Taro Restaurants

Decent little sushi spot in soho I picked for lunch after looking at two others in the same street. A bit expensive for the amount of food and the ambience which isn’t very snazzy for it being in soho. Service was okay, sort of place you are always working to get someone’s attention. I will go back to try more as I got a sushi combo, but their veggie Gyoza was the best dish although on the oily side.

Amazing sushi! Got the prawn bento box which was fresh and delicious; nice cool sake and the prawn dumplings were superb. Small place, but tons of locals — place to go!

Me and my partner came here after the disaster evening at Le Restaurant de Paul. Whilst walking around Soho we noticed the charming sign and decided to eat here.
The service was great, fast and efficient. To start with, we ordered the takoyaki, one of my favourite Japanese snacks. We both ordered the sake mojito — which I would recommend, it’s both sweet and fragrant, the pairing of sake and mint is delightful. We both ordered the chicken teri don, which was delicious
I would recommend this place for anyone who enjoys Japanese food. They have a wide selection of dishes including beautifully arranged sushi bento.

Taro is a Japanese restaurant in the heart of Soho. Friendly, affordable and fun, it has a warm atmosphere and provides good service. If you are eating on your own you sit at the bar overlooking the sushi chefs working their magic. Particularly recommended is the spicy chicken teriyaki Don and the gyozas. The sushi is delicious and the basic, no nonsense approach to dining makes it an ideal place to nip in for a quick bite or meet with friends for a social sit-​in.

Very good price/​quality value. Spicy beef ramen forever!

Yummy food, very good value for money. Quick and easy, great quality fast food. I usually go here for a decent eel rice bento, pork or seafood ramen. The gyozas are pretty good too.

I felt the place had a lot to live up to, being recommended by my cousin as the spot. It also has rave reviews. I thought it was disappointing. No ambiance, check. Terrible service, again check. Overpriced sushi and tea, «check please!»
Instead of giving it one star, (two as you can see) I felt the food was good. Their ramen tasted like crap but everything else was quite decent. I don’t think I got food poisoning from it so always a plus. Perhaps I got a bad night?

Best sushi restaurant in town! friendly staff, great atmosphere and reasonably priced with great quality food!

This is a no frills joint in terms of ambiance, but we’ve been pleasantly surprised by the service as well as the food. Granted, we’ve only tried two vegetarian dishes, but we were very pleased with them on several occasions.
The Vegetable Curry with rice is quite delicious. It comes with broccoli, potatoes, and carrots with a side of steamed white rice. It’s a generous amount of food and hardy enough to fill you up without being heavy and unhealthy.
The cucumber roll and hand roll are also as you’d expect. No complaints there and the hand roll is a good portion. The cucumber roll only has 4 pieces and for some reason they make it with wasabi. It’s an extra charge to make it without wasabi because apparently they have to then make you an individual roll, which can only be six pieces and therefore more expensive. But the wasabi is only on one side and is quite a small amount, that it isn’t really a problem.
The price and quality of the food make it worth coming back here. On Saturday nights it’s pretty busy, but we’ve never had to wait for a table for two. There’s also a back room that serves for overflow or is good for privacy if you want to be more secluded.
Service is good and prompt. Waters are refilled quickly upon request.

Un restaurante japonés bastante transitado y no demasiado grande. Atención buena, simpáticos y atentos.
Lo mejor es pedir los platos «combinados» que traen un poco de todo porque la verdad es que un solo plato de lo mismo o es para compartir o se hace un poco pesado ya que los platos son muy grandes (cosas que es de agradecer).
En mi caso el pollo teriyaki me pareció muy del montón como el que ya he comido en otros restaurantes (hay un japonés en Madrid que lo prepara mucho mejor) pero por lo visto el sushi y el tofu si que estaban muy ricos.

bottom line is, if your version of Japanese food is wagamama and wasabi, don’t come here; but if you actually like a more authentic take on Japanese food, then taro is not a bad place to be in. I ordered a katsu-​don and that’s exactly how i wanted it to be — delicious and fulfilling. the space is a bit crowded but doesn’t take away the enjoyment. oh and service is very quick.

Good place for having a good Japanese meal.
The tables are quite close and it is quickly crowded, you may have to way to get your way in

Ate at the bar and unfortunately saw how the food was made. They use frozen scallops and precooked tonkatsu pieces, which don’t taste bad but it’s definitely not fresh.
We ordered chicken tonkatsu and tempura sushi. The tonkatsu was dry and the sushi was quite horrible, undercooked (soggy tempura) and mostly rice. The sushi chef also moves around the kitchen without washing his hands before making the next sushi piece, which also put us off from coming back.
Overall, given the choice of other Japanese restaurants in the area, would not recommend going here.

Sounded really good based on the reviews however my two daughters and I were disappointed. Chicken fried rice was very oily and the meat was chewy and chunky. Beef bento box was just ok. We only liked the beef. Sushi rolls were very blend and expensive. Overall a big disappointment.

Un sitio estupendo donde comer bien, rápido y sobre unos 30 € al cambio la pareja de español ni idea pero con poco te entiendes me gusto tanto que repetí el único problema esque comes muy pegado a otras mesas ya que el lugar es pequeño, aconsejo el pollo teriyaki esta muy bueno

The service is friendly and the décor feels quite Japanese (whatever that means). It does feel quite impersonal though and it is one of quick bite places. Maybe its different if you know Japanese.
The first time I went there there were 2 Japanese girls who were deep in conversatino with the chef while gulping down their Ramen. It felt a bit interesting but in general there are Japanese places with better food and better service than this around the same area.
Worth a punt if you are tired of the other places — which I was on the day — but a pretty meh experience.

The problem with most Japanese places is that they are either overpriced, pretentious nonsense or run by foreigners trying to sell Sushi.
This place –which has existed for about 14 years– is suprisingly authentic, low key and absolutely delicious. The interior is simple and they have an open kitchen whereone can sit at the bar and watch them work while you wait. Mr Taro, who ironically put his on face in the logo, adds his own spirit to this place and can often be found running around and is sometimes even available for a little chat.
Also I am not a big meat eater and i certainly appreciate the numerous veggie options on the menu. The tofu steak, which I only initially tried because it came as part of a bento box, is bound to convince any meat eater and tofu hater.

I love a cheeky bit of taro. So cheap. Love how you can watch the chefs cook too. I got the chicken curry the chicken ain, t very nice, seriously basic. Bit the potatoes, rice and sauce are the actual business. A big thumbs up for a cheap, quick, filling meal in Soho.

It was late of a Saturday evening, and we happened to be in the pub just next door, so as a convenient spot to eat this place nailed it. The service, although brusque, was decent and we were seated immediately. It reminded me a little of my favourite Japanese place in Leeds, Fuji Hiro, with the simple diner style tables and a few condiments, but sadly that’s where the familiarity ends.
The menu is simple, so I went with what I know, and ordered chicken yaki udon. It comes with curry sauce, which isn’t the usual so far as I know elsewhere (I only know it from two places in Leeds — we have a dearth of Japanese food) but neither usually curry it up. In any case, it came swiftly, which was grand since I was famished.
Sadly, it was not everything that I’d desired in an udon. The noodles were cooked plainly, with only the curry sauce to flavour them, and that was oddly the blandest curry I’ve ever sampled. I mean, it had a degree of spice, it was dark, but it just lacked any taste. The veg, carrots and such, didn’t help to further excite the dish and the chicken wasn’t that inspiring. It was all fine, insofar as it meant I was no longer hungry, but the more I tried to shovel it in the more I realised I was eating merely to sate said hunger.
I’m not in London often, but when I come back, I doubt I’ll make a second visit. Fine if you need a refuel, but I’d try elsewhere for something tasty.

«Welcome to Taro, the best place under the sun where your taste buds get a heavenly treat!»
Authentic Japanese food in Soho? this is the place. And what I love is that mr Taro actually works there and walks around the restaurant, making sure everything is ok. And the restaurant logo? yeah– thats him.
The place is really small– my opinion– and always busy. I don’t think I have ever been there and it wasn’t packed. You normally have to wait to get seated but they try and make it quick. The idea is you go-​eat-​leave.
The amount of food you get on your plate is ginormous. So much food and so goooooood! I leave the place wobbling, to be honest.

Overall, I was very pleased with the food and service of Taro. I sat at the bar because I am a lonely foreign traveler and have no friends *tear* but also, I like to watch the cooks in the back do their thang. If you choose to sit at the bar or have no friends like me, you can see the whole assembly process of cranking out a bento box. Lots of premade sauce and veggies from plastic containers to smother boxes full of rice, tempura and the like all at once. On the other hand, there was just one ramen chef (he looked like Mr. Taro but I don’t know if it was actually him) so it was nice to see a more slow-​paced, personalized attention to my ramen dish versus the whole Henry-​Ford-​process-​bento-​box-​meal-​thingy. I’m sure they are tasty but the assembly line itself reminded me of a fast food joint.
What I ordered: Spicy Beef Ramen. (It was just beef ramen and I had to pay about a quid more to add spiciness). So, what you need to know about me is that I am an all-​round ramen loverrr. Of the three weeks I’ve been in London so far, I’d say more than 50% of the time I was out seeking ramen. You know how some restaurants claim a dish is spicy but it’s not and there’s no kick? This ramen actually came out spicy! There was a lot of beef too, so no skimping on the protein here. It was a bit salty but that’s how I like my food and although it was pretty oily (probably from the beef being stir-​fried first) it was very very flavorful. Bonus points for the ramen coming out super quick!
The service: …was superb! Even though I sat at the bar, the waitresses, for the most part, took note of when I needed help. There was a point where no one saw me raising my hand for refilling my tea, so one of the two sushi chefs was so kind to ask me what I needed and then waved down a waitress to refill my cup. He could have just ignored me and let the waitresses do their thing but whatta guy! The other sushi chef eventually started a conversation with me asking about my whereabouts and comparing America to London — so endearing!
(For what it’s worth, if I were ever a sushi chef behind a bar, I’d probably keep a straight face and ignore people eating in front of me — I’d think it’d be too indifferent to give a damn about people coming in and out to eat my food. SO, +1 for these sushi chefs not being like me)

Dans la mare de resto japonais de cette rue, Taro est absolument décent.
J’ai en fait sélectionné l’adresse d’après les reviews sur Unilocal et j’ai été un peu decue car je pensais trouver un peu de finesse dans ce bon plan.
Au final, c’est pas très cher (cool), la quantité est là, la qualité convenable.
J’ai pris un bento anguille — pas mal mais le riz était trop gluant, et les sushis et sashimi pas spécialement frais au palais. Pour la 1ere fois aussi, je suis tombée sur des pièces de saumons hyper grasses: les petites rayures blanches du saumon était ENORMES et donnaient un gout lourd et… gras. Je pense pas que ces morceaux auraient du etre servis…
Mon copain a pris le fried spicy chicken sur un lit de riz, c’était bon, filling et bien pour £6.
En gros, je né ferai pas de détour pour retourner à ce resto car il y tellement de jap pas trop cher à tester dans le coin, mais je né serai pas malheureuse si je retombais dessus…

Taro is a chain of Japanese restaurants serving a good selection of bento boxes and one plate meals. It’s not quite canteeen style dining but the ambiance is certainly that of a buzzy lunch crowd rather than somewhere to dither and linger.
Their bento boxes are good value and overcome a common problem for the single diner — how to eat a variety of dishes. I’ve had the special bento box here a couple of times, which is a nice mix of hot dishes and the obligatory sashimi. It’s good value, tasty food and I always leave with afull tummy and a smile.
They do have some interesting juices but are happy to serve you tap water without a sneer.
A little bonus is that Scoop Gelato and Snog froyo are just a few doors down for dessert.