The Azuki Room combines low-key décor with high-impact dining.
There are hidden gems – and then there are the real treasures you need a touch of Indiana Jones to discover. Despite being on the fringes of central London’s legal district, in between Holborn Circus and Holborn station, The Azuki Room falls into the second bracket.
It’s on a tiny paved alley off Chancery Road called Rolls Passage. It has zero natural footfall. Even with Google Maps, we missed the turning at first. Perhaps we’d have done better with Indy’s compass. What this means is that, for this new venture to thrive, the cooking needs to be very, very good. Good enough for diners to seek it out. Spoiler: it is.
The chef is Alan Tse, who for eight years helmed the much-loved Japanese and Korean restaurant, Dotori. To prepare for this new passion project, he trained at the renowned Japan Culinary Institute in Tokyo to learn more about traditional Japanese cuisine, particularly binchotan charcoal grilling.
Yet he’s not content merely to copy tradition. Meeting him, you realise why: he’s enormously energetic, charismatic and curious, genuinely keen to learn our opinion of his latest addition to the menu – edamame beans with spicy garlic sauce. “Is it too spicy?” he frets. Tse is not looking for praise. He really wants to know how to improve.
To us, it tastes just right. Edamame beans are a great icebreaker for diners anyway, as you busily pop them from the pods. But when slathered in lightly spicy sauce, they become literally finger-licking good. It sets the tone for a relaxed, informal, convivial dinner.
We’ve arrived at The Azuki Room at a particularly propitious time. We notice the menu has changed a fair bit since its soft launch in January, which was delayed by squatters who occupied the building for months, causing damage and drinking all the sake. But Tse and the director, Tanvir Islam, are adding new additions to the menu and introducing a sushi bar to the somewhat basic, bare-walled room. And, they are keen for FACT London to be the first to sample the new recipes.
And so Tan brings us a seemingly never-ending procession of dishes. There was just one misfire, to our palate at least: the Black Cod Fillet cooked on charcoal and served with miso. It looked fantastic, but we found it overly sweet and heavy on the miso. But there were so many hits.
The Miso Aubergine caramelised in a sweet miso glaze with sesame and crispy shallot was a knockout. I don’t much like aubergine and its rubbery texture. This was sweet, melt-in-the-mouth heaven, achieved by first boiling and then charcoal grilling.
The Tempura of Prawn and Vegetables were some of the best we have tasted anywhere – the batter fresh, light, and crunchy and entirely grease-free. The Yakitori were perfectly grilled: we had two tender Beef Skewers and two Chicken and Leek skewers. The latter is a clever combo. Chicken can go a bit dry when chargrilled, but the leek keeps it juicy.
Minced Chicken can be a bit meh, but this came with a huge, perfect egg yolk to dip it in. It looked beautiful and tasted delicious. Scallop was interestingly different, served on the shell with a rich broth that added real depth of flavour.
The absolute standout was a huge and spectacular Tropical Tiger Prawn, flame-cooked Robatayaki-style and served in the shell with Yuzu butter. This was tenderer than the best-cooked lobster, and so fresh-tasting you could close your eyes and imagine being at a beach barbecue. I would gladly don my Indiana Jones fedora to cross London to taste it again.
One last shout-out: a dish they’d only decided to include two days ago, and so wasn’t yet even on the menu that Tan showed me on his phone. Who knew a humble salad could be revolutionary? The lettuce was crunchy, the marinated chicken pieces were amazingly soft and juicy, and the apple added a fresh touch of fun. Full as we were, we practically fought over the last scraps.
And all this great food comes at a ridiculously low price by central London standards, as befits the relaxed izakaya style dining. Yakitori start at £2.40 (up to £18 for a Wagyu Skewer) and Robatayaki at £17 for Grilled Fresh Squid, while there’s a lunchtime Chicken Ramen for £12.80.
Cocktails and mocktails are good and come in Instagram-worthy colours, the sublime Peach Jasmine Tea comes from trendy brand Tea Story (who will also be working with The Azuki Room on desserts), and there’s a relaxed, intimately lit bar downstairs with a licence till 2am.
Go on: be a culinary explorer. It’s unlikely to stay a secret for much longer.
Where: The Azuki Room, Rolls Passage, 36 Chancery Lane, London, EC4A 1HL
When: Tuesday to Saturday from 12pm to 2.30pm and 5.30pm to 11pm
Contact: www.theazuki.co.uk