Eat Tokyo brings a little bit of Japan to Dublin
During my culinary travels around the Dublin restaurant scene, I have visited many different types of restaurants. Enjoying all types of dishes along the way with a big grin as the food has always been good. You could say that I have been lucky to have never had a bad meal. But I put it down to restaurants upping their game, as the pandemic has changed how they operated. Resulting in them making sure that they retain their customers and gain new ones.
Pivoting into takeaways has made restaurants realise that their cooking must be spot on. Mainly because they could end up serving more customers daily than they normally would. Sometimes restaurants have a few branches in Dublin and they all have to maintain the same high standard.
This week’s restaurant is?
This all neatly leads on to this week’s restaurant Eat Tokyo which is a chain of Japanese restaurants. Eat Tokyo has three restaurants in Capel St, Talbot St and Temple Bar. Offering delicious traditional Japanese cuisine, such as Noodles, Ramens, and Sushi amongst other things.
William has raved about their Capel St branch and goes there at least once a week. This week was rather interesting as there was three of us for lunch. The old gang from college who used to meet up every Wednesday for lunch that I had mentioned before. One of the three also happened to have had lunch with me in Hot Chix recently.
Having lived in Japan I have eaten Japanese cuisine and I had one real favourite. Something that you don’t see enough off. Cooking done at your table with portable hibachi grills. This is where you make your own marinades, and coat your meat in them. Before you cook the marinated meat on the portable hibachi and serve it with the unlimited rice the restaurant gives you. This is a bit like steaks cooked on a hot stone you can find here in certain restaurants. Another great thing about restaurants in Japan was their menus. Pictures were beside each dish on the menu, allowing you to see what you were ordering. Very handy if the menu was only in Japanese.
Walking through the restaurant I saw my two lunch companions at the back. We were here during a quiet time and could have our pick of where to seat.
There was 80’s music playing in the background but it was not too loud. Allowing us to have a conversation without having to shout.
What did I order?
So as you can tell I am not a big fan of Noodles, Ramen, Sushi. But two things on the menu popped out for me. Sweet Chili Basil Chicken, and Honey Sesame Chicken. The first dish had Crispy chicken stir-fried with peppers, onions, spring onions, cherry tomatoes, green beans and sweet chilli sauce. The second dish had Shredded crispy batter chicken wok-fried with Honey sauce, mixed vegetables, and sesame seeds. I went with the Honey Sesame Chicken without the vegetables which came with a bowl of Japanese rice. I also had a glass of water and a can of coke.
How was my meal?
The chicken was delicious and tasted very sweet thanks to the honey. It was crispy and as it was wok-fried that was why it was so tasty.
My only complaint is one that should not be seen in a negative way. I could not finish my meal as there was too much chicken. The Japanese rice was the perfect accompaniment for the chicken. Japanese rice is more stickier than regular white rice and is also short, round and almost oval in shape.
What did my meal cost?
My Honey Sesame Chicken cost €14.50, and my Coke cost €2.50. This brought the total bill to €17.00.
Eat Tokyo is a fantastic restaurant offering authentic delicious Japanese food. If you are a fan of Japanese or Asian cuisine you will feel right at home here. The service is also exceptional and you will be well looked after by the restaurant’s staff.
Eat Tokyo, 11 Capel St, North City, Dublin, D01 YX82
See more reviews here.