Before heading out to the theatre on Tuesday, I went for dinner at a new Japanese place that had recently opened near Holborn. Prices appeared comparable to Yo Sushi but the range appeared much larger and appeared a little bit more authentic than the other modernised chain. This store is part of a larger International chain (there’s other stores in Seoul, Hollywood and Paris as well), and it appeared to be run by Koreans, so expect a few twists on your typical Japanese dishes.

The atmosphere is a little bit more traditional if you manage to ignore the pop music blasting away in the background. We sat at the sushi bar and with the number of staff that buzzed around us, it was not at all difficult getting service throughout our meal. The sushi was freshly made and tasted of quality ingredients, but it helps that we sat down just after their restaurant opened at 6pm. The best thing I liked about this restaurant was their wide variety of sushi, with many of your traditional rolls and sashimi in addition to some uniquely inspired combinations that could be ordered in hand roll, or your typically cut sushi roll style. One of the different twists we had included some soft shell crab rolls that admittedly was a little overpowered by the mayonnaise. My most favourite sushi of the night was the unagi sushi (eel sushi) since the eel was extremely tender and saucy, unlike the drier varieties I have had at other sushi places.

I’ve written before about how expensive Japanese food is in London and though Sushi Hiroba serves excellent quality sushi, I would still budget for a more expensive meal. I found it worth it though considering the quality of the ingredients and the greater variety of sushi available. Better yet is that they don’t charge for water at your table either.

Details: Sushi Hiroba
Found on: 50-54 Kingsway, Holborn, London, WC2B 6EP
Contactable on: 020 7430 1888
Highlights: Super attentive service, unique variety of sushi, delicious unagi sushi and service is still only 10%
Room for improvement: It’d be nice if the wasabi wasn’t the reconstituted powdered variety.
The Kua Rating: 7.5 out of 10