Rating: 3/5
Address
Mid City Place
71 High Holborn,
London WC1V 6EA
URL
http://www.matsuri-restaurant.com/highHolborn/index.htmPhone
020-7430-1970Type of Place:
Very big, varied, industrial-strength restaurant that is particularly well suited to cash-rich corporate / business customers -- and has some good food too. There are also mid-priced (25-35 GBP) sets available which take some of the financial sting away for more humble diners.
Food:
Food is reliably good. For my tastes, there's just a shade too much 'fusion' going on in a few areas, but that's just me -- it's perfectly targeted so that you don't have to love Japanese food to have a good time at Matsuri. And they do a lot of different things well -- everything from yakitoria type food to teppanyaki to a well-stocked sushi counter. There's maybe just the tiniest lack of character -- it's food prepared by people following instructions, but they're following the instructions well.
Atmosphere:
Matsuri is big, and the underground teppanyaki room, in particular, can feel a bit lonely at certain times. Other than that, it's clean and pretty and new but it's soulless. In general, this place doesn't specialize in atmosphere so much as in ruthlessly efficient food production.
Service:
Service is efficient, attentive, polite, and actually a bit like being in Japan, which is small wonder because the majority of the out-front staff actually are Japanese (teppanyaki chefs are the usual spatula-twirling Filipinos, though). But where it shines is the corporate end of the market -- they'll shift your people from bar to restaurant with perfect timing and impeccable etiquette.
Those looking for a 'homey' feel will have to look elsewhere.
Unique Point:
What's mainly unique about Matsuri is that in the teppanyaki-starved city of London, you can get a reasonable teppanyaki teishoku here without having to put up with the enforced jollity of Benihana. That's the main reason I'd go there as a casual diner.
jj