It's Sunday morning, the weather is rather awful (windy and misty, welcome back London weather!) and I must say that the idea of crossing the whole of London doesn't really appeal to me. But I motivate myself out of bed, and being just 10 minutes late (flooding on the District line, you actually can't blame me!), I arrive in a lovely quiet street where the place I pinned on Google is closed... It's only next to it that this little hidden gem, “Kissawa”, lies. So unpredictable. The café is fairly small but reminds me of my time in Japan. The decor is simple and minimalistic: earthen ware cups and other pottery items fill the shelves with some nice plants and cool design magazines (which despite being written in Japanese, look at me with their lovely images and illustrations).
Everything about this place is peaceful. The music in the background lets you daydreaming while the waitress, who is the calmest person on Earth, comes to give you the menu.
The food is delightful, and again made me travel straight back to the country of the rising sun. I had a lunch set menu, izakaya style, with terryaki chicken, a spicy miso soup and 2 lovely veggie sides. Absolutely delicious! The flavours are on point and the food is so different from what you normally eat in Japanese restaurants. It's refreshing tasting this authentic experience!
Three hours pass and we are still there chatting, finally finishing our food. We enjoy it so much we actually haven't seen the time flying by!
15 Corsica Street,
Highbury East,
London, N5 1JT
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