Itadakizen — Restaurant in England

I stopped in Shrewsbury on Saturday 3rd with my partner at around 2pm, on our way to Llangollen, and we decided to grab lunch here. I am a chef, I have ran two restaurants (one also fully vegan), and this was my favourite dining experience I have ever had.

The seating had options, and we elected for the intimate corner booth since she struggles with open spaces. The server was extremely friendly and helpful in recommending options in a way that did not make my partner feel silly, even though by our own admission it was probably silly questions.

The food came out slightly staggered, but we were sharing. I appreciated this, as it gave us time to appreciate the individual items and made me feel like the chef knew what they were doing. The calamari came with a (miso?) sauce, and was nicely battered. My partner HATES mushrooms, but enjoyed this dish, as well as the seaweed salad, which was a thoughtful accompaniment given the ocean themes.

Everything in the bento felt freshly made and deliberately chosen. The mushrooms, again, she didn't mind which I was really surprised by (in a good way). My ramen was great - the flavourful oil on the top was nicely dispersed, and the noodles tasted handmade with an incredible chew that I can only liken to spaghetti crossed with gnocchi. Service was excellent throughout and it was nice to converse with the staff about the food...

I would give 10 stars if I could! I have tasted a lot of food around the world and had my fair share of Japanese restaurants. These were both in Japan and in the rest of the world and this one is in the top.

The food is all Vegan (didn't realize that up front) and the taste is amazing :) You can feel the soul of the food, you can taste the love and dedication it is made in!

The Tempura mushroom is very nice dark and crispy on the outside but moist and fresh on the Inside. The ramen (tonkatsu) has a beautiful well balanced taste of flavors and the noodle are cooked perfectly. The mochi desert was perfect cold temperature as when you bit in there you didn't feel any like frozen parts. The texture of the mochi was like I expect from mochi and the passion flavor was strong but not too strong to over power the rest.

The staff is amazing, the stories they shared just confirm my feelings about the food. They are passionate deticated and put a lot of love in the food.

If I ever have the chance to be in the neighborhood again this will my go to spot!

For all the meat lovers I am also one but it was refreshing to eat a non meat menu! Dare you...

I've been wanting to go here since they first opened and finally managed to go. I was not disappointed. The service was generally quick and the staff are very friendly. The food was fab (totally vegan), especially the cheesecake which is incredible! The plum wine is also a must have. Toilets are clean and well kept, but could do with a little more light! A couple of negative points for which I have knocked off a star. I was in a party of 4 and the main meal for one of us was brought out just as the other 3 were finishing. We are very patient and polite as anything could have happened in the kitchen, but there was no explanation or apology. The other point is that the staff cleared plates whilst the last person was still eating - not very professional, they seemed inexperienced. All in all we enjoyed our visit very much and I will definitely visit again. They had also ran out of Sake. Bit shocking for a Japanese...