Restaurant: Uchi, Clarence Road
Time: Saturday evening
With: Wist
Stand-out dish: Soft shell crab sushi
Uchi is a small, minimalist restaurant in lower Clapton. It is one of the most beautifully designed restaurants I’ve been in. There are gorgeous gold countertops adorned with royal blue china. Plants hang from the ceiling in spherical pots. The pink and grey menus are a masterclass in design simplicity. And everyone sits on three legged wooden stools, on exposed floorboards. The food was equally good. Its a sparse menu, delivered to a high standard. The soft shell crab sushi was a high point. But its hard to choose a favourite, as there wasn’t really a dud among them. The less said about the service the better – it was slow, plates weren’t cleared away, water didn’t come, and the bill took forever. I practically had to plead with them to take my card. Nonetheless, it was great value, and the food is worth coming back for. Next time I might get takeaway.