Dinner Thursday 12 April - Ah So!

Met up with Marcel and we had a few drinks and ended up having Japanese food in the embarrassingly named Ah-So Japanese Teppanyaki Restaurant & Bar.

The name might be a bit cringe-worthy, but the food was excellent and the teppanyaki "theatre" was great after (and with) a few drinks. We had some sake cocktails (I had a sake margarita) and a LOT of food.

Started out with a selection of sushi, sashimi and tempura. The menu is wide ranging and pretty varied. The main course is structured so that you sort of choose "one from column A and one from column B" and then the teppanyaki chef cooks your food to order on the teppanyaki grill, while you all sit around him at a U-shaped bar and enjoy the show.

We selected tuna, sea bass, prawns and squid along with asparagus, baby corn, courgettes & onions. It was all just lightly, quickly and showily sauteed on the teppanyaki grill with a bit of soy and some seasoning and it was delicious. Watching the chef make egg fried rice was a hoot as he tossed the egg (in its shell) into the air, caught it in his chef's hat, tossed it back out and caught it on the edge of the cleaver etc. He also very kindly made me an additional spicy sauce when I told him how much I enjoyed chillis - it was chillis, garlic, coriander, soy & fish sauces and it was very nice (if a bit Thai for a Japanese restaurant).

For afters, we had the house special dessert with is fruit sauteed and flambeed on the teppanyaki grill and "fried" ice cream - which is exactly what it sounds like. Some ice cream is melted along with butter, brandy sugar and orange juice. This forms the sauce. The chef then deftly carved out the orange segments and sauteed them with banana, apple & strawberries before adding more ice cream (not melted!) and assembling the entire thing on a plate. A very indulgent mix of hot and cold, along with some wonderful fruit flavours.

A fun night and excellent food - recommended!

Ah-So Japanese Teppanyaki Restaurant & Bar
206 Upper Street
London
N1 1RQ
Tel 020 7704 1890