Me Love Sushi, Swiss Cottage, London NW3

Scott Harrington Reports….

Me Love Sushi
100 Avenue Road, Swiss Cottage, London NW3
020 7483 0888

http://melovesushi.com

Me Love Sushi is a bright and fun dining experience, and despite
its name, even timid and fussy eaters are bound to find a delicious dish
amongst their huge selection. I have eaten there several times with my
wife, most recently at the beginning of February.

Sushi has a terrible stigma of being just tasteless raw fish, and Japanese
food in general is haunted by a reputation of consisting of slimy seafood,
and bizarre and nameless ingredients. However, the charming and friendly
atmosphere of Me Love Sushi quickly exorcise any such notions an
uninitiated might have, and the delicious aromas and tempting pictures of
‘safe’ choices like noodles with duck and chicken skewers will reassure
even the most traditional British eaters that Japanese food is worth a
try.

Dishes are ordered at the counter, where they are prepared from fresh
ingredients and then brought to where you are sitting. This could be a
little off putting if you have never experienced Japanese food before, and
we did see a few flummoxed ‘newbies’ struggling to make decisions on what
to order. However the chefs are always helpful and were quick to make
helpful recommendations and patiently explain the dishes. In fact, if you
have never eaten Japanese, or want to try something a little more
adventurous than Teriyaki Chicken, I would advise ordering a variety of
dishes and trusting the chefs to choose for you based on what is popular.
All dishes are very affordable considering the generous portion size and
exceptional quality, so you can comfortably order several to share with
your party.

Despite promising myself to try something new the next time I visit, I
always end up ordering the Prawn Tempura, which is about as good as it
gets: light and tasty batter over massive, juicy king prawns. At £8 for
four, it is a little extravagant, but worth every penny, and given the
prices on the rest of their meals I feel that the overall cost of a nice
meal works out very reasonable. While I am on the note of indulgent
seafood choices, another dish well worth a try is their Soft Shell Crab
Rolls, which are seaweed and rice rolls with deep fried crab and fish roe
with a sweetly spicy chilli sauce.

There are plenty of traditional sushi choices such as Nigiri (slices of
raw fish over sushi rice), but where many restaurants stop at tuna and
salmon, Me Love Sushi offers customers further tempting options such as
sea bass, eel and squid. This extension of variety is a theme of their
entire menu, and one of the reasons why I have returned time after time.

Their house specialities are also a treat. Created by their chefs, these
dishes represent their talent and dedication to quality, and offer
customers a taste of authentic Japanese cooking: simple in concept and
presentation, but complex in flavours. Their black cod with miso sauce is
a thick slab of cod, seared to a crunchy caramelized brown on the outside
and soft and flaky on the inside. The miso sauce is sweet and salty and a
perfect complement to the fish.

The restaurant has a bar upstairs, which has quite a different vibe.
While the restaurant is bright and funky, the bar has an altogether
‘cooler’ vibe, with the potential to become a coveted secret hideaway of
celebs wanting to escape the normal, overcrowded haunts of London. Their
range of spirits and wines is complimented by a selection of rare and
unusual sakes. This doesn’t mean that the bar takes itself too seriously,
as there is not a hint of pretension, and plenty of fun is still apparent,
with their unique variety of cocktails, playfully dubbed ‘sakitinis’.

The bottom line: prices start at just £3 for some of the more basic Sushi
options, and hot meals such as rice dishes and bowls of noodles sit at
around £7, so if you are looking for a healthy and fresh meal on a budget,
you can happily have your fill for under £10. For a delicious feast,
savouring a range of what their chefs have to offer, plan on £20 – £25 per
person.