I am a bit of a girl when it comes to food. Perhaps I should say I used to be a bit of a girl when it comes to food. I am not saying that girls and bad; it’s more of a saying, like Yorkie bars.
A client booked Sen Nin for dinner and I was given the three – line party whip; you will go and have fun… I was more than a little scared. I was told that the restaurant was a Sushi establishment and no matter how many times I try, I just don’t do Sushi. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it is actually a Teppanyaki restaurant.
Teppanyaki is a style of Japanese cooking that uses an iron griddle to cook food; I like food that is cooked.
We were greeted at the door by a very pleasant smiling lady who informed us that there would be a few minutes delay until we could be seated. We were directed to the small bar / lounge area and offered a drink. Cocktails are big here but they do a nice selection of Asian beers too.
The noise and excitement that was going on in the restaurant was substantial; I was becoming more intrigued by the second.
We didn’t wait long and were seated in a square around the grill.
We opted for the Sumo Teppanyaki Meal which offers three courses for a set price.
The Miso soup arrived and was pleasant enough; I was also informed about how healthy the soup was so I could feel self-righteous
Starters next; a little Sushi and salad, steamed chicken dumplings and some spring rolls served with a selection of dips. As mentioned above Sushi is not my thing; however my companions had no problem with it. Everything else was very tasty, I particularly enjoyed the gyoza (dumplings) despite the fact they look a bit strange.
Now the main event. Our chef arrived (with enormous trays of meat) and started setting up his grill. After playing with his knives and juggling some eggs for a while he cleaned the grill; with a really big flame.
Egg fried rice was cooked first but this evening wasn’t just about the food; the theatre was equally important. Each guest around the grill was encouraged to take centre stage at the grill and (having donned a chef hat) flip some eggs for a while.
Much fun was had by all and the eggs were used for the rice; I highly doubt this is how they cook egg fried rice in my local takeaway…
Rice was distributed (and suitably tasty) and the meats cooked next. There were loads of meat options (you got to pick three) and we opted for Sea bass, Steak and Chicken. The fish was up first up once cooked really was the tastiest fish I had ever had. It was clearly fresh and cooked with nothing more than heat, butter and salt. Steak was put on the grill and left to cook, while the chicken was nurtured in a very special way! Once cooked, the chicken was super tasty with the steak coming a close second. To finish the cooking extravaganza (yes there was still more to come) we had a selection of vegetables, fried just a little but still crunchy.
Wow! What an amazing meal.
The service of the staff throughout was superb; they certainly ensured our glasses were never empty, with replacement beers arriving in seconds.
I guess that the theatrics is somewhat dependant on the personality of the chef; however the food was simply excellent.
They tried to give us pudding (cheesecake) but we unanimously declined.
The set menu we had should cost £45 a head. This is a lot of cash, but you do get an awful lot for it. You can also sometimes download a voucher from the website or use TopTable for 50% off this price which offers superb value.
Try it.
Sen Nin, 206 Upper Street Islington N1 1RQ. Website.
