The best izakaya in London
6 places
Chisou
£££Open since 2002 and seconds from Oxford Circus - the most central serious Japanese room in London, which is most of the point of it.
Himi
£££The first solo restaurant from the team behind Roji, opened in January 2025 on Newburgh Street.
Jin Kichi
£££A small family-run izakaya on Heath Street doing charcoal yakitori at prices that have never caught up with the postcode.
Roka
££££The robata grill sits in the middle of the room and everything comes off it - open since 2003 and still the reference point for the format in London.
The Aubrey
££££A maximalist take on a Ginza night out inside the Mandarin Oriental - closer to a bar with exceptional food than a hotel dining room.
Zuma
££££Opened in 2002 and effectively invented the London template for informal, izakaya-inspired Japanese dining - since exported to 27 sites across four continents.