Reviews Eat

Very nice place to have a break walking and sightseeing. Didn't book in advance and they gave me good table and 2 hours to enjoy with my lunch. Because it was 100% reserved at dinner time. Popular place. Everything was great. Sake is amazing with London weather)

The meat was marinated very nicely. The texture of them was just so tender. There are lots of saki choices and some specialty cocktails. Generally impressive. Will definitely go back again. The prices were actually reasonable and proportionate to the quality of the food. You can see many japanese customers and that demonstrates the authenticity of the bbq.

When I was invited to visit Kintan (a small international Japanese chain), London’s first Japanese BBQ restaurant (in their words), I was intrigued. London is a bit sushi obsessed and I’m glad these guys have opened up to break the monotony. The outside of this restaurant is quite plain and you would be quite oblivious to what it holds. You wouldn’t think much of the place unless you enter and you’re taken in by the huge open space that stretches out and the modern Japanese inspired decor.

There’s a wide selection of seating. From conventional dining tables to booths. Our table was fitted with a built-in grill. I love the whole concept of cooking at your table. I know some people would have a different opinion (“why should I cook my own food in a restaurant?!”) but I think it’s a lot of fun and great for dates! ;) unless you’ve never cooked in your life, in which case…NO!

They have an extensive menu but it’s all split up by times of the day so you won’t be drowning in options. We went for the premium option from their dinner menu because we are fat pigs and wanted to try most of their dishes. At a price tag of £44.50 per person this isn’t cheap so save it for a special occasion if you must. But if you’re like me, then whatever- go treat yourself! :P Also be warned, make sure you come with an appetite or else you won’t be able to finish everything in this set dinner.

With 6 starters, 7 mains and a dessert course- you’d definitely want to be rolled back home. While waiting for our feast to begin, we looked around. They had a NY based architect come and design their interior and it looks great. Open, spacious and a little Japanese touch here and there. We ordered our drinks and my friend ordered their special sake. He gave it a thumbs up!

Very quickly, our starters starting raiding our table. First off was a town full of edamame beans with a generous sprinkle of sea salt. I love edamame beans as they are a perfect snack option too!

The Kintan Salad was surprisingly delicious. I’m not a salad person but that special Kintan dressing transformed this plain salad dish into something I kept on eating. It was fresh, crunchy and the right amount of dressing to make it extra special.

But I had to control myself as there were far more dishes on their way. Their service is quite efficient. Hot Oil Seared Salmon was delicate in taste but if dipped in the oil mixture became more powerful. My taste buds were having too much fun to stop!

Garlic fried noodles looked great and I was having food envy by looking at them even when our food had not arrived. But sadly it had pork in it so my friend got to eat ALL of it. Sad times. They were devoured quite quickly so I suppose that’s a good sign ;)

I absolutely loved Tuna Tartare Volcano which was a fried block of rice topped with tuna tartare mixed with their special marinade. O.MY.GOD! Why did I order so much food?! The only criticism I have for this dish is that the rice base was too thick and it should be made thinner. Otherwise the starters are enough to fill you up. There’s no way 2 people can finish everything :P

A portable table was placed next to us and it got filled with meats of all sorts, prawns and scallops! We were in meat heaven. With our grill ready and sizzling- we started cooking the marinated meat. The great thing about their grills is that they’re fitted with special parts that suck out all the smell and smoke of the grill. Otherwise sitting there would be quite unbearable! So lucky for us, we were quite content with BBQ-ing our own meat :D

Their meat is sourced from UK, US and New Zealand and you can tell it was of high quality and fresh because it didn’t take long to cook. It was tender to the bite and the marinade was just perfect so we hardly used the dipping sauces. The one’s that stood out for me was the Filet Mignon- Yuzu Ponzu and the Premium Kaibi Short Rib. The scallops and prawns were okay. They did not stand out much in terms of taste. The meat dishes are clearly the heroes of this menu.

There was also a selection of vegetables to BBQ which we barely touched except the mushrooms. Sorry mom! :P I also did not fancy BBQ-ing a huge piece of onion. If they were cut into smaller pieces then I might have but I had plenty of salad and edamame to fill in for my 5 a day. Khe khe khe!

By this time, I was slouched in my side of the booth. Ready to give up. I could not eat another bite even though the succulent pieces of meat were beckoning me to not give up on them. Phew! That was one joy ride.

We took a little breather before the dessert course and I went for a little walk around the restaurant. There is so much seating in this restaurant and they had more downstairs. There were a couple of people sitting there but it was so cold and lack of heating made me shiver. I don’t know how people could sit there in the cold and eat. I bet the BBQ helped!

I came back to our dessert course sitting on the table- the assorted mochi ice cream. Mmmmhmm! they were presented elegantly and looked delicious. One thing I would commend Kintan is on the level of care they put into serving their food. While their serving plates were hot for hot food, the platter for their dessert was chilled so even if you took your sweet time in eating your dessert, it wouldn’t melt. Now that’s how I like my dessert to be served- chilled to perfection!

The mochi ice cream was quite interesting and one that I’ve never eaten before. The three different flavours were encased in a round shell of jelly with different flavours and textures. Inside each was a different flavour of their ice cream- green tea, caramel and sesame seed. It was the perfect end to the meal and quite refreshing after eating all that meat :P My favourite out of the three was the sesame seed one ad least memorable one is the green tea. Green tea shouldn’t be a dessert! But before we could call it quits, we were also treated to the Kintan special ice cream. Again, super chilled bowl and a scoop of their ice cream topped with black honey and soya dust. Yummmmy!

Kintan is the first yakiniku-style restaurant to open in High Holborn, London. Yakiniku literally translates into grilled meat and is considered as the Japanese take on the Korean barbecue. This is a style of Japanese BBQ where the diner can order a selection of bite sized meats, seafood and vegetables to be prepared over table grill. The best part of the experience is being interactive with your food and watching it sizzle away just the way you like it.

Whilst Kintan specialises in grilled meats, there is a selection of appetisers, salads, rice and noodles.  To start we ordered the hot oil seared salmon (£7) which came beautifully served with a house citrus sauce. This sashimi grade salmon simply melted in the mouth as the hot oil gave the salmon a gentle warm sear.

We also had the tuna tartar volcano (£7), the tuna tartar was prepared with a delicious spicy mayo. This was delicious and fresh but what made this dish really special was the textual contrast of the deep fried rice cracker against the creamy tartar and the addition of caviar sprinkled on top.

The tofu chigae (£10), a spicy tofu stew was served with a combination of ground chicken, kimchee, enoki mushrooms and egg. The base of the stock was enriched with a gorgeous oxtail stock and enhanced with the spicy addition of kimchee and chiage (soybean) paste. The highlight of this dish was the tofu itself, it had the most incredible, delicate and smooth texture I have ever experienced which absorbed the wonderful intense flavours of the broth. Unfortunately, the egg turned out overcooked and rubbery but otherwise this was still a fantastic bowl of soup with great intense flavours.

Another tasty treat, the deep fried cheese sticks wrapped in wonton wrappers (£4) were very moorish with the sweet chilli sauce cutting through that lovely hot melted cheese.

Octopus dumplings - takoyaki (£5) was delicious and filled with generous pieces of octopus meat. I am typically not a fan of takoyaki as they are usually contain a grainy and starchy texture but these were exceptionally good.

Unfortunately, our least favourite item on the menu was the garlic fried noodles (£7), we found that the flavours were not as robust nor as excellent as the other dishes.

Moving on to the yakiniku, we sampled a variety of meats and seafood. Overall the quality of the meat was absolutely superb. I'm normally not a fan of BBQ's in general as they tend to compromise on the quality of meat and seafood but the quality here was nothing short of spectacular. You can really taste it in every mouthful. On top of this, what made the taste of the yakiniku really special was the dipping sauces, my personal favourite was the sweet soy and that lovely grilled flavour that perfumed the meat throughout the cooking process. All together, this truly was a spectacular flavour bomb!

We began with the Kalbi premium short rib (£10), the flavour was excellent, high quality and succulent. The chicken thighs (£5) were equally as succulent, tender and tasty. We also enjoyed the prawns (£7) marinated in garlic which came with tonnes of flavour, firm and beautifully textured. We ordered two serves of garlic prawns they were that delicious!

If you are prepared to get really indulgent, the Japanese wagyu ribloin is the way to go (£24.5). The meat is bursting with flavour and the quality of the wagyu is a cut above the rest given its premium quality. It is lipsmackingly good it is so fat-tastic! The delicious taste of the fatty beef was enhanced with the smokey grill flavour, absolutely sublime.

We really enjoyed the pork jowl (£7), the pork was gloriously fatty and deliciously marinated with a touch of sesame making it beautifully nutty and aromatic. We also loved the NZ lamb chops(£8). These were so succulent, tender and so full of flavour they did not require any additional sauces. They were beautiful just as they were.

For dessert, we enjoyed the creamy green tea ice cream (£3), this had a rich matcha flavour with that signature bitterness. The assorted mochi (rice cake) ice cream came with sesame, salted caramel and green tea flavour our favourite being the salted caramel mochi. If you have never had mochi ice cream before, it is essentially a pounded sticky rice and inside is an ice cream filling. It is one of my favourite Japanese desserts and they are hard to find! So you must give this a try if you yourself dining at Kintan.

The dining experience is definitely one of the more interesting and unique experiences I have ever had. I sincerely could not fault any of meats from yakiniku menu, they were simply outstanding and the food was incredibly tasty. The service was attentive and completed with care. I also liked how they went to the extra effort to change our grills to ensure that our grilled plates did not become overly charred and burnt. I highly recommend you go for a fun and delicious night out. I can't wait to go back I am already planning my next visit!

Summary Information:

Food rating: 4.25/5
Service rating: 3.5/5
Value for money: 4/5

Prices: Approx £50 per excluding drinks and service. There are also some reasonable set price menus on offer too.

Kintan is the first yakiniku-style restaurant in London, a style of Japanese BBQ where the diner orders a selection of meat, seafood, and vegetables and barbeques the food using a grill set in the middle of the table. In Japanese the word yakiniku means ‘grilled meat’, and it is a concept similar to the better-known Korean barbecues. It is a hugely fun and interactive experience and engages everyone at the table. What’s more you also get to cook the food how you want, which in my case is medium rare for the red meats. The grills at Kintan are smokeless, so you get all the flavour of the food without having smoke in your eyes or on your clothes. It’s hot work though as the heat radiates off the grill, but it’s also a really nice way to warm the soul as we make our way into winter.

Kintan opened in July 2014 and is part of the Kintan yakiniku group of restaurants which also have branches in Hong Kong, Jakarta and Tokyo. The restaurant is very slick and modern and spaciously spans two floors. It is a very professional operation and you get the sense that the waiting staff have been well-trained to guide the diner through the menu and the finer points of yakiniku. Our grills were constantly changed as they got dirty, a service which I appreciated as there is nothing worse that getting burnt bits on your food.

Although yakiniku is the specialty at Kintan, the restaurant also serves a selection of small hot dishes, salads, rice and noodles. We tried the tuna tartar volcano (£7) starter which consisted of some tuna tartar with spicy mayo served on top of a crunchy rice cracker. The tuna was delicious, especially with the creamy mayo, but it was the crunchy rice cracker that really impressed. It resembled a rectangular block of rice that had been deep-fried so that it was really crunchy on the outside, thereby offering up a really interesting textural combination with the tuna.

A tofu chigae soup (£10) consisting of tofu, ground chicken, enoki mushrooms and an egg was gorgeous. The base of the soup was an intensely flavoursome oxtail stock which had been enhanced with kimchee and chiage (soybean) paste. This, with the smooth tofu, the kick coming from the kimchee and the spiciness of the paste proved to be a really delightful combination. The egg was a little overcooked and rubbery, but otherwise this was a great soup with lots of wonderful flavours.

We moved onto the yakiniku, trying a variety of meats and seafood. Some Korean BBQ restaurants that I have tried offer up the experience of barbequing, but cut back on the quality of the meat which can lend to chewiness in the star of the show – the beef. There was none of that at Kintan and everything we tried was of an excellent quality, with the winning meat being the premium kalbi short rib (£12). It was incredibly tender, succulent and sweet with flavour. We loved it! We also adored the NZ lamb chops (£8) as these were fabulous and juicy. They were so good in fact that we ordered seconds. Also good was the premium rib-eye (£11). This was delicious too, but not quite as sublime as the kalbi.

The scallops (3 pieces – £8) were plump and juicy and came with a lovely miso marinade. The tiger prawns (3 pieces – £7) were served with a garlic marinade and were magical as the prawns had bags of flavour and a desirably firm texture. Spicy pork kalbi (£7) with a special spicy tare sauce was also tasty and tender, but perhaps our least favourite of the things we tried. To go with the yakiniku were a variety of delicious spicy and sweet dipping sauces.

Desserts included the ever dependable creamy green tea ice cream (£3) and assorted mocha ice cream (£6) with sesame, salted caramel and green tea. All were really yummy and proved a lovely way to finish the meal.

I couldn’t help but be impressed with the Kintan experience. All the food was delicious and Kintan is such a slick, well run operation that you can’t help but feel that you are in a great pair of hands. I would happily go to Kintan again as I would relish the opportunity to try some of the other items on the menu. But then again, I would love another chance to have more of that tofu chigae soup, the premium kalbi short ribs, the lamb chops and the garlic prawns. Yum!

Summary Information:
Food rating: 4/5
Service rating: 3.5/5
Prices: About £50 a head. There are also some reasonable set-price menus. But ultimately this depends on how much you eat. If you’re like me, you’ll over eat and order extras of everything.

If you're a passionate meat lover, you're going to like this.

In Japan, we call this "Yakiniku" - literally meaning cooked meat. Much like Korean BBQ (remember when I reviewed Koba?), it's all about grilling the seasoned and marinated meat at the table, accompanied by lettuce for wrapping and a few side dishes.

I was very excited to be given a voucher from Zomato for Kintan, and headed there for dinner last month with E and C - it was a shame C's fiancé was away as he would have enjoyed this!

The place was buzzing, clearly a popular spot despite being relatively new. I also heard a few conversations in Japanese going on - always a good sign!

We had a generous selection of beef and pork (the best meats for this sort of thing in my opinion, although he menu also offers chicken and seafood), as well as gyoza, seaweed salad. noodles and karaage chicken on the side. The chicken and salad were great, but the noodles and gyoza were subpar.

But we weren't disappointed with the main event - the meat was flavourful, fresh and high quality. The Kalbi is a must, it's always the best! With some lettuce leaves and steamed rice, we had no problem polishing it all off.

And we somehow still had room for dessert - E went for his favourite, matcha ice cream, while C and I chose mochi ice (mochi filled with ice cream - sounds weird, tastes delicious). It was all nice, but nothing spectacular.

Would I recommend Kintan? Yes, but take my advice and focus solely on the meat - skip the sides and just indulge in the BBQ. While I felt that the sides and dessert were overpriced, the meat is reasonable for what it is and you won't get much cheaper in any other similar places. And the taste definitely won't disappoint.

Thank you to Zomato for the voucher that contributed to this meal - you can find my Zomato profile and reviews here.

I was invited to this restaurant by my Japanese friends who prized this place for it's delicious BBQ meat and authentic Japanese taste,and boy they were right !
Although this was my first time visit I really enjoyed the food and the bazzy atmosphere. Almost all of the castomers were Japanese, my friend explained to me that coming here makes him feel at home.
We were served at first spicy tuna vulcano, sort of like hot sushi with tuna tartar,we liked so much we ordered 2 more straight away. Hot oil salmon was second on our list,fresh slices of fish topped with ginger and seared with hot sesame oil,it was fantastic. We also have ordered hot garlic noodles which were good but nothing that I haven't tried before, but real treat was yet to come. We were served by friendly waitress who explained to us all the menu and cooking instructions for each of the meats that we ordered, first came ox tounge although I was a bit sceptical at first ( as I am not a fan of internal organs ) it was soft and went well just with lemon. Next was premium Kalbi or short rib as it's called in English,this was already marinaded in house original Momi tare sauce ,sweet soya and sesame. It was very tender and juicy and went well with our Asahi draft beer.
Harami also known as outside skirt was next it came marinated in miso flavoured sauce and again it was soft and tender it had a little livery taste but I accepted it well without slightest fuss. Then my Japanese host treated us to the Kintan speciality : Wagyu Beef flown all the way from Japan, and as explained to me ,only last year 13teen year old ban on beef imports from Japan was lifted - and thanks o'Mighty!!!
We have tried Ribloin steak it came beutifully aranged on the plate,it had very marble texture with quite a contence of fat and perhaps not the healthiest food option(guilty pleasures )but that's what makes it so special and soft and juicy , when grilled the fat melts away yet the smoke from burning grill gives it that specyfic smoky BBQ flavour.The meat itself was a Culinary Orgasm! I think I have not expirienced anything like this for in a long time! I am now officially a Yakiniku enthusiast! My host treated me yet to another round of hot sake and then again came Wagyu Fillet Mignon it was more lean then Ribloin but equally soft and delicious. By then the atmosphere in the restaurant was so busy I really felt I must be in busy Tokyo izzakaya on Friday night (but it was only Tuesday in Chancery Line, yet fully packed).
By now I was getting pretty full up having already consumed at least half a kilo of meat that included some lovely king prawns and fresh squid. Then as followed by Japanese custom we ordered Stone pot spicy Tofu Chigae (I actually think this was more Korean then Japanese )but it was very nice n' hot and so was the Goma negi ramen that came as last hot dish.
All the time we were served Japanese drinks as recommended by our lovely and smiley waitress, most of the drink names I don't even remember as there are almost all Japanese but definitely 13 year old Nikka whisky will stay in my memory (as a hangover lol!).
Finaly we had our desserts a selection of mochi filled ice creams my favourite was roasted sesame and salted caramel this was complimented with hot green tea.
Overall for me this was one of the best Japanese culinary experiences here in London and perhaps even Europe. This place is really worth visiting. I will be back there soon for more.
Thank you to my Host (Arigatou! Kobayashi-san, sugoi oishikatta desu)
And all staff at Kintan for great experience!
PS.
I went there again 2 days later for lunch with the group of friends and it was great again
I recommend Gyudon (bowl of rice topped with steamed thin slices of beef)Wow!

Just around the corner from historic Gray’s Inn in Holborn tucked in between offices and shops is a little Japanese BBQ restaurant called Kintan.

Kintan is self-proclaimed as London’s first Yakiniku (grilled meat) restaurant. And at Kintan its grilled meat you shall have! 

Inside the restaurant in quite minimal in design. You’ll find lots of clean lines and dark wood with elegant touches of Japanese decor. On the ground level where you enter there are only a few tables and at first it appears to just be a quiet, small restaurant, but when you go downstairs you soon realise it’s actually quite large and busy! It’s not overly fancy but it’s not casual either. It would be a great place to meet for an early dinner after work one day.

I was surprised to discover that each table has a little grill in the middle and the diners cook the food themselves! Because of this, from what I could tell the tables were all quite small to seat around four or less - though I think that’s a good thing so you've got enough space to cook your food!

Would I Want Seconds? 

Kintan’s dinner menu has a lot of options and they’ve also get a few set menus too. We tried the Premium Course set menus (priced at £44.50 per person). This way we didn’t have to worry about choosing a few dishes to make a meal. The set menu we had included a LOT of food and really was more than we probably needed! However, it gave us the opportunity to try a lot of items from the menu.

With the Premium Course we had everything from edamame (£3) and a Kintan salad (£7) to garlic fried noodles (£7), mixed vegetables (£8), and lots of meat and fish (£7-11 per item) to grill and then finished it up with ice cream and green tea for dessert. There wasn’t anything put on our table that was bad but there are a few standout dishes that I’d like to mention.

My favourite dish of the evening was the Tuna Tartar Volcano (£7) which has just enough spice to make it interesting and was served on a fried rice base that was similar in texture to a creamy hash brown. Also I’m pretty sure it was topped with caviar so it felt pretty fancy even though the fried based satisfies a junk food craving that I often have.

Another favourite was the filet mignon (£11). It was cut into perfect bite sized cubes and once grilled was so delicious and juicy. This was the first meat that arrived on our table to grill so it got off to a great start.

Then was the premium kalbi short rib (£10) which were these thin slices of marbled meat. I was really unsure when they set it on the table because I was afraid the fat ratio was awfully high and they would just shrink to nothing on the hot grill. However although they did draw up a bit, they cooked quickly and were just melt in your mouth tender. It was so delicious and tasty. I’m not sure what kind of marinade they use - but I didn’t need any dipping sauces for these morsels of meat!

Finally, the tiger prawns (£7) were another favourite. I’ve never cooked a prawn in my life and only recently started even eating them. So was a bit unsure when these gray things were delivered to our table but after a bit on the grill they turned a beautiful reddy/pink and they were just delicious.

Could I Afford Seconds?

The set menu was definitely pricey. Priced at £44.50 per person the set menu is a lot of food but it’s not going to be a cheap night out as for two people with drinks you’ll easily spend over £100 including a tip. Essentially it seems diners are paying for the novelty of having a grill at the table and cooking the food themselves.

If we were to return, instead of the set menu we’d instead pick a few dishes to share as this would result in a more reasonably priced dinner. They also have a Happy Hour on Monday to Friday from 5-6:30pm which I would definitely recommend.

Overall:

The experience at Kintan is probably one of the most interesting dining experiences I’ve had to date. The service and ambiance were great, the food was tasty, and it was certainly filling. Unless you’re going the smaller meal route I would be a bit wary trying to go on a weekend as their reservation page says you’ll get 2 hours from the booking time on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights and we easily spent over two hours there despite the fact that I’m a really fast eater. But I would recommend you try it out if you like grilled meats and a fun evening out!

Real Japanese grill experience, especially during cold winter days. Good variety of meats and drinks. Good quality food over all. Very attentive service. The cloak room to put coats away is a plus.

Enough of the Korean BBQ mayhem, it’s time for the Japanese Yakiniku BBQ experience to take over. Yakiniku means grilled meat.

Once my company arrived we had sparkling sake, to start off with. The drink is very sweet, with floral sweet notes. We both decided on the Kintan set menu, with assorted selections of meat, fish, vegetables and a dessert. As the server went away he turned on the smokeless table grill. 

Four of the items came out, the one that got me curious was the tofu looking square blocks with meat splurging out of the corners with a nest of black fish eggs and finely chopped green onions. The eyes on the prize seem liked it was the best out of the dishes. Crunchy golden-yellow coating biting into sticky rice, I failed to detect the tuna taste.

The other 3 appetizers were garlic noodles, miso soup, and salad. Once we chowed down the appetizers we asked the server to bring out the meats. This is where the fun starts, grilling your own meat your way. Cooking the food yourself and chatting away with your friends whilst turning the meats over with the yakiniki tongs. The server was fantastic in explaining the different cuts of meat some were just plain others had a marinade.

To sum it up for £35 for set menu is a bargain I tell you, by the time you have the grilled meats you be rolling around in your seat saying your too full. With around 95% of the diners being Japanese, Kintan is already becoming popular by word of mouth.

Simply fabulous food. We also had amazing wine. The happy hour prices were also a bonus! The only thing we didn't like was that we got the food before the drinks and had to ask where the drinks were. They turn the tables around quickly as they are very busy. But it was worth it. I recommend booking and ordering one of the menus. We loved our menu for two and were really full after! The quality was great. The ladies at the entrance are very nice. They took a 12% service charge automatically, which was fine.

One of my favourite restaurant in London. They are always very busy, and even with the best work from the waiter team it can be a little slow to add items. (I do wish they were more.) But the atmosphere is always great, good service and the food is perfect! You will love to cook the meat to your liking, and have a different restaurant experience than what we are used to. I highly recommend the takoyaki.

Lunch hour is definitely the best time to come here for their lunch sets! We chose 2 different kinds of meat for each person which is part of a set, which includes miso soup, salad and rice and we shared the meat between all of us so we had more of a variety to eat. This definitely filled us up!! Service was a bit slow but the waitress that greeted us at the door was really welcoming and friendly and explained their different menus for us!

Had the best dinner this evening. Everyone was so friendly. Alice (who I think was the door host) was really accommodating I feel she deserves praise. Truly great food. We went for a 2 set meal with dessert which was great partnered with sparkling sake! Great meat that can be cooked on the grill. Everything came out in perfect timing. One of the waitresses changed the grill when it got dirty and made it very easy. Food was definitely on point. Worth visiting and quite a busy vibe yet quite private with the dividers in between tables. Would come again when I fancy good beef!

Absolutely loved it. My good friend introduced me to this place for our quarterly eat up. Its fantastic. Cool novelty BBQ'ing your own food. I can imagine a group of three or more might be frustrating as the BBQ is quite small and you can't cook too much at once. Highly recommend to anyone interested in good quality cuts of meat in delicious sauces and marinades.