer monkfish curry, Sen chan phad Thai and Som Tam–green papaya salad, the menu also includes more recent additions such as the Grilled chicken salad with Thai celery, cherry tomato and Isarn style chili sauce and Ostrich stir-fried with pickled Thai garlic.

By way of an introduction and in an attempt to cause as little disruption as possible to the area, Busaba aimed to positively contribute and support the local community. Hence whilst works underwent inside,

rather than pitching up archetypal branded hoarding, Busaba dedicated this space to a sequence of local artists such as graphic designers, illustrators and photographers so they would have a platform to exhibit their work; subsequently delivering an amusing space to Hoxton residents. Over the period of three months Busaba exhibited works by photographer Jason Lowe, Illustration agency HigginsonHurst, VNA Magazine and Curated Project Big Antidote.

Whilst the hoarding was being installed, each stage was filmed and made into a short film by Higginson Hurst. The screening of which will be on opening night. All artwork is available online with links to the artists at www.busaba.com.

Busaba Eathai

319 Old Street

London EC1 V 9LE

T 0207 729 0808

Opening times

Monday – Thursday 12 noon – 11.00pm

Friday – Saturday 12 noon – 11.30pm

Sunday 12 noon – 10.00pm

Average spend £16

www.busaba.com

Kids Eat Free at Spaghetti House

Located in Central London near many theatres, Spaghetti House is a great family choice this summer, and food is free for the kids between 13 August and 3 September.

If you are spending summer in the City, enjoying the many London theatres during the action-packed Kids’ Week with all its theatrical fun, you will also need to feed the little ones as well as keeping them entertained. 

Family-friendly, informal and welcoming, Spaghetti Housemakes everyone happy around the table. Mums and dads can enjoy a glass of wine and a plate of pasta, a summer main course salad or a sharing platter, and kids have their own special menu – for free. For every paying adult eating from the a-la-carte menu one child up to the age of 10 eats free from the children’s menu between 13 August and 3 September lunch and dinner, at Spaghetti House 30, St Martin’s Lane WC2 near Trafalgar Square and Spaghetti House 3, Bressenden Place, Victoria SW1. 

In Italy it is traditional for children to choose their meal from the ‘grown ups’ menu. Spaghetti House encourages children to eat healthily, developing their taste and their eating experiences as they grow. Children’s menu dishes have been selected form the main menu, they taste the same, but are served in smaller portions. Children love Ceci Calabresi – chickpeas with spicy Italian sausage, Bruschetta with tomato and fresh basil, Chicken Caesar Salad and Brodo di Pollo, shredded smoked chicken with fettuccine, basil oil and peas in a chicken broth. Differently delicious from the chicken and chips too often found on children’s menus, and very healthy too. 

So if you are going to the Criterion Theatre close to St Martin’s Lane and  showing the 39 Steps, or catching a Billy Elliot matinee at the Victoria Palace Theatre in Victoria, take a refreshing break as there is a Spaghetti House nearby. 

Summer in the City has never tasted so good and at an average of £20 for an adult  three course meal with wine, school holidays and theatre outings are easy on your pocket too. 

Visit www.spaghettihouse.co.uk for other offers and for a full list of restaurants. 

Sushi School For Kids

YO! Sushi has turned its expertise to teaching the art of sushi making to young children. Sushi loving parents can now take their brood along to a participating London restaurant on selected dates throughout August.

The adults of the western world learnt the delicious health benefits of YO! Sushi’s diverse range of Japanese delights in 1997, when the popular conveyor belt eatery exploded onto the scene. Now with up to 50 sites in the UK, the gang at YO! Sushi are setting their sights on the next generation with their new, ‘Sushi School For Mini Ninjas’.

Aimed at ages between 6 -10 years old, classes are kept small, up to 10, to ensure each little person is well looked after. Each is a one hour fun and informative class whereby each, ‘ninja’ will learn how to make three of the most popular sushi dishes: maki, nigiri and gunkan and learn about the culture of Japanese food. Classes include lunch of their creations, a rolling mat, to practice at home and a certificate as proof of their newly developed skill.

Each place costs just £5 per child, who must be accompanied by an adult. All outlets have their own dates and customers are encouraged to call their preferred YO! Sushi directly. Due to popular demand, the ‘Sushi School For Mini Ninjas’ will be rolled out across the brand in the near future, making us a sushi loving nation across generations.

Sushi School is available at four of YO! Sushi’s restaurants in London, including Brent Cross, Islington, Fulham Broadway and Whiteleys, dates are as follows:

YO! Sushi School Brent Cross

Unit 6a, Brent Cross Shopping Centre, Prince Charles Drive, London NW4 3FY

T: 020 8203 7907

Classes are available every Thursday throughout August from 10.45am until 11.45am

Thursday 12th August

Thursday 19th August

Thursday 26th August

YO! Sushi School Fulham Broadway

Restaurant 1, Fulham Broadway, Fulham Rd, London SW6 1BW

T: 020 7385 6077

Classes are available on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays throughout August from 10.45am until 11.45am

Saturday 7th August

Tuesday 10th August

Wednesday 11th August

Saturday 14th August

Tuesday 17th August

Wednesday 18th August

Saturday 21st August

Tuesday 24th August

Wednesday 25th August

Saturday 28th Saturday

Tuesday 31st August

YO! Sushi School Islington

N1 Centre, 39 Parkfield St, London N1 0PS

T: 020 7359 3502

 Classes are available on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays throughout August from 10.45am until 11.45am

Saturday 7th August

Tuesday 10th August

Wednesday 11th August

Saturday 14th August

Tuesday 17th August

Wednesday 18th August

Saturday 21st August

Tuesday 24th August

Wednesday 25th August

Saturday 28th Saturday

Tuesday 31st August

YO! Sushi School Whiteleys

Unit 218, Whiteleys Shopping Centre, Queensway, London W2 4YN

T: 020 7727 9392

Classes are available on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays throughout August from 10.45am until 11.45am

Saturday 7th August

Tuesday 10th August

Wednesday 11th August

Saturday 14th August

Tuesday 17th August

Wednesday 18th August

Saturday 21st August

Tuesday 24th August

Wednesday 25th August

Saturday 28th Saturday

Tuesday 31st August

www.yosushi.com

Zebrano Treats Every Wednesday

 In this era of savvy restaurant diners and the still ominous credit crunch, Zebrano Greek Street is tackling these head on. Zebrano not only wants to look after their customers’ stomachs, but also their pockets. To demonstrate this, starting from Wednesday 14th July and every Wednesday thereafter for the rest of the Summer, Zebrano Greek Street are ensuring that all their diners feel they get great value for money. No prices will be on the menus, no calculated bills will be delivered to the table, simply just an empty tip tray with an invitation for the customer to ‘treat’ Zebrano to what the customer believes the meal was worth.

Zebrano, 18 Greek Street has often been described as cutting edge; when Peter Cook owned ‘The Establishment’ club on this site in 1961 the comedy there broke all rules and many taboos. Zebrano Greek Street 2010 is also doing things a little bit different and pushing boundaries wherever possible, and ‘Invitation to Treat’ is just one example of this. 

 “We have always been keen to look after our customers and their pockets” says Chris Sheldon, Operations Director, “and we have always had a sensible pricing policy, which is even more important in these leaner times. To put this into practice, customers can eat our food and simply pay what they think its worth. It is better for us that a customer leaves happy paying exactly what they think the dining experience is worth rather than the possibility of them walking out the restaurant with disappointment.”

Zebrano Greek Street has recently launched their new Tapas menu which adds to the excitement of this deal and the owners of the bar are confident that Londoners will love the food and therefore pay a fair price.  “We have known for a long time that all Londoners want is value for money” says Don Cameron, Managing Director of Zebrano bars, “no matter how much money you have in your pocket everyone wants a fair price. We trust our customers to pay fairly and we are looking forward to the experiment and to see the outcome.”

Zebrano: Ganton street: W1F 7BT
http://zebrano.uk.com/ganton

Greek street:
http://zebrano.uk.com/greek