Evernight restaurant review by Jimi Famurewa: Remarkable megamix of Japanese cool

A gushing orb of sweetbread katsu bun was quickly chased by mallard gyoza, fried to a greaseless bubbled crisp, and, as my mate Simon observed, packing “the perfect balance of crunch and squidge”. Then there were prettily fanned slices of yellowtail and trout sashimi with accompanying micro hillocks of wasabi and yuzu salt. Then, a little after that, tender chicken heart skewers, startled by a citrus-forward schichimi powder, were so good that I ordered a second-round mid-bite. But if I search a memory slightly fogged by glasses of Rihaku Dreamy Clouds sake — in an izakaya this is, of course, basically an act of Pulitzer-worthy investigative journalism — then the dish that really jerked me to attention was the chawanmushi: a slightly set savoury custard, garnished with smoky eel pieces, contrasted by pickled mushrooms and primed with body-shuddering, oceanic depths of umami.

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