SO Restaurant

Not the most obvious place for a Christmas party, but that’s what makes it better. None of that hoo-la and drunkenness (in fact, nobody had any alcohol at all!), just Japanese in a tranquil setting.

Food

Quite a few of us went for the Chefs Selection (£22.95 ) , which gets you 3 courses, changeable on a daily basis. On the menu for us were:

• scallop salad - again, the produce let the side down. The salad was so so, nothing spectacular about it at all
• fresh fish - I was disappointed to be getting 2 fish courses, but this was fresh and nicely cooked.
• Black Cod in Miso - Black cod marinated in white "miso" & grilled - this was the dish I wanted most out of this menu, so at least it was executed nicely. The miso made a heavenly sauce for the moist yet firm cod.

Slokky opted for the soft shell crab as a starter. As far as soft shell crabs go, this one was pretty good, with a light batter, a bit of juice. The dipping sauce was quite unremarkable so it was a good thing that the crab was fresh. I wanted to order sushi but you had to order it individually which I thought was too hard to do in a large group setting, so Slokky’s Chirashizushi (£11.00)- A selection of prawns, salmon, crabmeat, eel, "shiso" & salmon "ikura" served on a bed of rice . It was good, but I thought it would be great as this place has been acclaimed for its sushi.

I guess a good thing about having Japanese is, you usually have room for dessert. Slokky tried out the Tofu Cheesecake (£5.00), which was actually very good. It tastes just like a normal cheesecake, only the texture was much lighter. I opted for the Daily Dessert (£7), which on this occasion was green tea cake and warm mochi. Green tea just tastes good in cakes, and the warm mochi was pretty tasteless as usual.

So, some good stuff, but nothing out of the ordinary, especially for a “fancy” Japanese.

Rating - 6

Atmosphere

According to a friend, SO opened only last year, but it has already had a refurbishment. Change of heart maybe? It's certainly good looking. Clean lines, decorations, and a huge window to see into the working kitchen, as well as the prominent sushi bar. It's nothing out of the ordinary though. The clientele is very subdue, as if they don't want to interrupt the sereneness of the place.

Rating - 2

Service

Our waiter was absolutely charming. He did left us WAY too long to pursue the menu and drinks went unfilled. He did anticipate our needs and turned down the heating for us though...so he was probably an out of work actor or something.

Rating - 3

C-factor

Japanese food is expensive. Good thing we didn't have to pay. Still, I wish the food was of a higher standard.

Rating - 0

Brownie Points - 11

Info

3-4 Warwick Street
London
W1B 5LS
Phone +44 (0) 20 7292 0767
Website