TenShi in Islington
I’ve lived in Angel Islington for close to five years now, and I love this ‘hood. The many food-shopping options and shopping options, generally, make me happy. As does running along the Regent’s Canal and being able to walk to work.
What holds Islington back from Best Neighborhood Ever status, I think, is its high percentage of mediocre restaurants. So whenever I hear about a new place in the ‘hood with good reviews, I show up with high hopes, and honestly, I’m usually disappointed. The latest example of this cycle of disappointment: TenShi sushi, which opened earlier this year and has gotten recommended a number of times by TimeOut for being good value.
prawn tempura roll
I didn’t order anything very unusual, and yet it was all sub-par. The prawns in my prawn tempura roll were flavourless, and instead of including crunchy cucumber slices with just the right dab of sweet mayo and wasabi, the rolls were flavored only with soy sauce. In fact, everything at TenShi that I tried tasted of soy sauce: agedashi tofu, udon noodle soup.
yaki soba
Yaki soba, again, tasted mostly of soy sauce with a dollop of grease mixed in. Whoever worked the kitchen that night was a lover of soy sauce, for sure, and I kept thinking of that scene in the Joy Luck Club where the clueless dinner guest destroys his food by dousing it in soy sauce.
Service was attentive and fast, and the prices were low (four mains and two shared starters totaled £60). But if I’m craving sushi and want to stay in the ‘hood, I’ll stick with Sa Sa Sushi (which is closed on Sunday evenings – hence why I was at TenShi on a Sunday evening). So without further ado . . . .
Sa Sa Sushi
I’ve meant to do a blog post about Sa Sa Sushi for ages. It’s one of those places where I eat very often and take for granted, and I feel very protective towards the kind and welcoming people who work there, so I suppose a part of me didn’t want to subject them to potentially-unfriendly scrutiny. But you know, after eating the fish here at least three times a month for a couple of years, I owe them a shout out, no?
assorted nigiri and rolls at Sa Sa Sushi
Jon and I don’t vary our orders much here. It’s our prerogative to avoid exploring the menu when it’s just a quick bite out in the neighborhood. Which is all to say, I vouch for the rolls and the nigiri and have no opinion either way on Sa Sa Sushi’s other dishes. Prawn tempura roll, of course, is one of my favorites, as are the crunchy-and-spicy [insert any fish here] rolls. I like, for example, that when you order a spicy tuna roll, you don’t end up with a mayonnaise-chili-mash of last-week’s tuna. Instead, the roll includes a hefty piece of identifiably-fresh tuna that is delicately spiced with chili.
udon noodle soup at Sa Sa Sushi
Jon’s an udon noodle lover, so he gets this a lot. I’ve had a taste of his a few times, and it’s good, but when I show up at Sa Sa, I’m there for the fish.
Service at Sa Sa can be slow, but most times the slow-ness is due to the care with which the sushi chefs are making each roll and piece of nigiri (I’ve watched them while sitting at the sushi counter up front).
The restaurant’s decor is bright and inoffensive, if a bit charmless, and prices are reasonable (£4-6 a roll), so the tab usually comes to £20 a person if you’re sticking only with the sushi options (which you should).
I’m not claiming the place is a destination restaurant, but I confidently assert that Sa Sa is one of the best places to eat in Islington and miles better than what I’ve tried at TenShi.
Sa Sa Sushi, 422 St. John Street, EC1V 4NJ, 020 7837 1155; closest tube station: Angel (exit the station and make a left, away from Upper Street and towards City Road).
Those tempura look amazing! I’m an American in London too!:) Love the blog, glad I found you through Gourmet Chick. x LondonZest
Out of curiosity, how does the udon at Sa Sa Sushi compare to Koya?
I know what you mean about the disappointment, I can be outraged when a place is not up to scratch, having spent the previous however long wondering how good it will be~!
I know what you mean about your favourite little local mid weeker places often being the last places you blog about!
@London Zest, thanks for visiting and for your comment!
@Mr. Noodles, Jon says he doesn’t notice a big difference between Sa Sa Sushi’s and Koya’s udon noodle soup other than the generous portions of tempura that SSS serves. I think the noodles at Koya are firmer and have more flavor than those at SSS, but the broths are similarly good, and in the final calculation, SSS is never crowded, the soup costs less and comes with more tempura, and it’s in my nbhd. Tough to beat. : )
@Bron, I’m more outraged if it’s expensive and a disappointment. Fortunately, there are few pricey restaurants in Islington.
@Greedy Diva, it does seem like we should be praising the unsung heroes of our week more often, doesn’t it?
I am totally guilty of overlooking my favourite neighbourhood places as well – have never blogged about The Electric but I probably eat there about once every two weeks. Not that it is really an undiscovered secret. Will keep Sa Sa in mind for when in Islington
I must confess I’ve never eaten at the Electric. I’ll remember that the next time I’m in your ‘hood.
Been to Tenshi a number of times and Wife loves their tempura udon. I thought that Tenshi’s Katsu don beats SaSa’s hands down. Have not compared their sushi rolls though. Will do that the next time round. Cheers!
@London Chow, I haven’t tried the katsu don at either Tenshi or SaSa, though it’s tough to imagine not loving breaded-deep-fried protein, generally.
Give SaSa’s sushi rolls a try and let me know what you think!
Alice – have you tried Akari a bit of a ways down on Essex Rd? I think its beats both Tenshi (which is definitely sub-par) and SaSa (which I haven’t been to in quite sometime, but maybe should give another shot).
@Kara, I haven’t been to Akari, but I’ve walked by and wondered about it. I hadn’t realized that they served sushi, so I’ll definitely check it out now. Thanks for the tip and let me know what you think of the sushi at SaSa.
Haven’t dared try SSS as it’s usually rather empty when I walk past and sushi needs to be super fresh! I may risk it but it is def more expensive then my fave Sushi Hiroba. Tenshi’s sushi is over-priced IMHO (3 microscopic bits of salmon sashmi for a for £4.50? please) but their hot dishes seem much better value. I have chicken katsu curry there recently and it was delicious.
Went to Tenshi for the first time this evening at 730pm. Downstairs was full so this waitress took us upstairs, which was completely empty. We were sat at the worst table. We asked politely to be moved and the waitress said her manager would not approve of her moving two people to a table for three. We told her that if we did not get moved we would never come back. THe waitress apologised and left us. At that point we left vowing never to return.
Lessons learned: 1) DO NOT GO TO TENSHI. 2) YO SUSHI WAS OK W/O the HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE.
As a fellow American living in Angel (London), you’re 100% right. Restaurants in Angel are mediocre at best except S&M Cafe and Elk & the Woods for Brunch.
@Foodie in Angel – sounds like you ran into some irrational policy at the restaurant. Did you try asking to speak to the manager (bc it sounds like the waitress wasn’t empowered to make a decision, even if it was rational).
In any case, if you read this post, you’ll see that just based on the food, I preferred SaSa over Tenshi, so it’s a shame you ended up at Yo.
Also, it’s true the nbhd has a lot of mediocre restaurants, but I think you’re missing a few gems – Ottolenghi, Byron Burgers, the burrito joints, Delhi Grill, Trullo, for example.
[...] Click here to read a post about SaSa Sushi, a more everyday sushi place I frequent [...]
Dear American in London
Love your blog!
Re Sushi of Shiori vs Sasa Sushi vs Akari
You are so right about Sushi of Shiori. Went there last week after reading the Timeout review. The place lacks the cosy, relaxed atmosphore of a small family run restaurant which undermines the food which is good but not amazing. Much much prefer Sasa Sushi – the Vietnamese owners know how to make sushi! Thanks for the tip on the udon at Sasa Sushi. Hard to find a restaurant that gets the broth right and I hate trekking over to Koya.
FYI Akari is more pubby and aiming for an izakaya vibe (i.e. evening with beers and skewers and some sushi). I agree with Kara above – much better than Tenshi.
[...] Tenshi is cheap and not a bad place if you are after a quick bite. I have to agree however with An American in London who prefers the similarly priced SaSa Sushi, also in [...]
[...] Like many food lovers, I regularly crave high-quality sushi. Sadly, though, I’m often disappointed by the hyped-up spots in London. For example, in 2010, Sushi of Shiori sounded like the second coming. But when I finally snagged a counter seat there, I was disappointed. Never again will I allow my expectations to rise like that, I vowed. I’ll stay content with my perfectly good, friendly, local sushi joint, Sa Sa. [...]
Been in Islington 4 years. Akari is awesome. Never been to Sasa but will go bc of the review.
cheers bro