Hazuki, Charing Cross

I'm one of those lucky souls who commutes into town from the 'burbs, and the stop that my husband (a fellow commuter) and I usually come into is London Charing Cross.

The way into work is generally fine (apart from never getting a seat, and being crushed into strangers' armpits), but on the way back, invariably something will go wrong to delay our journey home - leaves on the line, signalling problems and one time, memorably, a cloth factory in New Cross went up in smoke.

Whilst we often resign ourselves to waiting, and scrunching our faces up angrily at the departures board, more often than not, we will decide that this is God's way of telling us to go away and have dinner and simply try again later.

Upstairs at Hazuki

Our usual haunt is Hazuki, a little two-storey Japanese restaurant hidden away on Chandos Place, past Oscar Wilde and just up from the station, and we always head straight upstairs.

An old faithful, when snow is the cause of disruption, Hazuki will warm us with sansai udon, agedashi tofu and the finest, crispiest tonkatsu pork.

And in the height of summer, their hiyayakko and zaru-soba hits the spot and their super-deluxe sashimi is a bejewelled platter of pleasure.

Cod roe appetiser

It's so reliable (and by that I mean consistently good, rather than boring), that when my in-laws decided to visit Japan for the first time and were nervous about having to eat "nothing but raw fish", we took them to Hazuki to prove to them that there was life beyond sushi in the Japanese culinary oeuvre, and we (or rather Hazuki's salt mackerel and mixed tempura) managed to convince them with ease.

Tempura and Tonkatsu

And best of all, they serve Calpis at Hazuki (or rather Calpico, as it's been rebranded for the squeamish US and Europe). What more could a non-drinking Japanophile want?

I've not written about Hazuki before, as frankly I felt like it was mine.

Now it's yours.

Go eat.

Deluxe Sashimi Platter

Sansai Udon

ps and for my fellow gaming otaku out there, it also shares a name with the main character from Shenmue. WHOO \(^_^)/



Hazuki
43 Chandos Pl
London
WC2N 4HS
020 7240 2530
www.hazukilondon.co.uk