ROBATA

Robata was a vibe! Chicken Karaage + truffle fries = life-changing. Drinks were a 10/10. Mito looked after us like royalty and the curly-haired guy? Cute and charming. Great staff, great food 🤤 celebrated my birthday and got complementary mochi ice cream❤️✨🥳

+1

The sashimi in this place is top notch! The short rib beef bun and grilled chicken are full of flavors. Highly recommend.

It’s a hidden gem close to the west end in London. The ambience is stunning and the food is quite good. The gyoza reminds me of what I had in Japan, very authentic!

Had a great experience here. Came for dinner with a small group, we were sat immediately (we did book) and the staff were pretty quick & attentive. Food was all delicious and reasonably priced as well as well priced wine and a good selection of cocktails! Food was delicious, well presented and served at a good speed. Warning the spicy margarita is delicious but definitely spicy!

+6

I booked this for my wife's birthday and I'm pleased I managed to get a last minute booking because the food is amazing! If you like BBQ Asian food this is the place to go. We took a mixture of everything to share including the beef which was cooked to perfection. Also, the cocktails were really good as well. The decor could do with a bit of a tidy but the food more than made up for this. We will come back soon!

Tried the tasting menu. The overall experience was good and very happy. The staff were wonderful and the service was great. The cost was quite significant but there was a wide selection so overall balanced as good. It was quite loud which made the atmosphere feel just a little too chaotic.

+3

Lovely date night out, had tuna sashimi and it was great. The sea bass ceviche was our favourite. Had a sake float each, highly recommend. The sticks are okay but I would recommend sticking to the premium sashimi and sushi. Reasonably priced, in the heart of Soho and great service.

The best japanese tasting menu I have ever had. You just appreciate the freshness of ingredients. The chargrilled beef melts in you mouth and everything so beautifully presented. A lovely memory to celebrate my daughter’s 30th birthday.

A japanese 居酒屋style. Actually very surprised as the food is very nice! I dont have high expectations for japanese food in london because generally japanese sushi style food is not good in europe. Deluxe sushi is only £29, I mean they are not really Japanese standard of deluxe, however i am also pleased with it. The tataki also amazed me because it is just so nice!! Little bit of yuzu flavour and the truffle just matches it so well. The skewer is also so good!!! Highly recommend the iberco pork!

+6

First time visiting Robata and I must say, the food was great. The beef fillet was impressive with the three types of sauces and served on coal. The aubergine was very unique, interesting flavours. My favourite dish by far though without photos was the beef tataki, 10/10. Lovely vibe and lighting in the restaurant

Delish food! I have been a few tables, it’s great to go for a chill evening with friends. Cocktails are very good. Can’t wait to go back!

Delicious but affordable food with an ambient atmosphere inside the restaurant. The restaurant is on the smaller end but the staff were so helpful

I went here on a date and we both had a wonderful experience! We chose a quiet time, 5:30 pm. The staff were incredibly nice, and understanding when I asked for some advice regarding portions. The food was perfect, we ordered some small dishes for sharing. The dessert selection is quite limited but tasty nonetheless. We’ll definitely come back next time we go to Soho. Edit 10th July 2021: We decided to come back a year later for my partner's birthday and it was just as good as the first time. I think we even had the same waitress! The dark walls give the restaurant a cosy and comfortable atmosphere. Photos of our food from 2021, I particularly enjoyed the kimchi rice and the lamb skewers with Japanese spices and lime.

We loved every thing, we ordered: green salad, California maki, scallops and beef skewers, crab soft shell bao and black cod. can’t wait to go back. On our second visit there wasn’t black cod on the menu, i hope they bring it back.

Exceptional service and exceptional food. Went over bank holiday at the beginning 9f May. They set up an outside gazebo with heaters. The road was closed for restaurants and despite the cold and wind the atmosphere was buzzing. As it was a bank holiday we had a bottomless brunch at 2pm and it really was bottomless! We had the most friendly waiter who kept topping up our glasses whenever they were almost empty. The food was delicious and we got a starter and mains and bubbly for £35. Stunning value! Recommend.

The hubby and I were in need of a quick and tasty snack and had heard good things about Robata… we were very happy with the food and will be coming back soon to try the tasting menus! We went for a few sharing plates and a couple of bao buns! The food was excellent, the staff were friendly and had a sense of humour and the space had a great buzz. It’s a great addition to Old Compton Street and I would heartily recommend!

We had lunch at Robata soho, and ate from the set menu option, it was absolutely delicious, so much so that we didn’t take lots of photos as we enjoyed eating so much, service was great, welcoming and not stuffy. Would recommend and would return

Very attentive and friendly service, i had to email queries before booking and the responses were quick and accommodating. Good value food that is delicious, good portions. Delicious!

Lovely atmosphere, delicious food, friendly service - absolutely loved our experience at Robata. We were seated in the window and it was fun to watch the sights of Old Compton St - would definitely come back! Thank you!

Ate here on a firsttable with 50% off so was v reasonable - we had 2 sushi, padrons, kimchi rice, beef bao (good but a bit fatty), black cod (so good). Delish! Service not amazing but does the job! Was v quiet when we went but it was 5:30 on a Fri

We booked lunch at 12 via the First Table app. We ordered a selection of items- bao buns, sushi rolls and skewers. We enjoyed our food especially the soft shell crab bao and the black cod. Even better that we got 50% off food. Food came promptly and service was good. Would visit again.

+3

The food here was very tasty, but it was very pricey. We did the lunch set menu for £60 per person, which creeped up quickly when you add £13 cocktails. We enjoyed everything we ate, but I’m not sure it was worth the price point. The sashimi was really good and they had awesome sauces with the kaarage and squid. Our mains were delicious too, I had the cod and my buddy got the chicken.

+1

Good food and great service. We had the scallop and pork belly ‘robata’ and they were definitely highlights of the meal, also the crispy duck salad. The sushi was alright, defiantly better places in London, very fresh ingredients but the flavour was missing.

+1

Decent restaurant for Robata (Japanese bbq) in London! The skewers were well marinated and and cooked well. They had a good range of selections on the menu including sushi. The service was ok, friendly staff and the venue isn’t that big so the seats weren’t as spacious and has a casual vibe. I do recommend this place if you fancy some nice Robata!

Really enjoyed the bottomless brunch here. The dishes were delicious, and the prosecco was kept topped up. The staff were welcoming, and the service was overall great. There wasn't much of an atmosphere, but honestly, I didn't need one. A welcome change to be able to hear the person across the table from you. Would definitely visit again

+1

We came to Robata very last minute booking and were pleasantly surprised. I agree with some of the reviews that the menu is more Japanese inspired and can lack in the more traditional sushi choices. However i felt that quality of the dishes and service made up for this. Pros - the service was great and they were very busy with a packed restauramt . They bought out the food quickly and gave us advice on the menu. The waiter even helped me when i was looking for my lost headphones! The sushi was different and exciting with it tasting fresh! Cons - was ot a fan of the soft shell sushi and the tacos both tasted rather overly fishy. The skewers were rather average as well Would recommend if wanting a decent Japanese in Soho.

Great service and good food. Thoroughly enjoyed the bao buns - chose crab and they were delicious (also a fun challenge to eat due to the sheer size). The charcoal meat was good. Not keen on the dumplings as they got quite wet - didn’t personally enjoy them sitting in condiments. Pleased with the panna cotta dessert. Would also like to emphasise the service of one particular person who was kind enough to first check that the plates were finished with before taking them away - this was greatly appreciated and saved the awkwardness of most other experiences where meals are taken away before being finished.

It was a great experience overall. The food was absolutely delicious but it was overcrowded and there was barely space between tables. Always ask for a standard table, never high top because those are the ones that feels like eating with the couple next to you. That being said, we really enjoyed everything, but the tempura rolls were the best for me. Every plate had its own personality and they were all very special, I would tjust change the environment. We'll be probably coming back but at a more quiet time!

This is a really cute spot for people craving their Japanese fix, but not wanting to spend an arm and a leg. It was all really tasty but it cannot be compared to the likes of sushi samba, roka etc for obvious reasons. Having said that, it’s a really enjoyable meal and the quality in my opinion reflects the price!

We came here for my birthday. The highlight was the sushi, amazingly good along with the gyoza. The skewers were good but overpriced in our opinion. The attention and service were really nice. The only "criticism" we would say is that the tuna tartar and the beef tataki had too much pepper for our taste and for some reason the skewers took a bit more time than expected (nothing too bad). Thanks for the birthday ice cream mochi!

The restaurant is known for its contemporary Japanese cuisine and robata grill dishes. The waiters take pride over their grilled skeweres dishes. The stylish ambiance and flavorful menu was an enjoyable experience to be lost and reminiscing over your trip to Japan. The food , the chilli paper squid was delicious, and the duck salad had an explosive citrusy test the portion, priced at £11 and £12. The sushi mix , 2 slices of salmon , 2 slices of tuna and 2 slices of sea bass was presented over a bed of ice cost £17.

This is one of those trendy and cool izakayas with a lot of small plates. Generally the food and drinks are both nice, food a bit on the salty side which I guess is cuz you are meant to have it with the drinks. The iberico pork was a bit dry but the flavor itself is nice. The karaage is very tender and fried nicely, highly recommend!! Overall, it's a bit pricey to have an entire meal there but should be nice for a couple of small bites for a chill evening.

The food was really nice but they can work better at their service! I was trying to order dessert for like 15mins but no one came to ask if we wanted something else or offer the dessert menu.

Tasty food and friendly service. However for an 8 dish tasting menu at £60-£67pp, you’d expect to leave pretty full - both my husband and I were still pretty peckish afterwards. The main dish (we’d ordered chicken and black cod respectively) were delicious but could have benefited with 1-2 side dishes to accompany the dish. The restaurant is also not super clear (especially the downstairs section where the toilets are).

+2

We were sadly very disappointed by our visit to Robata. Having been recommend to go, and we had a gift voucher to use, we booked it 9 months in advance and even made a long trip and overnight stay to visit. The staff were very friendly, and willing to try and accommodate us even though we arrived early. Sadly I think because of the long layout of the restaurant and blaring music it was just SO loud, and we were placed firstly by one table of very loud customers, then later on a large party sat across from us, and we just couldn’t hear ourselves think. As soon as we’d finished, even though we’d planned to stay for some drinks we decided to leave, it was too loud. We tried a variety of food from the menu, but it was all really disappointing. The flavours were not to our taste, everything was quite bland and a lot of the food came out cold. I also felt that some of the dishes were highly overpriced for what they were. E.g. The Black Cod is £34 for the dish, and it was simply a small underdone piece of Cod, with very little flavouring, and no rice or veg of additions. We’ve visited a number of Japanese restaurants and Asian inspired, and this was probably one of the worst. We had steamed edamame, J.Fried Karaage, Kimchi Gyoza, Padron Pepper, Bao Buns, Skewers in Beef, Pork, Scallop, Mushroom, Asaragus, Sweetcorn, and then Black Cod and Mushroom Tobanyaki. So I feel as though we tried a good variety from the menu. Sadly I wouldn’t recommend, and we wouldn’t return. We did however enjoy the Japanese inspired cocktails!

+1

We went for a family meal to celebrate something and unfortunately it was too loud in there for us to have a conversation. The food was good but a bit overpriced. The aubergine and blackened Cod was fantastic and the service was fast.

Overall, very underwhelming. Food is very average in comparison to other authentic Japanese cuisine restaurants around London, service is below average and atmosphere was not pleasant. We dined on a Thursday evening so atmosphere is probably better on other evenings, but that doesn’t change that I was disappointed by the food. Wouldn’t recommend to anyone looking for a genuine Japanese dining experience.

We were drawn in by the early bird menu but overall had a really disappointing experience. Two of my three dishes arrived cold (the third was meant to be cold so I’ll let it slide), and my partner’s meal was hot but shockingly bland. I ordered a wine which tasted like vinegar - the staff did change it after I asked, but it was clear the first glass had come from a bottle that had been open for a while. Overall, don’t waste your time here. Even the cheap early menu is not worth it!

It’s not a bad, but it’s also not good at times. I went for the pre-theatre menu which is £25. For that, you get three dishes. The two starters are Edamame and kimchee. It’s difficult to mess up Edamame and surprisingly easy to mess up kimchi. The kimchi was unevenly spiced, Some portions, almost inedible hot and others no spice, which indicates to me some type of chilli sauce had been added later. This was definitely not prepared by old grandma Han. A bit weirdly, one of my second plates arrived at the same time. That was pork Gyoza. Not bad, but it was cold when it arrived. I was sharing so about five minutes later, the other second dish arrived, which was salmon roll. Standard stuff, avocado, salmon…rolled, A dollop of mayonnaise put on top. The final plates were classified as mains: pork ribs and skewers. The pork ribs: massive bland amounts of it. I expect something to fall off the bone but not half a pig. It tasted of absolutely nothing. I left half of it as it was a bit like eating cardboard. The skewers were okay but the corn on the cob was caked with something akin to sawdust. The house wine was pretty good, and service was fine. Very annoying House music/techno in the background. What do they expect everyone to get up and dance? I had been to this place during lockdown but like everything when you first got out of the house to a restaurant everything tasted better then. I won’t give it another shot.

Wonderful atmosphere and alright service. Unfortunately they served us raw karage and when there are only 4 pieces it kind of turns you off the whole thing. Otherwise the food was alright but in my opinion not worth the premium cost. I will say that the hay fried beef was delicious. Your mileage may vary but I’d recommend other spots nearby.

We came here for lunch, expecting a really good meal of BBQ dishes and sushi, but instead the BBQ food was deep fried, fatty and undercooked even though it said grilled, and the sushi was rubbery and odd tasting. I would not recommend this restaurant there are far better Japanese places to go in Soho.