Bincho Yakitori Restaurant
Review - Japanese Food at the Oxo
Tower
Bincho Yakitori
2nd Floor,
Oxo Tower Wharf,
Barge House Street
London
SE1 9PH
Japanese food seems to divide
people into those that love it
or hate it. Fans love the variety
of exotic tastes and textures,
and above all the freshness. Detractors
moan about sushi: ‘ little
slivers of fish stuck on top of
too much rice’, or sashimi: ‘more
raw fish, ugh hate the texture’,
and as for Teri-yaki: ‘ flicking
food around like a bloody circus!’ But
Yakitori cuisine can successfully
bring both groups together in a
most enjoyable meal. Yakitori is
a Japanese form of barbecue, where
all manner of ingredients are marinated,
skewered and placed over hot coals.
The chefs keep twiddling these
bamboo spears, and the results
are quite delicious.
Bincho Yakitori is located in
the Oxo Tower. It may not occupy
as elevated a position as the famous
Oxo Tower restaurant, but I enjoyed
the superb views over the river,
which are more like those from
the deck of a ship than from the
top of a lighthouse. Bincho means
fine charcoal, which has to be
of special quality so as to give
an even heat. So the chefs are
not only attending the food, but
looking after the grill as well.
Under the guidance of Malcolm Simpson,
the Japanese-Australian restaurant
manager, we put together an interesting
collection of skewers, helped along
by some warm sake as it was a chilly
autumn evening.
First we shared some Mehikari,
which is one of a few fried rather
than grilled dishes. This one is
a whitefish, rubbed with seven
spices and magically free of oil.
Then it was on to the skewers,
each of which costs between £1.20
and £2.20, so if you're sharing
- and that's the way you should
eat this meal - you need a pair
of skewers per dish. We demolished
six pairs, and shared a baby spinach
salad (very well dressed with lardons
of bacon).
Skewers of pork belly were threaded
through even sized squares of meat,
the result was extraordinarily
light, and crispy on the outside.
Similar bite-size cubes of eel
had been coated with sauce, which
creates that irresistibly, lacquered
finish. Skewers stuck with chicken
oysters, so often neglected in
western cuisine, were tender and
incredibly more-ish. I thought
the skewered squid was a little
under done, I prefer some definite
browning on the outside. Finally,
morsels of beef tongue combining
its unique texture with caramelised
flavours.
With all this, we drank some very
special Sake, served in a tumbler
which fits almost exactly into
cedarwood box. The sake is poured
so that it overflows into the box.
Next you tip the tumbler so that
a little of the rice wine pours
into the box, where it gradually
takes up the flavour of cedar as
you drink from the glass. When
the glass is empty, you drink the
sake from the box - the flavour
is amazing, reminding me of very
posh retsina!
There are a few more substantial
dishes like steaks cut from both
fish and meat, but sadly we had
no room for these. In common with
most Oriental cultures, Japanese
cuisine is not strong on desserts.
However, traditional layered banana
cake came served with some lovely
green tea ice cream, a very refreshing
way to finish a meal. Bincho Yakitori
is a most attractive restaurant
with beautiful riverside views,
very attractive waiting staff who
seem to know their job, and interesting
food guaranteed to put a smile
on the face of those who haven't
previously considered dining out
Japanese-style. It's also an awful
lot cheaper than most other Japanese
restaurants.
Bincho Yakitori
2nd Floor,
Oxo Tower Wharf,
Barge House Street
SE1 9PH
T: 020 7803 0858
www.bincho.co.uk
Clifford Mould, October 2007
