Sushi Bar Makoto

Editor's note: this restaurant has since moved to 57 Turnham Green Terrace, W4 1RP.

Sushi Bar Makoto opened in August 2008, and is almost directly opposite La Trompette. It is a tiny restaurant, with just three tables and some seats around the sushi bar. There is a dark tiled floor and bare tables. As well as the a la carte menu there are a number of set lunch options in and around the £10 mark. The main menu covers a variety of Japanese cooking styles, not just sushi. Japanese beer is available at £3.80 a bottle, as well as glasses of unnamed wine: just "red" and "white". I cannot see a restaurant labelling its food only "main course" and "dessert" so this does seem a bit minimalist.    

Miso soup had a thin stock and was uninspiring (10/20). Prawn tempura (£7.50) was better, the prawns properly cooked, though the batter itself a little flaccid compared to the light, crispy ideal (11/20). Tuna sushi (£2.40 a piece) had rice at the correct body temperature pre-loaded with a little wasabi, but I was not particularly impressed with the quality of the tuna itself; supposedly they use the respected Ataryi-Ya here as their supplier, but there is a difference between using a supplier and carefully selecting the specific fish actually delivered (11/20). Grilled eel on a bed of rice had a good sauce that was nicely absorbed into the rice, though the eel itself was rather disappointing, rather greasy (11/20). The bill came to £19.40 without any drinks other than tap water and service was very pleasant. Overall, this is a serviceable neighbourhood restaurant, but not somewhere to make a special journey to.