Matsuri, Holborn (Japanese Restaurant) 13.03.08
Irish footballer Ronnie O’Brian was once voted Juventus’ Best Player Ever despite never actually having played a first team game for them, and in 1999 he was leading a Time Magazine online poll for Person of the Century ahead of the likes of Albert Einstein and Martin Luther King. These two situations came about from cheeky scamps manipulating online polls for their own amusement.
The Holborn branch of Matsuri weighs in on London Eating with an extremely impressive overall rating of 8.9 making it one of the top rated restaurants in London. Now I’m not saying that the 8.9 has been achieved by dodgy means, it’s just that if Ronnie O’Brian has taught us anything, it’s to at least be a little wary of taking the results of online voting on face value.
When I visited Matsuri in Holborn I went for their 15 Year Anniversary Menu (£35) along with a sushi platter shared between 4 - With the exception of the dessert, which was pretty standard ice cream, everything was very good. The sushi we had is probably one the best I’ve eaten in London with the fatty tuna being lip smacking, melt in your mouth delicious. The only slight complaint being that for £30 for the platter, the individual sushi pieces were a little on the small side.
The restaurant looks very swish in a simple modern way and it has a separate sushi counter which is apparently the longest in the UK. The service was also top notch with everyone extremely polite and efficient.
Overall Matsuri is excellent, so perhaps not a case of the Ronnie O’Brians. That said 8.9 is a little on the high side when you take into account the cost of the food being a long way from a bargain.
Details
Matsuri
71 High Holborn
London
WC1V 6EA
tel: 0871 3327119
WEBSITE
MAP