THE PLACE: People fall into two categories when it comes down to this tiny Japanese café: either, ‘Yeah, I’ve walked past it loads of times, how do pronounce it?’ or, ‘Oh, I eat in there all the time’. We’re firmly in the latter camp. A hectic place, it’s perfect for a quick lunch or a between pint/purchase snack.
THE MEAL: We’re going to say three words to you, so listen carefully: tori chilli don. The ‘don’ bit means you get a bowl of rice, the tori part refers to the fact that it’s chicken and the final word you can work out for yourself. To our mind it’s the best meal on the menu, and it only costs £4.20 despite having big chunks of fried chicken, a decent amount of fluffy, sticky rice and just the right amount of sweet, tangy chilli sauce. For the money it’s fantastic, but dishes like the superb Japanese curries cost no more. For this visit we also grab yakisoba, choosing the chicken version, revelling in the fried noodles. The starters are more like side dishes coming at the same time. The Yakitori (£2.40) is skewered chicken with a subtle teriyaki sauce, while the spare ribs (£2.50) are wonderfully gloopy and honey coated.
THE VERDICT: For the money we can’t think of many places to eat that are better. Mr Noodle on Queens Road and China China offer similar taste-per-pound ratios, but you can’t beat the central location. Even takeaways are more expensive these days. Honest good cooking, no wonder it’s busy from lunch to pub chucking out time. And if you’re in a rush don’t worry, it’s about as fast as food gets without being fast food. You want another reason to love the place? How about this: the name is the sound of a racoon beating its empty belly.
WERE WE SUSSED: No, they bring out all the food at the same time. And anyway, we’ve been in a hundred times and it’s always ace.
POMPOKO
110 Church Street (07796 001927)
Mon-Thurs 11:30-22:00, Fri-Sat 11:30-23:00, Sun 11:30-21:00
