Kimura
Restaurant · East Village ·
Japanese hot pot, sushi, ramen, and cocktails in East Village
Japanese hot pot, sushi, ramen, and cocktails in East Village
"This small Japanese grocery store at the bottom of Muswell Hill may be on the limits of Crouch End, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be a destination. There are all the frozen dumplings, sauces, sake, and Hello Panda packets you need to get you through another late night at your makeshift office, and they’ve also got a bustling team of chefs who are lowkey preparing some of the best takeaway sushi in north London. They’ve got the futomaki, uramaki, and hosomaki options you know and love, but it’s really the nigiri and sashimi options you should lead with. The yellowtail, sea bream, sea bass, and fatty tuna is always both faultless and beautifully presented. Or, cute and casual O’s Thai Café opens at 2/3pm during the week, and Curtis Caribbean is perfect for those days when you’ve worked right through lunch, decided to take your last calls of the day whilst walking around Priory Park, noticed it’s suddenly 5pm, and definitely need a couple of festivals, some oxtail stew, and - since the day’s basically over - a bottle or two of Red Stripe." - oliver feldman
"Sushi Kimura offers a delicious take on the Japanese seasons through the lens of a sushi chef. Chef-owner Tomoo Kimura has decades of sushi-crafting experience under his belt, and it shows: From his sushi-pressing choreography to the artisan ingredients he espouses (including made-in-Kyoto Fujisu vinegar and Aritaya-brewed organic Hokkaido soy sauce) to his parade of in-season Japanese small plates and sushi (think: boiled shirako with ponzu and wakame, as well as the winter sushi delicacy of Hokkaido shark skin halibut). Since this place snagged a Michelin star, there’s been plenty of competition for seats." - Evelyn Chen
"Authentic Japanese Motsunabe and Teishoku."
"Since 1985, this St. Marks Place gem has specialized in traditional Japanese hot pot. There’s nabe, where the assorted meats and vegetables are thrown into the hot pot all at once unlike shabu shabu (thinly-sliced meats are essentially parboiled with a quick swish in the broth) and sukiyaki (all ingredients are stewed longer in a sweet and savory broth). Kimura serves heaping portions of all three types with fixed ingredients and there are options for add-ins like wagyu beef slices. The $23 collagen nabe (pig trotters, chicken, leek, tofu, dry garlic) and $21 kurobuta pork belly nabe (Japanese Kurobuta pork belly, cabbage, soy sprouts, chili, chive, burdock) are hits. Ramune soda and Japanese whisky cocktails round out the menu. There’s an outdoor heated booth at the back of the restaurant. Reserve a table ahead to avoid hours-long lines." - Caroline Shin
"Although they aren’t braised, the pork trotters at Kimura are legendary and the collagen nabe (pork trotters are full of collagen, the skin-boosting superfood du jour) is worth a special trip. It’s one of the most popular dishes, and my personal favorite, at this Japanese hotpot restaurant on Saint Marks. Here, pig trotters are stewed for more than eight hours to create a rich, almost milky soup base and trotters as soft as jelly." - Amber Gibson
