Tokyo Diner, Leicester Square, London

Really love this place. best japanese restaurant in london so far. will definitely return when visiting the city again

This restaurant is great it looks so japanese! The sushi was soo good I really love it. The green tea was for free. I cant wait to visit London again and have dinner at Tokyo Diner?

Great cheap meals always to be had here! Their portions are very generous and for 10 squid you’d get a full meal. I love their salmon donburi, the freshest salmon sashimi over a bed of rice. You can also ask for more rice free of charge, but the restaurant asks to make sure you are able to finish your meal as to prevent food wastage.

Very nice place for an authentic sushi dinner.

Was there in line with a vacation in London. I already made the place out via the internet from Germany and specifically went there one evening.
Nice area for nightlife around it.
Two stories, ground floor and cellar. I got a table in the cellar, where it was a bit crowded but the atmosphere was nice. While I waited for my order I was served a pot of jasmine tea and some japanese crisps. Nice gesture.
Sushi was quite tasty and the price was alright.
The restaurant made the decision, that they do not serve tuna due to the catching conditions. They state that nice sushi is also possible without tuna. They shall be assuered. Respect for that.

Next time in London, next time at Tokyo Diner!

Small location, but good food. Fast service. Good food quality. Perfect place for a quick lunch.

The food here is really good. Traditional Japanese. Really good katsu curry. The only reason it doesn’t get a 5 star is the price, though the serving size almost makes up for it.

Very good japanese diner. The place is china town in London Soho. The dishes are cheap and cheerful. The servants speaking japanese and english. Awesome ambient. All in all my favorite japanese restaurant in Soho! A good space for discussions of japanese studies.

Tokyo Diner is everything you could wish for if you're looking for a no-nonsense delicious Japanese eatery, and comes with an elaborate menu and background information on all the (authentic) dishes.

The vegetable curry udon were juicy and aromatic, the Tofu Katsu Ju, apparently one of the chef's own creations, brings a smile to my face with its crispy breadcumbed tofu and flavoursome miso based sauce and the edamame are nice and fresh. As a vegetarian, or even vegan, you're more than welcome and they mark vegan dishes especially.

Then there's the free green tea that the friendly staff top up without needing a prod, free large rice portions (ask for an oumori portion), and the refreshing 'no tips' policy, and I'd say it's a winner. Sugoi!

(PS: Wouldn't necessarily recommend it for a fancy dining experience, but at the prices offered, it's definitely fantastic value for money)

I used to come here a lot, but have mostly stopped going since finding out that there is meat stock in all the katsu curries, including the vegetable one which leaves only maki and other cold dishes for vegetarians :(

It is otherwise a fun, if slightly cramped, experience. This is great value food for central London, and it's a good relaxed place for a quick meal if you're catching a movie in Leicester Square. I just wish they did more I could eat!

I used to go here all the time; went back recently and not much has changed, which is a good thing! It used to be extremely cheap but now it's a bit more. Still very cheap for Soho without being as dodgy as those Chinese buffet places all around the area. Bonuses include complimentary tea, free extra large portions if you want them, and strictly no tipping (which keeps prices even lower in real terms). The food is not extraordinary but there's plenty of seats and it's quick. Lots of people people have a katsu dish of some description because it's reliable, but the bento boxes are also good.

One minor gripe: they missed one of the dishes from our group and we had to wait quite a long time for it. But they responded well: since it was so late in the end, we asked not to pay for it. They agreed without being stroppy, and it was struck off the bill.

One of my all-time favourite places to eat!
No nonsense, pleasant and great, great food. And a spot of peace and quiet from the hurly-burly.
And it's great for those with challenging diets.

The best Japanese food I've ever tasted.
The bento box set meals and katsu curry are not to be missed, and try the eda mame if you want to try something new and tasty.
Can get quite busy, but the prices are very good, especially for central London.
If you're ever in the area, and are feeling peckish, be sure to drop in.

Great food, great atmosphere, great service... if you can get a table! :)

One of the best Japanese restaurants in the area, and a huge cut above the likes of Wagamama.

I love this place. You sit down to crackers and unlimited green tea and read through the menu which tells you that large portions are free, tips are discouraged (or donated to charity) and that until tuna isn't being fished to extinction they will not be serving it. The restaurant serves a delicious range of food at some very reasonable prices. If you can get there during the week at lunchtimes it's even better value.

Try it out!

For photos please refer to
http://hungryinlondon.com/2010/10/tokyo-diner-chinatown/

Ironically in the middle of Chinatown there is Tokyo Diner, a cheap but decent Japanese restaurant. Even though the owner appears to be English (if you agree with me that Richard Hills does not sound terribly Japanese) the place has a distinct Japanese atmosphere to it. I have just been to Japan couple of months ago and Tokyo Diner feels very much like one of the Izakayas I went to in Kobe. I am talking not only about the furnishing and (as far as I can judge it) Japanese waiters but also the fact that, just like in Japan, tips are not taken, that you pay on the counter when you leave and that green tea (I think it was Hojicha) is served free of charge.

The menu is really weird but at the same time rather entertaining: you can spend ages reading the detailed description about every dish as well as some trivia about Japan and Japanese food. In addition the menu contains 5 whole pages with allergy information regarding the nuts/seeds and gluten content for each individual dish.

The food only partly lived up to my expectations. I was a bit disappointed actually by the Hoso-MakiI Set (6.20). The rice was too sticky and the salmon didn’t taste that fresh. The vegetarian cucumber and pickled radish maki were much better actually but also they did not quite satisfy my palate which has become used to the outstanding quality of sushi in Japan.

I love all kinds of Japanese noodles and particularly when I am hungover, as I happened to be at this particular occasion, nothing is comparable to the healing powers of a Japanese noodle soup. I chose the Curry Udon with Chicken (8.20) which was a very decent bowl of soup drenched with the rather mild but strangely addictive flavour of Japanese curry. The udon were not quite Koya quality but really not bad at all.

It is not the best Japanese restaurant I have ever been to but considering how cheap, friendly and uncomplicated it is, it is well worth a visit for a quick pre-theatre bite or for a hangover cure.

Authentic, good food and excellent price / value relation. "No tip" policy, free green tea and free large servings on request. Wide selection of typical food including Bento Box menus for GPB 11.50 to GPB 16.40 or an Udon soup for GPB 6.90 all incl. tax and tip!

very nice good ! and very thypique , i like this !

Edamame was good I agree. Miso was a bit bland. Service slowish but fun for a quick bite.

It's not often that I have good things to say about a restaurant in or around Chinatown, but Tokyo Diner is an exception. Why? Because it's cheap, clean, friendly and the food was really REALLY good.

The chicken katsu curry is £10, which is more than I'd usually pay for food after a night out. But the plate it came in was bigger than my head - curiously addictive and delicious as it was, I couldn't finish it all.

They also have a good line in vegetarian and vegan food, not to mention traditional Japanese food like sushi and bento boxes.

Beside that, staff are chirpy at 11pm and green tea is complimentary. I'll definitely be giving the greasy buffets a miss next time I'm in Chinatown and come here instead.

Five times in London five times at Tokyo Diner.
This is the right place to eat real good sushi at reasonable price. The food is fresh, tasty and delicious, the service quite quick. You'll be welcomed with a cup of hot green tea, no matter if it's winter or summer.
The staff is polite but a bit quiet, I thought some of them couldn't speak english or maybe they are just retiring japanese, who knows?
The restaurant looks very simple, severe in its wood furniture, that shows what Tokyo Diner really is: not a tourist or cliquey place.
I saw queue growing up in the rush hours, I mean for lunch and dinner, fortunately I always came in time!
Smokers only: their free matches with the restaurant logo are lovely.