Bincho Yakitori is a very informal Japanese style restaurant which specializes in yakitori, a Japanese style of cooking featuring skewered meat and vegetables cooked on an open grill.

The Venue
Bincho Yakitori’s location, on the second floor of the Oxo Tower, is arguably one of the most attractive areas to dine out in London. Bincho Yakitori’s ethos is based on a concept called izakaya, which are down to earth Japanese places where men drink sake and beer after work. The interior is a mixture of dark wooden floors, tables and pillars which have an Oriental feel whilst being minimalist at the same time. A curved open bar at the front compliments the smoky grills on the opposite wall where diners can enjoy watching chefs cooking quite literally over an open fire.

The Atmosphere
The clientele is a blend of young couples and City boys who come and feast on the superb quality of yakitori on offer. Authentic staff that are both on the whole efficient and in true Japanese style extremely polite, which makes for a pleasant and vibrant environment.

The Food
Tokyo master chef Hidenori Ohata oversees the delicate art of yakitori and kushiyaki. Yakitori in simple terms means grilled chicken, although the term can be stretched to include other meats whilst kushiyaki means anything skewered or grilled. There is a wide variety of 40 dishes which are mainly tasty little offerings served up at incredibly low prices. The best advice would be to select two or three to begin and maybe five or six for mains (which should nicely fill a non sumo-wrestlers belly).

Choose from the tantalizingly addictive edamame (steamed soya beans with sea salt), Japanese pickles which are a real delicacy with some interesting varying textures and clear chicken soup Inaka-style with some lovely home-made dumplings.

Mains feature a selection of chicken, meat and fish dishes that will make anyone’s mouth water. Try the Aigamo, which is duck with spring onion and a subtle hint of wasabi, or the chicken skin skewers or crisp sea bream. Desserts include a creamy and light yuzu pannacotta or an indulgent baked chocolate served with mirin ice cream.

The Drink
There are five Japanese beers listed and around a dozen fresh and fruity wines. A strong recommendation would be to go for the German medium dry Schloss Vollrads Riesling. The highlight has to be the selection of 19 sakes, with a helpful character and flavour description on the menu.

The beauty of the sake is in the delivery - in traditional izakaya style it’s poured from a large bottle into a glass that sits inside a masu, a square, wooden drinking box. The tradition is to drink from the glass, then polish off the remains in the box. A word of warning, however – be careful of spillage here as some may overflow on to your clothes.

The Last Word
With views to die for, Bincho Yakitori is a cheery, friendly place that ticks all the boxes for a fun, casual dining experience, serving up high quality yakitori.

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