Real sushi in the city

The mostly Japanese clientele look very appreciative of head chef Ito-san's cuisine. The black cod is a revelation, the sashimi so fresh it's practically swimming, and don't leave without trying the exquisite mackerel sushi, the house speciality (a tray of four, £15). Dinner for two with drinks is over £80, but it's worth it.
50 Red Lion Street, Holborn (020 7242 3490)

SUSHI-HIRO
You needn't go central for some of London's best Japanese food. Clapham's Tsunami, Willesden's Sushi-Say and this bustling little spot in Ealing are proof.

Sushi-Hiro won't win any prizes for décor (strip lighting and frosted glass), but do the dedicated clientele who flock here for delicious - and deliciously priced - sushi give a damn?

The menu is strictly raw and cold (except for the miso soup), and the choice of fish depends on what has been delivered fresh that day. Superior nigiri with sea bass, tuna and crab and salmon sashimi are all sublime, but nothing that you're served here will be met with anything less than moans of sheer delight.

The sensible choice is to go for the sushi sets, as individual pieces cost a lot more. And beware of the rather unorthodox opening hours: lunch ends at 1.30pm, and dinner is only available until 9pm - making it the perfect start for an evening out.
1 Station Parade, Uxbridge Road, Ealing (020 8896 3175)

DONZOKO
It's always a good idea to reserve a table at this authentic Soho izakaya (Japanese drinking den), tucked away on one of the area's less salubrious byways.

Donzoko, which shares its name with a 1957 Akira Kurosawa film, is usually packed to the gills with Japanese business people, stray media types and students daring each other to order from the menu items posted in Japanese on strips all over the walls.

The sushi, prepared right in front of you if you sit at the bar, is terrific, as is the yakitori (chicken skewers).

However, do beware the steep rise in prices when you venture off-piste. No matter: grilled salmon-skin sunomono (a kind of vinegary salad) is a must-try, and you can't pay the bill without having first given the compendious sake list some attention and trying at least one of the powerful cocktails made from shochu, a traditional Japanese spirit.
15 Kingly Street, Soho (020 7734 1974)

PHAM SUSHI
Whitecross Street, between the Barbican and Old Street Tube, doesn't seem the place for excellent sushi, but this unassuming parade of shops hosts an undiscovered gem.

Behind its modest exterior Pham Sushi serves some of the best-quality nigiri, maki and sashimi in town.

Inside is small and simply designed. A sushi chef chops away industriously behind a glass counter near the back, and the kind of jazz that makes you think of a Malibu night circa 1985 breezes from the sound system. But don't let the music distract you from the food. The crunchy yellowtail rolls, topped with fine green roe, are superb.

And the House Special set - 10 pieces of nigiri (sea bass, tuna, salmon, yellowtail, scallop) and six of the chefspecial cut rolls (tuna, salmon and crab with flying fish egg) - is a bargain at £14. The menu is as unpretentious as the décor and the Japanese seafood spring rolls are up with the very best in London.
159 Whitecross Street, Barbican (020 7251 6336, phamsushi.co.uk)

KULU KULU SUSHI
If your experience of conveyor belt (or kaiten) sushi bars is the rather uninspiring one at a certain ubiquitous UK sushi chain, it's time to try a proper example of the phenomenon that was first developed in Osaka in 1958. The moving platters at Kulu Kulu Sushi in Soho's Brewer Street deliver reliably tasty sushi at very reasonable prices - between £2.50 and £4.50 per dish. Be sure to try the soft-shell crab and the tobiko gunkan maki (seaweed-encased rolls topped with fish eggs).

Warm dishes, such as tempura king prawns and the excellent tonkatsu (breaded and fried) chicken make their way around the belt too - and be quick, they don't tend to stay on it for long. You'll also find Kulu Kulu outlets in Covent Garden and South Kensington.
76 Brewer Street, Soho (020 7734 7316)