Abeno Japanese Restaurant - London

Abeno. Museum street. London

 When I hear Japanese restaurant, I can see with my mind eyes a crazy chef cutting raw meats with his machete, rolling and slicing sushi in an open kitchen and me, staring from other side of the room and appreciating the display of skills.

So, I was really excited when I was invited to dinner at Abeno restaurant in Museum Street. I have never been to a Japanese, but I am a big fan of Itsu and Wasabi. My feet always drag me to the branch near house of Fraser in in Victoria Street.

Table setting with cooking plate

Now. I am someone who believes in authenticity. If I go to an Italian restaurant, I expect to be served by Italian, Spanish, French, I expect to be served by someone who understands what is written in the menu and hat puts me at ease. As I walked in Abeno, I was greeted by someone who was not Japanese and had already decided that I will not like it. Even though he was the only non-Asian amongst the staff.

The restaurant was dimly lit and were I was seating, the rooftop was all glass with a view of the flat above the restaurant… really comical as when I lifted my eyes, someone was on the phone on their balcony.

Sat and waiting for our waiter to appear, I started running my hand on the table and that is how I discovered that the silver looking thing on the table was in fact the cooking plate. Question: why is there not a message of caution on these tables? Don’t they know that I could sue them for that?

Abeno staff cooking

The waiter finally came with the menus. My party had vegetarians and meat eaters. Since all 4 of us sat at the same table it occurred to us that all our meals were going to be cooked in front of us on this hot plate. The vegetarian seating near me was submitted to full sight of raw meats and the fumes of same when it was being cooked. Then, it came to cooking his meal, the other side of the plate was used. I am sure that he had some additional flavouring in his meal from the previously cooked meat dish as there was not real separation on the cooking plate.

Having already been disappointed by the fact that there was no sushi theatre and resigned to the fact that I will be stinking of cooked food when I leave theses premises, I limited myself to a simple stir-fried vegetable with some lotus roots. They got my dessert order wrong and gave mine to someone else. Since they had taken so long to serve me. All I wanted to do is pay and leave.

My main meal at Abeno - Safe

The entire restaurant seem to seat north of 40 people and there is only one toilet per gender, which I refrained from using as I had become really suspicious and doubtful.

I ended up spending £24 at Abeno and did not enjoy the food nor the samurai cocktail which I was told was the best... twaddle.

Abeno in Museum Street is nothing less than another version of a Chinese takeaway with food being cooked before you while you are being perfumed with the fumes from the stove/table.

Don’t take my word for it, give it a try and from your own opinion. I didn’t like it, my co-dinners who can’t boil an egg were impressed. Well. Each to their own.

The Reviewer