155 Whitecross Street
EC1Y 8JL
Tel: 020 7251 6336
Date of Last Visit: Wednesday, June 28th, 2006
The Victims: Ben, Gerry
The Damage: 20 quid a head
The Background: You may have read all about my love of sushi on Sunday afternoons. I imagine that 30 years from now, I’ll meet up with Andrew in an airport and we’ll make plans for Sunday sushi somewhere spectacular.
You may have read about my trip to Blossom. (Since closed, and replaced by a place called Fressen, which was so terrible that I didn’t even bother to write about it.) And you may know about my conveyor belt thoughts. And my love of Kulu Kulu. And you may understand that on Sunday afternoons, I do sometimes sit in my apartment, deciding to Yo! or not to Yo!
My quest has ended. Close to home. I may live in peace now.
See, back in May, my Dad and I were wandering around the ‘hood and saw the Waitrose truck go by. There’s a new Waitrose on Whitecross Street, very exciting. So I made an expedition, and discovered two fantastic things on my way to Waitrose:
10 quid manicures! 20 quid pedicures!!!
And a Japanese restaurant!!! Called Pham.
And then, just a few days later, I was over on Gastrochick’s Blog and saw that she had been to Pham and recommended it highly. So the deal was clinched. I was going to Pham. And soon. So Ben, Gerry and I headed over to Pham earlier this evening.
The Starters: After a short wait, we got a table by the door and dug into Edamame! And deep-fried squid! And spicy little appeteasers. And Asahis and some HOT SAKI!!! (I didn’t drink the Hot SAK!!! I just like to say HOT SAKI!!!) Fantastic.
We asked our waitress for recs and she suggested the crunchy tuna roll. Ben and Gerry wanted a spicy tuna roll. And I wanted some Nigiri. And a Dragon Roll! Always exciting. We ordered everything. And more.
And it (everything) arrived on a really big plate and our eyes were like saucers. And we ate. And ate. And then we ate some more. And it was good. Very very good. So good we kept looking at each other and just saying "Yummmm." And "This is goooooooood." And "I am so happy, and it’s just a Wednesday." And that crunchy role–it was just so wonderful and delicious with just that perfect little bit of crunchiness. I wish I could remember what was in it. Apparently, it’s "off the menu." I am just so trendy–stop it!
We ordered take-out menus, and I saw the delivery man and told him I’d see him soon. In fact, I think I’ll see him tomorrow. And the next night. And the night after that. With some crunchy rolls.
The Verdict: Go here. It’s not a destination, but if you like sushi and don’t like your sushi joints fussy, this is the place for you. Really. I mean it.
4 comments
Okay so it’s worth saying that Pham really isn’t in an ideal location, everything around it was like a complete ghost town, so expectations were low, but on walking in we realised it was fairly packed and we had to settle for seating at the sushi bar.
Service was great if a little robotic, but the sushi was probably some of the best we’ve had in London other than maybe the somewhat pricey sushi at Satsuma.
Amazed at the value, the sushi platters are really good value for money, and the hot sake (which was pretty good quality) was only £3.50 a shot, which is a definate improvement on the £6.50-£9.50 seen at other Japanese joints around town.
Yup, there are few sushi places I return to again and again. But Pham…I’m
in there at least once a month!
Hi I’ve just got into London and just stumbled on your manic blog. I’m very excited about trying out Pham, but I also have to ask — where oh where did you find 20-pound pedicures??
Around the corner on Fortune Street…goes by Spa Nails these days…sometimes Pro Nails or Cammy Nails, but mostly Spa Nails…
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