A great location and ultra-fresh tasty Japanese food make Ozu worth a visit, all it needs now is a little more verve.

The Venue
Ozu manages to retain the County Hall feel with its impressive wood panelling, but combines it with a minimalist Japanese decor to hint at the cuisine. The furry soft toys above the cooking island are perhaps a little surreal but the simple wood furnishings certainly give a pleasant feel. There’s a choice of eating either at the bar where everything's prepared and cooked, or at tables in the restaurant proper. It looks attractive enough, but the chairs are in need recovering and the toilets (shared with the neighbouring Chinese restaurant) are clean but inadequate for the number of diners - and in need of some maintenance attention.

The Atmosphere
With Big Ben beaming down it’s hard not to be wowed by the views – even for hardened Londoners. There is an indisputable Oriental aura about the room which has a central island cooking area and a corner sushi preparation area on view. The staff are pleasant but do seem to lack a bit of passion in the enterprise, which is a bit of a shame.

The Food
The menu is huge with a great variety of the expected and the more unusual. Appetisers go from £4.50 to the sashimi carpaccio at £14.50, but between those there's the piping hot, light and delicate shumai steamed dumplings filled with snow crab meat, spring onion and tobiko (£7.50). The sunomono assorted seafood sashimi with seaweed and cucumber salad and tosazu dressing (£8.50) is tangy and tasty with a great selection of morsels of the freshest ocean offerings contrasted by a sprinkle of sesame seeds.

Sushi is a big part of Ozu and there's certainly a great selection, and with prices starting at just £2 for an avocado hand roll, it’s also affordable. The matsu sushi set comprising nine pieces of nigiri sushi and six pieces of maki gives a good taste across the board for £21. For the adventurous a pizza sushi roll is available for £14.50, with a roll of deep fried roast chicken, king prawns and roast vegetables topped with mozzarella and sliced pepperoni and jalapeno.

The sumibiyaki charcoal grill offers skewers of vegetables, fish and meat ranging from £2 to £4 for scallops, whilst main dishes start at £9 for a simple tofu steak. The nabeyaki thick, white udon noodles with vegetables, fish cake and prawn tempura in a traditional Japanese pot (£15) is really flavoursome, with the broth holding a feast of textures topped by a runny egg. Saba miso ni – mackerel casserole with authentic Japanese miso - is freshness on a plate. It's moist, light and simple, with an appealing flavour and texture.

For lunch diners, bento boxes and set meals (£10-£28) are available giving excellent choices for sightseers or those popping out from the office – or indeed Parliament.

The Drink
Wines are available from £8 per glass to £38 for a bottle. The Errazuriz Estate Reserva Chilean Merlot is not too light but not so earthy that it overpowers the delicate fish. A Sauvignon Blanc comes in at a reasonable £18. Sake and shochu shots start at £2.50 with a hefty £78 bottle available for the connoisseur. Beers are £3.50 to £4.50.

The Last Word
There can be no debate that the location and food make for a winning combination, it would just be nice if the staff agreed and someone could come in to give the place a bit of a sartorial lift.

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