Little Tokyo, Leeds

My friends and I always go to this restaurant, we love it, especially the box meals – the profiteroles are to die for too! We have sat at various tables but love sitting downstairs in the sunken tables, the staff are friendly, prices reasonable, a def must if you’ve never been!

Just visited for the first time today and after reading reviews here and on trip advisor I wish I had not gone.

We were seated right next to the very cramped fish pond (a call to the RSPCA I think.) In a very dark, part of the restaurant which needs a thoroughly over due update, clean and paint. The greasy menus were full of choice and it was good to see a vegetarian option.

It took 15 minutes for our orders to be taken, though the food arrived quickly. We had a noodle dish, a curry, gyoza and spring rolls. All sub standard quality, lacking in flavour and sadly a let down.

There are superior restaurants, cheaper with better Service in Leeds. Avoid this place or be disappointed.

I've been going to Little Tokyo for nearly ten years, but I think it has gone really downhill in recent years, in terms of both the quality of the food, hygiene, and the service. Seeing a rat-trap outside the kitchen is not a good sign, and while they make a big deal of their vegan and vegetarian options, after being served meat (something that has also happened to vegetarian friends of mine) I really don't trust them.

My last visit to Little Tokyo (and I do mean 'last visit')was with a friend, who like myself is not only vegan, but a longsstanding Little Tokyo customer. The restaurant was very quiet, and in fact we were the only diners seated downstairs when our order was taken. My friend ordered a bento box set with tofu steak and I ordered a vegetarian ramen dish. While ordering asked the waiter if the noodle dish came with tofu and he said that it did. I also said that I was vegan.

When the dish came the waiter said that he hoped there was enough tofu in it for me. In fact it had meat in it, and because it was dark in the restaurant I put some in my mouth. For someone who is a strict vegan of many years this was a disgusting experience and I had to go to the toilet to be sick. I wasn't even offered a glass of water, and when I asked to speak to the manager I was told there was no manager there. I then had to pay for this awful experience.

A written complaint did not even receive an acknowledgement. I would never set foot in Little Tokyo again.

Little Tokyo is one of my favourite restaurants in Leeds - and one of the few Japanese options.

It's consistently great. I haven't had a single dish that I could say a bad word about. And the bento boxes are good value.

A word of advice: Try the tempura avocado - and be prepared to get addicted. It's to die for. And it's what brings me back time and time again. YUM!

Average, overpriced for the quality offered. It would be OK for an office cafeteria, but to call it a restaurant: exaggeration!

Veggies are so undercooked, that woody bock Choy must be totally avoided, vegetarian sushi are boring and too hard for a bite. Tempura is not crisp, but rather heavy.

Good thing is no MSG in dishes. So, it is safe to eat with children. But tastes are far from impressive.

I have lived in Leeds for some years and have been to a lot of oriental restaurants so I was very happy when my work said we would be going to Little Tokyo as I have never been before. I was so disappointed with my visit, firstly the seating area was cramped and dark, the drinks were vile (do NOT try the 'natural cola’ it tastes like sugar stirred in water!). The food is somewhat overpriced with the bento box main costing £14 which for how much you get is crazy. The food was also very poor, the rice dry, the salad unappetising and the dessert simply vile. I would not visit here again, I’ll stick to Wagamama.

not cheap but yum!

This is a moderately priced Japanese restaurant. I went with some friends who had told me it was one of their favourite places to eat in Leeds. I think I expected too much…

Our group of five were seated at 20.25 in the upstairs part over the bridge. I was impressed with the decor, v. nice.

We’d already decided what we wanted after waiting twenty minutes in the bar/waiting area. We had to wait another twenty minutes for our order to be taken. The seating was uncomformtable to say the least: the cushions were thin and there were three of us sitting on one side so our elbows kept banging into each other when we ate, but that was only after waiting 50 minutes and two dishes we ordered were sushi so didn’t even need cooking!

At 21.35 my friend complained. Apparently they were waiting for all our dishes to be ready before bringing them out. I don’t think they had thought about this v. well. The table was small and already had five soft drink glasses and four cups of Japanese tea on it. Now they were going to have to bring out a bento box, two sushi plates, two noodle dishes and the ebi curry dish (Yes that’s six but the plan was for the sushi to be eaten as a starter). If we hadn’t told them to bring food out as and when they were ready at least one of us was going to be eating from our laps.

So the two sushi dishes came out. Really lovely fish. Didn’t like the dollop of wasabi in the soya sauce already but at least I wasn’t going to collapse from starvation anymore.

The seafood udon was nice (7/10). Chicken udon average (6/10). Mixed fry (7/10), would’ve scored higher but the meat was quite salty (even without dipping in any sauces), also the veggie tempura was quite greasy and the batter was heavy. Ebi curry was perhaps the better dish - five big prawns in batter with curry sauce and rice (7.5/10).

Bill came to just over £77 without service. Overall not a terrible experience. Little Tokyo is reasonably priced with good sized portions and is probably one of the best Japanese restaurants in Leeds.

If you’ve travelled further afield to London for example you’ll find better…and worse. For a city like Leeds however this place works and should be your first stop if you have a craving for Japanese.

This really is a fantastic restaurant. The one and only bad thing about it is that it’s quite tricky to find - it’s down an uninteresting looking side street and looks rather average from the outside. But don’t let that put you off!Inside is a beautiful restaurant - quite small but really well laid out, with a little fountain and bridge. There are two different seating areas, my favourite being box-like seats at low tables, but also more usual tables and chairs near the windows. The menu is interesting and diverse, with a mixture of meat and veggie dishes, and it not only tells you what is in each dish but also what health benefits these ingredients offer you. I opted for yaki soba noodles, which incorporated noodles, chicken and an assortment of vegetables and came in a very generous portion. I also ordered herbal coke which promised to leave my skin looking bright, but didn’t enjoy that so much. All in all though, a very pleasant meal, enhanced by the excellent service, the wonderful atmosphere and design and the totally unique nature of this restaurant.

This has become one of my favourite restaurants in Leeds. Excellent and authentic Japanese food in an interesting environment (there’s even a bridge and fish pond inside!)
If its your first visit and you’re not familiar with japanese food, i can recommend the Bento box, which is essentially a meal in a porcelain “box”.
it’s open for most of the day and evening

A really excellent little place in a side street in central Leeds. It’s nicely done up inside with attractive decor and plenty of space so the tables aren’t up against each other. The staff are full of smiles and most attentive.

The food we had was delicious. Some really tasty dumplings to start with and some wonderful soup. Next came a mixed plate of different types of Japanese food that hit the spot in every area - the fish used for the sashimi was so fresh it was a real melt in the mouth experience. There’s something for everyone here with lots of vegetarian options and a drinks list filled with excellenr organic wine.

Highly recommended.

This is my favourite place to eat in Leeds - sure, it’s not going to win any Michelin starts and it’s not the swankiest place in the world but it’s a fantastic experience and cracking food.
My love afair with Little Tokyo began about 4 years ago when I was working in Leeds and a collegue recommended it to me, I’d never tried Japanese food before - let alone sushi! Soon began a sushi obsession and a love of all things noodley! The main up side of Japanese food (in my view) is that it’s so much more delicate and aromatic than the obvious flavours of Chinese food and this suits me down to the ground!
The dishes that Little Tokyo does best are….
Sushi - very good quality
Mixed vegetarian starter for 2 - yummy, especially the sushi button!!
Ramen - the vegetarian one is particularly good, loads of very random veggies!
Bento boxes - my fella always gets the Mixed Fry, it’s a meat fest! The salad in the bento boxes is amazing!

All in all, I can’t come back to Leeds without popping in for some tasty nosh - I tell everyone I know about the place and am just keeping my fingers crossed that they open one in Manchester!!!

Little Tokyo is my best.

I am going to elaborate after getting sent grumpy messages about not writing enough. Silly me, I thought everyone knew that 'my best’ means that it is simply the best place in the world ever. Ahem.

Little Tokyo is a haven. It is the kind of place you take someone for the first time and they love you forever because it’s so quirky and ace and bizarre and tasty and inexpensive all rolled into one.

A friend recommended Little Tokyo to me about 6 years ago for a party, and we hired out one of the downstairs rooms to ourselves. It was perfect. My friend had recommended the Bento Box meals from the menu, as they’re a bit different, and come in a shiny laquered black box, with a delicious salad in one compartment, some sticky rice in another, some tempura vegetables, and your choice of main - I usually have the chicken terryaki, although there’s a few to choose from, from eel terriyaki, to chicken katsu, and I can’t remember the rest. All very tasty, and reasonably priced, from £10-£14ish if I remember (I haven’t been for a few months).

The drinks and desert menus are great too. There’s a white wine spritzer that comes with some sort of lemongrass infusion that is absolutely gorgeous, and the japanese profiteroles are mouth-wateringly sweet and savoury all at the same time. I’ve been here after going to dinner somewhere else (which turned out to be a bad decision on a friend’s part) just to have dessert.

The staff are all immensely friendly, wearing traditional kimonos, and the interior is amazing. On the ground floor level there’s a bridge over a little fishpond, and on the lower floor there’s a huge fish tank that occupies a whole wall.

Many of the tables are made out of huge slices of varnished tree trunk, with the bark still around the edges.

This place has to be visited to be believed. Like I said, it’s my best.

NB I just read the review below. I don’t know the difference between chinese and japanese tempure, I am a heathen, clearly, but I’ve never had soggy vegetables when I’ve been here and had a Bento Box so I’d suggest that it was a dud batch?

This restaurant is a little over hyped, if you opt for the bento box, the tempura vegetables are fried in a Chinese batter rather than a Japanese batter which is much thicker (a cheaper alternative). However, if you order the tempura as a side dish, then it is the proper Japanese batter, light and crispy. Bentos start from 12 pounds per head and contain a main of your choice, rice, salad in a vinegarette dressing.

The sushi are smaller than you would expect and quite expensive. It is a nice little restaurant with a bridge dividing the diners on the ground floor which is a nice focal point but other than that, a tad expensive.

really nice interior! thought the seating can feel a little strange, weather you sit at the big wooden chairs or on the bench style seats (its not seating one can relax in)

staff are really efficent, though not tried the sushi, the bento boxes are very good and the yaki soba and chicken curry. good sized portions.
though food can sometime come out not hot enough? or because of the big ceramic plates, they draw all the heat out of the food. unless you eat at light speed?

toilets upstairs, clean tidy could do with a re-vamping and take care if wearing heels going up them stairs!

on the whole its a nice place to go, for good food, i would not say exceptional. but i always go back as its consistantly good food and service! the fish pond keeps the son happy and entertained

I think this may be my fave sushi place in Leeds. I visited for the first time on Saturday for a quick bite to eat after a day of shopping and really enjoyed the whole experience. The staff were very attentive and friendly and the inside is nicely decorated and gives the place a very authentic feel to it. The sushi was extremely fresh and really tasty, I opted for a half nigiri and some miso soup, they were both really tasty and presented very well with obviously a lot of thought going into presentation. I saw a few people going for the Bento boxes which looked really good so I’ll def be going for one of those next time. I think next time I’ll go on an evening as it seems like it would be a good place to go on an evening out with mates.

Looks a great little restaurant and had heard good reports but when I went I had a sushi box and i wasn’t overly impressed. I can honestly say I was new to Japanese food and this experience was my first and last. Not for me but maybe others will like it. The Restaurant itself looks good.

Gorgeous food - the bento box sets are wonderful and provide real variety to your meal. The setting is beautiful with natural bark tables and a koi carp pond. The only problem can be that sometimes the service is a little slow - and the staff are not remotely apologetic about it!

(Edited 8 April 2008 because deserves fours stars not the measly three originally given)

Tucked away behind Debenhams’, Little Tokyo tries exceedingly hard to recreate the feeling of being in Japan and they deserve applause for their efforts for making such a concerted effort at enhancing the entire dining experience.

The ornamental bridge you must cross to avoid becoming Koi dinner adds an exuberant touch, as do the shoji sliding doors to the toilets but the real star attraction was the fish tanks filled with rays, eels, various fish and other aquatic life that may or may not be destined for the pot. A word of warning though; sit beneath one of the tanks, as our party did, and you will feel that everyone’s eyes are on you at some point and you may even have to put up with a few diners wandering over for a closer look. A little off-putting as you try and slurp your noodles whilst trying to stay in control of your chopsticks.

My partner has an aversion to lemon in her drinks, a slice of which appears to be a non-negotiable additive in every city centre eatery or wine bar nowadays. So after asking for ‘no lemon’ she was understandably a little bemused to find they had replaced one citrus with another and a slice of lime was submerged instead. Her next drink was ordered with the words ‘no lemon, no lime, no fruit’ and despite what appeared to be a heated exchange between the barman and the waiter, thankfully no organic matter was forthcoming.

Plenty to choose from on the menu with vegetarians and vegans in particular extensively catered for. It took one Google search some days later though for me to establish that vegan chicken and vegan duck were just flavoured soya. The waiters note down your order on hand-held electronic notebooks (ipaq’s) which are then wi-fi’d to the kitchen and work starts immediately - so you are never waiting long to eat.

For starters I ordered vegetable tempura and, pushing the boat out, was intrigued by the onion lollypops on the menu. The lollies was described as thus: ‘Can’t believe simple Onion could look so funky and taste so sweet!’. A more accurate description would have been: ‘Big white onion sliced and grilled for a nano-second, raw.’ It was neither funky nor sweet. Still, at least the vegetable tempura proved a much better choice. A very light and delicious batter disguised some a lovingly cooked mix of sweet potato, eggplant, broccoli, carrots and others. The Gyozo (dumplings with a minced pork filling and a crispy pastry bottom) were similarly well prepared and the Ebi Katsu (King prawn deep fried in Japanese breadcrumbs with sweet chilli sauce) all hit the spot for my friends.

Although tempted by the Bento boxes, I chose to follow the advice of my acquaintances and went with a shallow fried noodle dish, the Yaki Bucksoba, a mix of thin, brown buckwheat noodles with shredded chicken, leek and Japanese mushrooms in a smooth vegetarian oyster sauce. This was, I was assured, one of the healthiest meals to have, and it certainly was a hearty helping of 5-a-day but I managed to finish and most importantly, declared myself satisfied with both the quality and quantity I had eaten. It wasn’t out of this world but it was delicious and filling.

I then shared a portion of crispy parcels, marshmallow wrapped in a thin paper pastry and deep fried to produce a crispy outside and a rich molten mass of lovely white goo on the inside. Strangely, I was the only one who found these delicious, maybe the rest had left their inner child at home.

Also impressive was the way they handled a birthday party of 40 or so diners. Delivering their food all together was nothing short of an operation mounted with military precision but isn’t that what you expect from the Japanese?

The bill, just over £15 a head with drinks (no wine), made for a good value meal, and whilst I won’t rush back immediately, it’s certainly a strong contender next time I fancy a bite to eat in town.