En masse, it seems, fans of sushi and fusion cuisine are boycotting the big boy restaurant chains who charge through the nose, in favour of more private, cosier, independent option like Bento Cafe.

The Venue
With its dark-ish windows, Bento is situated aloofly at the Camden tube end of Parkway. The interior is simple and modern, with wooden floors and framed artefacts on the walls, with a warm brown and red colour scheme.

The Atmosphere
Bento can be a bit of a human vacuum in the daytime but at night you’ll be hard pushed to get a table. The staff do have a tendency to hurry and harangue customers into ordering their food, quite understandable in the evening rush but nothing short of bizarre at lunchtime.

The Food
True to its name, Bento Cafe does a wide selection of bento boxes. For those who don’t know what a bento box is, it has four or five compartments each containing some fish, rice, or sushi and each one comes with a miso soup. The bento boxes are not ideal for the ravenous lunch-goer. Sure, everything tastes great… but where’s the rest? For approximately £6 (£7 with service), one doesn’t want to have to sniff out the nearest chicken stop for a much needed meat hit.

To its credit, sushi and everything else on the menu is available at lunchtime. Its non complicated menu full of fish, meat and vegetarian dishes is a welcomed breath of fresh air. Noodles comes as thin or fat as you like and for vegetarians, there are some tofu and vegetable dishes available. Aubergine is done exquisitely here as is the seaweed salad which is great as a side. For non vegetarians, the sushi bar is thick with variety but the salmon sashimi is an indulgence at around £6.

People rave over the black cod in miso here and understandably so but it’s pricey for the area at around £13. If your wallet is as hungry as you are then perhaps hold back on the sushi front and order just the black cod as it is filling (so you might not require rice) and looks spectacular on the plate. For a bit less but just as intricately presented, is the whole sea bass at around £11. It is cooked to perfection as sea bass ought to be and doused in a spicy but not too sweet sauce. With rice, maybe soup and often some sushi and noodles too, before you know it you’ve spent £75.

The Drink
Bento is licensed and serves alcohol till closing. There is the option of sake or Tiger beer and soft drinks like Diet Coke and lemonade are served in small glasses. Ask for a jug of water if you dare but the staff will let you know how they feel about it.

The Last Word
For good sushi portions and quality main meals like the black cod in miso, Bento Cafe is ideal. Its prices are on the cheeky side for the area and there’s not enough going on atmosphere-wise to merit too much praise.

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