A New World Awaits...you?
Pro Pleasing flavours at a terrific price.
Con Dessert desert.
Pay
€
Per Person Set Menu €11.50. Add Asahi for €1.
Find
Restaurant Website
Access Step Free
In Short
Hopes? Is Madrid turning Japanese, turning Japanese?
Reality? I really think so.
First Impressions?
via GIPHY
A USP? Food fits the decor in every respect.
The food in three words? Spiced, fresh, seaweedy.
Can they get the staff? Efficient and friendly.
Service with a smile? No complaints at all.
Friend friendly? Potential, for sure.
Rating for dating? Lots of nooks and crannies. Distinctive. Chopstick niceties to think about.
Tip? 5%
Change one thing? Oh for a bit of dessert effort.
Going back? Yes.
Compare & Contrast
Set lunch at Krachai
In Pictures
On Google Images
What's the story?
Enjoyable Japanese street food restaurant that feels like enjoying Japanese food on a street.
Once upon a time, VIPs was a place to see and be seen in. The first place locals would take visitors to impress them. Hard to believe, yes. 15 years ago now, some branches still had CityVips. An open kitchen where you ordered stir fries, pizzas, grills - all sorts, in fact - which were cooked in front of you. After paying, eating was in themed areas. A British pub zone. Swiss beer hall. A sort-of Polynesian/Easter Island area, with plastic moai and non-working water feature. Sadly, there was no aztec zone or chance to go tooooo the Crystal Dome. There was no post-industrial cyber-apocalypse zone either. But it's never too late.... Calle Fuencarral, site of the last CityVips, hosts Konnichiwa. And it only needs a flying car to fill out the theme premise fully.
Luckily, the food is truly up to scratch. We are impressed. Decent, authentic-feeling flavours and textures at €12 for two and a bit courses. Lunch is a bargain. Try it.
Gyozas The usual score. How soon do these things become everyday. Three tasty, meaty dumplings with a nice herby sauce. Excellent flavours, nicely savoury, thankfully fresh so not rubbery.
Karrage Some tasty deepfried chicken blobs, a decent sweet chilli sauce came included and a bit of heft was added from the condiment tray. A really good sharing dish, this. Spicy enough to be interesting and feel right, although not a million miles away from a slightly KFC, if we're putting our hands up. Oh, both starters make ideal training for chopstick first-timers.
Our main courses, from one of the two daily menus, were one-pot meat and rice dishes.
Katsudon Slightly soupy this one, with some interesting breaded deep fried pork, which we thought had a fair bit of cinnamon going on over it. A hefty rice player came with this, flavoured with lots of red onion and a touch of seaweed and egg.
Oyakendon Standout dish for me, this. A lovely savoury combination of rich soy flavour, delicious chicken, egg and excellent salty seaweed notes - lots of them in fact - running through it.
Between us we both enjoyed each a lot, although oddly, liked each other's more than our own. Soy and the spicy sauce gave extra interest. We like the attention to detail and attractive presentation.
And presentation is where the decor earns points, with its CityVips karaoke act. A designer's dream assignment, there are nooks and crannies; bar stools and long tables; an open kitchen; paper lanterns, wooden walls and concrete facings. It's very fake, obviously. But, while maybe too brightly lit, it suits the food, sets a fun tone, and is a remarkable conversion of a rectangular space into an appealing rabbit warren. Excellent.
The test is this. We're going back. We've seen things you people may find hard to believe. Authentic feeling Japanese food on one of Madrid's most mainstream streets. We want to try the a la carte mains and see what the desserts, which look terrific, have to offer. Today was virtually dessert-free with just ice-cream on offer which is a big downside, and remains a bugbear of ours. A little more effort wouldn't hurt.
In any case, this is an unexpected find among the Fuencarral franchises. Our comments may be lost in time, like tears in the rain (and, yep, we've had enough of that for now, thanks, celestial set designer), but Konnichiwa is easily the biggest surprise we've had of a lunchtime this year.
Recommended.
Dish of the day: Oyakendon
Pro Pleasing flavours at a terrific price.
Con Dessert desert.
Pay
€
Per Person Set Menu €11.50. Add Asahi for €1.
Find
Restaurant Website
Access Step Free
In Short
Hopes? Is Madrid turning Japanese, turning Japanese?
Reality? I really think so.
First Impressions?
via GIPHY
A USP? Food fits the decor in every respect.
The food in three words? Spiced, fresh, seaweedy.
Can they get the staff? Efficient and friendly.
Service with a smile? No complaints at all.
Friend friendly? Potential, for sure.
Rating for dating? Lots of nooks and crannies. Distinctive. Chopstick niceties to think about.
Tip? 5%
Change one thing? Oh for a bit of dessert effort.
Going back? Yes.
Compare & Contrast
Set lunch at Krachai
In Pictures
On Google Images
What's the story?
Enjoyable Japanese street food restaurant that feels like enjoying Japanese food on a street.
Once upon a time, VIPs was a place to see and be seen in. The first place locals would take visitors to impress them. Hard to believe, yes. 15 years ago now, some branches still had CityVips. An open kitchen where you ordered stir fries, pizzas, grills - all sorts, in fact - which were cooked in front of you. After paying, eating was in themed areas. A British pub zone. Swiss beer hall. A sort-of Polynesian/Easter Island area, with plastic moai and non-working water feature. Sadly, there was no aztec zone or chance to go tooooo the Crystal Dome. There was no post-industrial cyber-apocalypse zone either. But it's never too late.... Calle Fuencarral, site of the last CityVips, hosts Konnichiwa. And it only needs a flying car to fill out the theme premise fully.
Luckily, the food is truly up to scratch. We are impressed. Decent, authentic-feeling flavours and textures at €12 for two and a bit courses. Lunch is a bargain. Try it.
Gyozas The usual score. How soon do these things become everyday. Three tasty, meaty dumplings with a nice herby sauce. Excellent flavours, nicely savoury, thankfully fresh so not rubbery.
Karrage Some tasty deepfried chicken blobs, a decent sweet chilli sauce came included and a bit of heft was added from the condiment tray. A really good sharing dish, this. Spicy enough to be interesting and feel right, although not a million miles away from a slightly KFC, if we're putting our hands up. Oh, both starters make ideal training for chopstick first-timers.
Our main courses, from one of the two daily menus, were one-pot meat and rice dishes.
Katsudon Slightly soupy this one, with some interesting breaded deep fried pork, which we thought had a fair bit of cinnamon going on over it. A hefty rice player came with this, flavoured with lots of red onion and a touch of seaweed and egg.
Between us we both enjoyed each a lot, although oddly, liked each other's more than our own. Soy and the spicy sauce gave extra interest. We like the attention to detail and attractive presentation.
And presentation is where the decor earns points, with its CityVips karaoke act. A designer's dream assignment, there are nooks and crannies; bar stools and long tables; an open kitchen; paper lanterns, wooden walls and concrete facings. It's very fake, obviously. But, while maybe too brightly lit, it suits the food, sets a fun tone, and is a remarkable conversion of a rectangular space into an appealing rabbit warren. Excellent.
The test is this. We're going back. We've seen things you people may find hard to believe. Authentic feeling Japanese food on one of Madrid's most mainstream streets. We want to try the a la carte mains and see what the desserts, which look terrific, have to offer. Today was virtually dessert-free with just ice-cream on offer which is a big downside, and remains a bugbear of ours. A little more effort wouldn't hurt.
In any case, this is an unexpected find among the Fuencarral franchises. Our comments may be lost in time, like tears in the rain (and, yep, we've had enough of that for now, thanks, celestial set designer), but Konnichiwa is easily the biggest surprise we've had of a lunchtime this year.
Recommended.
Dish of the day: Oyakendon