Located 9 minutes from Walthamstow station, Taro offers a quirky Japanese dining room experience, transporting you out of London and into Japan. We sat down in one of the comfy shared booths, which offers a private dining experience, in a busy and fast-paced environment.

The menu includes authentic Japanese food, which include Japanese style grilled chicken dumplings, mixed vegetable tempura, a chicken teriyaki bento box and much more! I have a lot of love for Southeast Asian food and I’m always on the lookout for tasty plant-based options and most importantly authentic flavours. I normally go for ramen but with a great selection of dishes on the menu to choose from I was spoilt for choice.

We were greeted with a hot drink called Genmai Cha – Green tea with roasted rice, it was the perfect drink to start off our meal. I started with the Ebi prawn Gyoza Japanese’s style grilled dumplings filled with vegetables accompanied with soya sauce. Taro offers up top-notch gyozas! Moist, flavoursome and extremely moorish. My dining partner ordered the prawn tempura with dipping sauce tentsuyu. We were both extremely happy with our starters.

My main was a tofu bento box, I know it might sound a little less exciting compared to all the other amazing Japanese dishes on offer, but I was very happy with everything the bento box came with and the exquisite flavour. The tofu steak with vegetables on a bed of rice and teriyaki sauce is the perfect combination, the bento also included inari cucumber sushi roll, korokke, and beansprouts which was a real bonus. I normally expect an average portion, but this was more than satisfying.

My dining partner choose the duck teri don, deep fried duck with vegetables on a bed of rice and was equally happy with her decision. Accompanied with Japanese lemonade. We were too full for dessert so I’ll have to give into my cravings for Japanese green tea and dessert for next time.

Worth the trip to Walthamstow from South West London, Taro is a portal to a Japanese dining experience with friendly and attentive staff, if you’re lucky you may spot Mr Taro himself in the restaurant. Taro offers up a diverse menu, with dishes to tantalise your tastebuds!

Address: 76 High Street, Walthamstow, London, E17 7LD

Website: https://tarorestaurants.uk

Written by Stephanie Sowaha