Koya Japanese Restaurant City of London

Featured reviews

• G

  Google user

  ·1 month ago

  “Lovely dinning spot. Very tasty homemade udon noodles. Lots of choice with authentic options available. Nice Sake menu as well to really bring the Japanese vibe. Clean, tidy, great. Would happily return”

• G

  Google user

  ·2 months ago

  “Incredible authentic Japanese udon in London! So sad I didn't discover this place earlier. I ordered the Ten Hiya-Atsu, and the udon was absolutely outstanding! The noodles had a fantastic chew and refreshing texture—perfect for beating the heat on a warm day. The tempura was also exceptionally good, especially the tempura shrimp. The batter wasn't just standard fried coating; it had incredible depth, texture, and layers to it. Most of the staff here seem to be Japanese, which explains why everything tastes so authentic and true to form. Overall, a must-visit spot in London if you love genuine Japanese noodles. Highly recommended!”

• G

  Google user

  ·3 months ago

  “We often come here when visiting family in London. The menu offers a limited set of options, but we always find something we like. It is somewhat pricey for noodle dishes, but it's of high quality. Always leave with a full stomach.”

• G

  Google user

  ·3 months ago

  “I had a one week schedule in london. And koya was my best place to have a neat meal. I forgot to take photos of katsu-dong, which I had. And it was amazing. Since I wanted to have meal with rice, I found Koya via google map. And it was really hit the spot. Adding that, the miso soup which was served with the food also good. Lastly, I ordered a dessert made with a hoji tea. And that’s what in this picture. The place was good, atmosphere was good as the place is located aside from the busy area, and it was quite pretty separated from the crowd and noise. The staffs’ service was good and they kindly explained about each food. So that I could easily choose what I want to eat. Thanks to the Korean guy!!✨👍🏼 Ahh!!! I almost forgot to say, you must try the Ashai draft beer!! Especially in this hot summer.”

• G

  Google user

  ·3 months ago

  “Koya City: Great Pre-Barbican Noodles, but Food Details Missed the Mark. I spent a lot of time researching the perfect spot for a pre-event dinner before we headed off to the Barbican. I ultimately chose Koya City in the Bloomberg Arcade, and while it kept our schedule perfectly on track, the dining experience itself was a bit underwhelming. Great Customer Service First, a big thank you to the team for being so accommodating. We had to move our booking last minute from 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM, and they handled it seamlessly without any fuss. It totally saved us from pre-theatre stress! The Food: Great Noodles, but Disappointing Toppings There’s no denying the noodle craftsmanship here. The udon is amazing with a perfect, bouncy chew, and the dashi broth is clean and flavorful. However, the dishes lacked substance for what we paid. The Chicken: In our chicken dish, there was barely any actual chicken meat to be found—it felt like we were just eating plain noodles in broth. The Beef (Niku): The beef was incredibly fatty. My partner and 14-year-old spent a lot of time picking fat off the meat, which they really didn't enjoy. Because the portions of protein were so sparse, we ended up drinking every last drop of broth (literally drinking straight from the bowl, as you can see in the photos!) just because we were still starving. The seaweed salad was nice and fresh, but didn't make up for the lack of substance in the mains. A Funny Contradiction When ordering, I asked our server if they served kimchi or any pickled vegetables. She laughed and gave me a flat "No." It was a bit of a surprising reaction, but what made us chuckle was looking at the bill at the end of the night. Printed clearly at the bottom was a line telling us to "shop our range of pickles" on their website! It seems like a missed opportunity for the staff not to know about or recommend their own brand's pickles! The Verdict With a total bill of eighty-five pounds for three people, the value just didn't hit the mark for us, especially with so much competition nearby. While the noodles and service are great, the meat quality and portion sizes need a step up. It's a handy spot for a quick bite before a show, but I won't be rushing back.”

• G

  Google user

  ·3 months ago

  “Fantastic food! Especially enjoyed the Katsudon. The staff is really friendly and we got the food very quickly. It was easy to walk in, but we arrived at 8pm, which is probably past peak hours.”

• G

  Google user

  ·4 months ago

  “I visited this restaurant about 2 years ago and had a nice experience, so yesterday, I decided to take a friend visiting London for dinner. Unfortunately it was a bit hit and miss and a bit expensive for what it is... The noodles were fresh and tasty 😋 the soup a bit bland (felt like basic instant Honteru dashi). But honestly I was expecting the tempure prawn I ordered as an extra to be more than one prawn... although the prawn itself looked big, half of it was batter! My friend ordered the Gyudon, which was nothing like a Gyudon you would get in Japan for frankly 400-500 yen. The meat was just unflavoured steak and it was lacking the characteristic Gyudon sauce. We had 2 teas each and the bill came up to £55 pounds. The service was initially attentive, but after delivering the mains and the plates collected, nobody checked on us in over 20 minutes. So decided not to go for dessert and just ask for the bill when they eventually came by with the menu. Anyway, shame that an otherwise nice place has jacked up the prices and the quality went down the bog.”

• G

  Google user

  ·5 months ago

  “Taken from the feedback they requested: Love the chewy udon texture and a very broad selection of udon and specials. Enjoyed the tempura white bait with a wakame sauce. Serving size is small, even for a small eater. I'd recommend two sides with your main udon. A little unfortunate you were out of tonkutsu and only had one dessert option as I was looking forward to trying the hojicha ice cream and tonkutsu. Slightly noisy but lovely interior with comfortable seating. A little hard to get hold of someone to order but once we did they were absolutely lovely and very attentive. Would definitely come again to try other things on the menu.”

• G

  Google user

  ·6 months ago

  “Went here for a spontaneous solo dinner during the week and secured the only seat left at the open kitchen. The staff was very friendly & made me feel welcome. I ordered the vegetarian soup - the noodles were incredible. I did expect to get more veggies on the side, but seems like you need to order them as extras. All in all a pleasant experience!”

• G

  Google user

  ·11 months ago

  “What a big disappointment on my visit. I cannot believe the price and the quality presented are so bad. Start of with the starter. The portion is so small and its barely a bite to share between people. And they charge 9.9 for some veg which is still freezing cold = straight out from the fridge. It doesnt even cost much if you double the portion. Pork belly is the only normal dishes, however its still not tender enough. A good pork belly should not even need to use your teeth to tear apart, it should be melting in your mouth. The grill octopus - I cannot believe how rip off this dish is charging people £17.10 for 5 pieces of chewing gum considering how thin the slices are. The veg next to it is seasoned with some miso, mustard, yuzu lemon and it is so salty, it is almost sea water salty and you cant even finish it with those jam thick sauce. Given £17 you should at least give a leg of octopus instead of few pieces of chewing gum to serve to your customer especially it doesn’t taste good at all. The udon is also big disappointment charging 16.90 for a small udon, rockets coriander, and a small scoop of lamb mince. In terms of portion, I cannot believe how small it is. We paid £17 and you give me a scoop of lamb mince that probably cost you less than 10p??? Rockets and coriander - what kind of japanese culture serve these two with udon? You just put some cheap veg to make the colour looks good on the udon? The udon itself is not even marugame quality and they sell it for just less than £6. I have rarely given any restaurants a one star review in my entire google review journey but this is definitely one of the most overrated, overhyped, overpriced, undeserving restaurants that I have ever visited. It is a disgrace to the Japanese culture if you serve this kind of food to any customer. I would not ever visit again and I strongly suggest the management need to review their price, quality, quantity. What a big disappointment. Overall we spent more than £36 per person for these.”