Another day, another new opening. In this case restaurant/bar/shop concept store Life. Remarkably similar to Saki in terms of concept and indeed menu it leads you to wonder if one city can cope with two fusion japanese concept restaurants in such close proximity. That said the ambiance at Life is far more funky kids where Saki is all about black laquer and lines. Neither shop tends to stay open in the evenings, which is a pity as it means you can't really find out if there is a point to having it in the first place - smells a little gimmicky to me!
The wait staff were all lovely but didnt have a good grasp of either the menu or the language, which made for some awkward repetitions - but they're trying hard and will hopefully improve with time.
If you can get past all of that you should be pleasantly surprised by some fabulous food - on our visit the spider (soft shell crab) and hamachi rolls standing out above the rest. The fusion 'delights' included a quite interesting miso bagna cuda that featured entrancing raddishes on satay sticks for easy dipping! It was tasty and surprising.
We'll definitely be back to try the lunch specials -a s with most places the value is always found in the daytime - but it didnt quite meet up to the standards at Pham so will not supplant it in our affections just yet.
Life, 2-4 Old Street, EC1 - 020 7250 3737
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