18/12/23

Lothian Road, Edinburgh

It’s a couple of months since Eat@Tokyo opened for business and (hardly surprising since it’s right at the end of our street) we visited within days of its launch. We were impressed and said we’d be back, but we usually only return to a restaurant if there’s something new to talk about. So the fact that Don@Tokyo has launched a lunchtime special is exactly the excuse we’ve been looking for.

We make the gruelling thirty second slog along the street and take our seats. This lunch deal is reassuringly simple: you get one of three main courses and a soft drink (or a mug of green tea) for a total of just £8.90.

Susan goes for the veg poke bowl, while I choose the chicken katsu ramen. The former is a generously-sized dish full of delicious ingredients: avocado, red onion, tofu, edamame beans, radishes, sweet corn and more, all nestled on a bed of gooey, sticky rice. The latter is an equally generous portion of noodles in a creamy broth, liberally sprinkled with red onion, sweet corn and greens, with half a perfectly-judged boiled egg nestling in the mix. This is accompanied by a breadcrumb-coated chicken breast which comes with a little side dish of a mayonnaise mix that I try (and fail) to get the recipe for. Ah well, a restaurant must have its secrets, I guess.

Both dishes are both utterly delicious, the kind of hearty, aromatic food that you want to eat every last scrap of and then lick the bowl. They’re nourishing and comforting too, setting us up for a happy and productive afternoon.

There’s also a third choice – beef gyudon, which I sampled on my first visit and have already spoken about elsewhere. https://bouquetsbrickbatsreviews.com/2023/10/16/eattokyo/. It was the best thing we tasted on our previous visit.

When a takeaway fish and chips or even a couple of pizzas can set you back £30 or more, this lunch deal represents excellent value for money and, when you honestly cannot fault a single element of the meal you’ve just eaten, there’s really only one score that makes sense. Office workers looking for a change from their usual sandwich and packet of crisps should check out this offer at their earliest opportunity. Those on a tight deadline will appreciate the fact that the food arrives at an almost unbelievable speed.

What’s not to like?

5 stars

Philip Caveney