The new Japanese food trend to try now.

Japanese food, despite its relative ubiquity in cosmopolitan Western cities, isn’t the best understood of cuisines. Despite the fact that Japan boasts a solar system’s worth of Michelin stars, there’s a surprising dearth of Japanese dining options that have made it overseas. Thanks to restaurant margins, plus a lack of adventure when it comes to trying Asian cooking, the West’s perception of Japanese food has hitherto focused on simple staples approached with a caution unrepresentative of the nation’s food offering as a whole, and the fare you’ll find on offer down a backstreet yokocho has largely stayed put. Still, as more Japanese restaurants have opened in the West and conveyor belt sushi and teriyaki salmon have become predictable old hat, the appetite for heartier Japanese food like ramen has grown, and westerners are ready to expand their palates.

In London at least, this will become much easier from March when the Japan Centre Group opens Europe’s largest food hall at a 17,400 sq ft site in Westfield shopping centre in Shepherd’s Bush. Called Ichiba, the gargantuan store will house numerous concessions, a Japanese bakery (or panya), a sake bar complete with its own sommelier, and space for 200 diners. The exact range and authenticity of what will be on offer remains to be seen, so until then we’re looking to expand our understanding of Japanese food elsewhere. The best place to start? An izakaya.

In Japan, an izakaya is somewhere that combines the merriment of a gastropub with the variety of a tapas bar. Come night-time, izakayas become stuffed full of overworked salarymen chatting with colleagues over plates of grilled meat and edamame, and taking the edge off the day with a pint or ten (see Instagram account @shibuyameltdown for an insight into how a heavy night at an izakaya sometimes ends). And while the traditional practice of removing your shoes at the door and sitting on the tatami floor around a knee-high table hasn’t quite caught on in the rest of the world, the izakaya menu is beginning to. Thanks to a number of restaurants serving izakaya food in the British capital, you can expect to add okonomiyaki, yakitori, gyudon, karaage, and tonkatsu to your gastronomic vocabulary in the coming months. Sushi isn’t going anywhere, but there are a lot of deep-fried, meaty, and pub-grubby foods to try too. And try them you should – scroll down for the best places to start.

Yakitori – which translates as “grilled chicken” – is meat or vegetables served on skewers, and was developed after unused parts of chicken meat from restaurants were cooked and sold from street stalls outside temples. Yakitori still exists very much in this format in contemporary Japan, but has also migrated to the West. While you might not find skewered gizzards on many menus outside of Asia, there are still relatively adventurous yakitori options to be found if you know where to look. Jidori, a Dalston staple, has styled itself as a yakitori go-to, and has a menu that includes liver and chicken heart yakitori. The restaurant has proven popular, and will open a new branch in London’s Covent Garden in February which will serve yakitori and tonkatsu (breaded, deep-fried pork loin).

jidori.co.uk

Ms Moto Priestman, the founder of Okan, grew up in Osaka, and in 2002 decided to set up a stall on Brick Lane to sell her native city’s favourite dish: okonomiyaki. A savoury pancake heated on a griddle, okonomiyaki is most prevalent in Japan’s Kansai region, and, thanks to Ms Priestman, can now be found in her restaurant in Brixton Village. In English, okonomiyaki means “grilled how you like”, and as such can contain any number of foods. Okan sticks to the classics, and does a mean pork and kimchi pancake, as well as one with mochi (sticky rice cake) and cheese. In true izakaya style, Okan also serves sake, plum wine, and Calpico, a must-try (but unusual) Japanese soft drink made from citrus and yoghurt.

okanbrixtonvillage.com

Billed as Mr Jason Atherton’s “izakaya-style restaurant and bar”, Sosharu serves izakaya food that has been reappropriated for more refined dining. Sensitive to the fact that Japan places huge importance on seasonality when it comes to cooking, Sosharu uses ingredients “inspired by the British seasons”. The deep-fried options are many and varied – try the karaage (chicken), or the Wagyu beef agemono that comes with Kewpie mayonnaise, a tangy izakaya favourite made with rice vinegar that is found in virtually every household fridge in Japan. There’s also broccoli tempura, a tonkatsu sandwich, and gyudon (a beef bowl topped with rice) that is cooked with ginger, garlic, and dashi (broth). While Sosharu’s ambience may be a little more elegant and polished than an authentic Japanese izakaya, it’s a good place to experience the food and find out what makes the set-up so popular.

sosharulondon.com