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With a single dessert and just two glasses of wine our bill was kept in check - but the effort of doing so was not much fun
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I have been to many of London's so-called best Japanese restaurants and none have been as good as the food that I've had at Aqua Kyoto
London,
Critic rating
Reader rating
Description: "Through an unassuming door in a Brixton back street" lies this "corker" of a restaurant; it's an "unfussy", sort of place -- intriguingly located on an upper floor -- where Daniel Budden's food is simply "excellent".
Food: 
Service:
Ambience: 
Phone: 020 7733 8855
Website: http://www.upstairslondon.com
Open: Restaurant: Tue - Thu 6:30pm - 10:30pm
Bar: Tue - Thu 6:30pm - 1am
Dress code: Smart casual
Good for: Romantic meals, Good food, Ambience.
Payment options: All major cards accepted
I tried to change my booking at Upstairs for two to three people, only to be told - quite snippily, I thought - no chance.
Mentally, I started sharpening knives: yeah right, Tuesday night, new restaurant above a caff in Brixton, no window or signage on the road - they're at it.
But, sure enough, it was packed to the gunwales, the gentrifying area's young professionals falling on this bright little oasis like parched camels. What I took to be snippiness was merely a desire to put down the phone and keep on serving the ravenous hordes.
And they're not daft, the hordes: this is something of a find. Chef Daniel Budden used to work in Chiswick's La Trompette and his menu shares a similar ethos: good ingredients, mildly Frenchified and cleverly sauced, but not too mucked about with.
Rich, sweet crab was served simply on top of avocado with homemade mayonnaise; steamed plaice with scallop mousse was a creamy, soothingly retro plateful. Red pepper risotto, too, was like posh invalid food.
If anything, we found seasoning a little retiring - thank goodness for a sparky hint of spice in a smoked salmon special. Prices are well-judged: £18 for two courses, £23 for three. The place buzzed with the sounds of appreciative custom.
Every neighbourhood should have an Upstairs.
A meal for two with wine, water and service costs about £80. 89b Acre Lane SW2 (above the Opus Cafè). Tel: 020 7733 8855. Tube: Brixton
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
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I have eaten a number of times at Upstairs and every time has been a joy. Food is excellent as is the set up and the staff. We need more places like this offering an alternative to the main stream formulaic restaurants that populate most of South London.
- Simon Williams, London
