Ichizen ups the funky factor

Ichizen (I'll deal with the name in a minute, but, no, it's not something you need to see an alternative therapist about) is not going to challenge your sense of adventure. This Japanese-influenced noodle bar sticks closely to Euro-friendly ingredients, dishing up a tame mix of tempura, gyoza, ramen soup and stir-fries. But, hey, it never pretended to do anything else.

Everyone seems to be banging on about the cocktails, which do involve freshly squeezed fruit juices and an unhealthy array of spirits, so are worth a mention. Ichi fizz - champagne, lychee liqueur and plum wine - is a peach-flavoured hit, while the fruit manchu - white rum, Cointreau, cassis and crushed kiwi - disconcertingly resembles Kermit post liquidiser and is sickly sweet.

The menu explains the origins of the restaurant's name - ichizen is Japanese for a pair of chopsticks and implies solo diners. I'm immediately reminded of Wagamama's cutesy blurb about positive eating and petulant children. But this is no noisy canteen; it's a far more intimate affair with a much slower pace, better acoustics and a trip-hop soundtrack to accompany (or distract from, depending on your view) your meal.

Slightly oily tempura and heavy duck pancakes were helped by, oddly but effectively, a fresh Mediterranean-style green salad and lashings of ginger. My companion complained of an MSG overdose in his sumo wrestler-style chankanobe goo, sorry, stew, while my noodles were too sticky. On the plus side, atop the carbohydrate was a generous slab of quality tuna, cooked rare.

Ichizen is a funky hang-out with sweet staff. With beer and a forgettable flagon of warm sake, we paid £55 for two.

Ichizen
54 Goodge Street, W1