Koya Soho Reviews Summary

Food Quality

Pros:

• "Superb food traditional Japanese with a great depth of flavour."
• "The food was delicious."
• "The mackerel was quite good and the soup was very flavourful."
• "Udon was perfectly chewy and not too dense or soft."
• "The prawn tempura was phenomenal - well fried with a light batter."
• "Mind-blowing udon. The beef one (niku) came with perfect slices of rare, delicious steak, and the broth was perfectly beefy."
• "One of the best udon I have ever tasted in London."

Cons:

• "The shrimp in the tempura was old and mushy."
• "The second dish was Kamodon which unfortunately the duck was chewy and the portion was small and pricey."
• "But the vegan ramen was very bland and the appetizer tasted very good but in the end the price was too high for what we got."
• "The bottom of katsu was wet and sauce and was way too salty so I couldn't keep eating with them."
• "The beef donburi was sadly also underwhelming. The beef had minimal flavor and had a stringy texture."
• "The Udon and Gyudon are very bland, almost tasteless."
• "The hot udon in soup with duck meat wasn’t really impressive especially the duck tastes very normal."

Service

Pros:

• "Employees are very friendly, efficient, and professional."
• "Service was great, all the staff were super nice and friendly☺️"
• "The service was efficient and friendly."
• "Also the staff were very friendly and though it was busy we were served fairly quickly too."
• "The attentive waitress always came to replace the bottle when empty; very good service."
• "Staff were quite efficient and friendly."
• "The staff are friendly!"

Cons:

• "The service was ok, but not great. We were not given additional water, and we had to ask for the bill multiple times."
• "After waiting for 30 minutes outside to get a table, we were ignored by the servers and never got our orders taken, even after waiting for another 30 minutes inside."
• "The customer service was a bit rude and uninterested which is not great given the prices."
• "Service can be a little better - though the staff were attentive, they didn’t bring an item in our order but had billed us for it."
• "The staff used to welcome you in and says goodbye to you on the way out, not today."
• "server was incredibly rude and tempura sauce cost an extra £3.50!"
• "Service was poor as the waiter gave my dish to the wrong person they had to remake one."

Ambiance

Pros:

• "The decor & atmosphere is 10/10 though, aesthetic and reminiscent of Japan."
• "Great atmosphere that makes me feel like I’m in Japan."
• "The ambiance is very cozy and I love the open kitchen which allows customers to see how their food are made."
• "The interior area is small but so authentic, seating at the 'noodle bar', you can see your udon being made."
• "The ambience was really nice, it felt like we were transported to Japan."
• "The atmosphere is unique and it’s lovely to see the cuisine right in front of you."
• "With bar seats and a very authentic Japanese feel, Koya clearly knows what it’s doing when it comes to udon!"

Cons:

• "Be aware that the place is quite small and the big queue means you will have to vacate your seats as soon as you finish eating."
• "Be prepared for a cramp seatings during peak timings."
• "The seats are slightly on the crowded side though so don’t be surprised if you’re shoulder to shoulder with the customer next to you."
• "It's a bit crowded inside."
• "This is the original and is a very small space so you’re touching elbows with other diners - a very casual and quick eat sort of place."
• "Food is amazing but the seating area at the bar was too tight."
• "Seating is arranged like a bar with just a single long counter and is super cozy with a tasteful wooden decor that fuses traditional and modern vibes."

Value

Pros:

• "So cheap - had a starter and two noodle soup bowls with a friend with sake for 20 quid per person."
• "Good quality udon at affordable price."
• "The portions were generous."
• "Very cost-effective!"
• "Very comforting food and appropriate portion sizes, not too small or large."
• "Fair prices and authentic."
• "It's rare you find a place that represents value for money."

Cons:

• "Price is not extremely expensive but people might find it overpriced with a regard to its portion."
• "Lunch for 2 with 2 drinks, no sides came to around £40. Service charge is 13.5%"
• "The portion overall seemed quite small, and the broth itself quite bland."
• "very sadly has massively dropped in standard while increasing in price. i ordered a vegetable tempura with udon- udon was undercooked."
• "Albeit a bit pricey for udon."
• "Only sucks that they charge for an extra bowl of the dipping sauce when they don't give enough."
• "12.70 GBP for Buta Miso with nearly nothing inside except udon. 13.5% service charge."