Bustling Japanese restaurant in Mornington Crescent may not have the suave look of some others of its kind, but offers plenty of good theatre and great food to tempt the budget gourmet.

The Venue
Set amid a cluster of tired-looking newsagents and takeaways just behind Mornington Crescent tube and with a sign that looks like it could have been made in an art class, Asakusa is really nothing much to look at from the outside. Inside is hardly better, and first impression is almost of stepping into the private life of a Japanese teenager. Tables are scattered across the room like discarded clothes, meaning you might have breathe in to slide past those already eating, and walls are cluttered with posters faded by too much time and too little interest. Just as cluttered is the downstairs section and, somehow true to type, this basement area is even filled with a certain musty air that really speaks more of loud music and mood swings than it does good food or drinks.

The Atmosphere
Despite all that, Asakusa feels an enticing, authentic place to eat as an array of staff happily harry you through to your seats and call out greetings and goodbyes in drummed Japanese that makes you feel as if this might just be a faithful recreation of a Tokyo sushi bar. Certainly, the atmosphere is of the same frantic, frenetic pace of that city; food is delivered quickly and in no discernible order and the restaurant is packed with a vast selection of different groups that range from students looking for a cheap eat to long-standing regulars clearly here for their dose of Eastern adventure.

The Food
The menu at Asakusa will cause a flutter in the heart of anyone who has ever eaten, or dreamed of eating, in Japan. A range of authentic dishes help map out a typical meal out in the country. Starters use ingredients like tofu or aubergines or put things on sticks in special ways; these are foods that are inherently Japanese and talk of tastes or techniques that many other nation’s cuisines simply don’t do. Thus Agedashi Nafu (£3.70) is fried aubergine with a sticky miso sauce that touches both sweet and salty, is crispy on the outside but warm and soft on the inner for an alluring, addictive whole.

Great for those looking to enjoy good food on a budget are a range of set menus that include miso, soup, a main dish, Japanese pickles and rice, with prices for some sets starting as low as £5.40. There is an option for everyone, with simple teriyaki and tempura dishes for the doubtful, all the way up to full-blown sushi and sashimi sets for the more daring.

The miso soup served is a fine version, heavy with the taste of seaweed and with springy, delicious cubes of tofu. The chicken shogayaki set (£6.20) offers a tender breast of meat full of sparky ginger flavour from a thick, tasty sauce; when put together with soft rice and crunchy pickles, this is a contrasting but complete meal, yet with barely any potential for offence in terms of either taste or price.

Real star, however, is the sushi set (£10.80). Here is something close to what sushi should taste like, far away from plastic prawns and grey-tasting ginger that make up most high street offerings. The set offers a range of six sushi, including scallop, salmon, tuna, prawn, bass and egg, each with a real, rich flavour that offers different notes and noises with every bite. Proper wasabi on the side is perfectly soft and suitably scorching, while pickled ginger and vegetables all add to a mellifluous harmony. Quite simply, this is superb sushi at an almost incomparable price and well worth a try.

The Drink
Japanese beer (Asahi, Kirin), teas and soft drinks are joined by the country’s favourite spirits on the drinks menu at Asakusa, with special attention, naturally, paid to sake. Connoisseurs of the drink can spend an evening sampling the wide range on offer, with many special deals and vintages available that could easily see a quick tasting session by night turn into testing hangover come morning. Wines are also on offer, starting at £10.50 for the house.

The Last Word
What Asakusa lacks for in style it more than makes up for with its singing, swinging service and, in particular, its fresh, full-flavoured food that is casual yet great quality. With choice and charm enough to tempt those more sceptical on sushi and with plenty to excite those who are already converts, Asakusa is well worth a visit for anyone with an interest in finding a small window onto another world.

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