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Turning Japanese: Hakkasan it ain't, but Hakuba is still a superior crowd pleaser with a touch of glam
The West End should be crammed with great, buzzy places to eat, but how often do you find yourself stranded on the pavement, dithering about where to go?
Get this new contemporary Japanese on your radar, because next time you're feeling clueless and hungry round Tottenham Court Road, you could do worse.
Well-designed, smart-casual and big enough that you don't have to stress about booking beforehand, it's ideal for a pre- or post-show dinner or upscale after-work eats with colleagues.
The look is what you'd expect from a cocktail bar/Asian restaurant; sleek, black, minimalist and rather glam. Very much a night-time place - and the drinks list will keep you busy.
My friend had Hakuba's signature cocktail, a £7.50 mojito that mixes Havana rum with plum wine and pomegranate, apple and lime juice - a gloriously alcoholic refresher.
For starters, being girls, we went for the low-fat, low-carb classic raw fish sashimi platter and found it fantastic value at £11.90.
Whereas most Japanese joints will sting you with portions so titchy you need a microscope to spot them, these eight-pieces were fat, weighty specimens.
Baked zinger scallops layered upon a rice hot pot (£7.60), perfectly filling and interestingly concocted of different textures, were another smash hit.
A £14.30 grilled Chilean sea bass served with Hakuba's special spicy sauce was another winner (if you discounted the over-oily disc of aubergine). Hakuba may not be Hakkasan but it's still a superior crowd pleaser.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
