I went to the Nama Bar last night on a special offer (vouchers from The Times) since I’d been in a pub in the area. It’s not quite what I was expecting, definitely more of a bar than a restaurant, and not very Japanese at that. Okay, there were the usual Bento Boxes (which seemed to contain a slightly odd combination), but otherwise there were things like Cumberland sausages and mash. Just adding wasabi to mash potato doesn’t seem particularly Japanese.
Feeling adventurous, I decided to go for the ostrich (which I have had before). I wasn’t quite feeling adventurous enough to try the crocodile, but only because it came with wasabi mash which sounded a step too far to me. Unfortunately they had no ostrich but I was offered kangaroo instead. Definitely a result there! Kangaroo seems to sit somewhere between lamb and beef both in flavour and texture. A side portion of french fries were definitely a necessity, though. Plus a glass or two of red wine. The prices seemed reasonable to us since we were on a 2 for 1 offer, but I would expect a meal to come to around £25 a head at full price which isn’t too bad for good food in central London.
Would I go again? I would be more likely to go for the drinks than the food, to be honest, not because of the quality (I actually found the food to be quite good) but because the atmosphere doesn’t seem quite suited to that level of eating. The music was a touch on the loud side and the whole place had a bit more of a ‘party’ feel to it all. Also, I was sat on a sofa which wasn’t quite high enough for the table.
The Nama Bar website
Location of the Nama Bar
Nama Bar details at View London