M and D Japanese Deptford — Restaurant in London

First of all, in my world, one star is "Never Never Again", three stars is "OK, Nothing Special", and five stars is "Let Me Eat Nothing Else!"

So, having said that, I ordered online having found the website through Google Maps. The website is great: clear, clean, simple and probably one of the best (functionally) I have ever come across. Ordering was simple and super-quick. It told me to pick-up within 30 to 45 minutes. I arrived exactly 30 minutes after ordering and the food looked like it had been ready for a while in a warming cabinet. The staff were young, smartly turned out in natty headgear, and very friendly. So applause for all that.

The premises turned out to be a clean classic cafe-style format, bedecked with small Japanese flags on the walls, with the cooking area at the rear, which was mostly open to customer view. This is a good thing, especially in Deptford, where you can see the food prepared. The front door sports a Lewisham 'Scores On The Doors' sticker, awarding 4 stars for cleanliness which is pretty good and, again, a definite selling point. I tend not to go to places without a 4 or 5 star sticker, having had the, err, privilege some years ago of visiting many kitchens in the area. Believe me, take nothing on trust when it comes to this - Lewisham Borough has the highest number of restaurant prosecutions in London for flouting food safety laws - this either means there are a lot of dirty restaurants (clearly NOT this one!) or a very active Council Inspection team.

So, what about the food? The mixed Katsu (mostly chicken, two pumpkin, one prawn covered in breadcrumbs) was a little greasy and just felt like it had been pulled out of the freezer and stuck in a deep fat fryer without regard to oil quality or oil temperature. So, edible but nothing more.

The prawn Katsu was four breadcrumbed prawn which strangely appeared to have been cooked better than the other dish. Don't quite know how this could happen, but it wasn't greasy, so go figure. It came with pleasant rice, a small carton of gravy-like sauce which had the merest hint of heat to it. Not unpleasant - it was a savoury gravy, not curry, that's about all I can say. There was no salad as advertised on the menu, and about half a teaspoon of purple looking stuff (the pickle) which was ok, but was gone in one mouthful - if there was about ten times the amount, it may have helped the overall taste experience and counteracted the oiliness, but as it was, it was merely a small purple splodge on the side, which provided slight visual interest and virtually no taste or textural interest, because there just wasn't enough of it. So what is the point of having it there?

A second visit revealed a proud, stoney-faced Japanese looking gent (clearly the chef/owner), who directed me to the Katsu on the menu, so clearly he had read this review. I politely declined, and chose Chicken Yakisoba for a fiver. This was rapidly cooked and I left with the takeaway. The fried noodles turned out to be pillow-plump and soft, the chicken and vegetables carefully cut and the sauce tasty. Very satisfied, I pushed my empty plate away. Compared to other local establishments offering similar noodle-type dishes, the quality is way better, and the price is lower.

Going by other reviews, the quality of the website, and the smart friendly younger staff - oh, and the undeniably good value for money - I will be back to try other things. My initial 3 star rating rises to 4. You're unlikely to find a better noodle dish at these prices for some distance, and given the loyal local following, it seems there are more good things to discover here....

Amazing presentation of food and excellent flavour too. Nice squishy sushi rice and plump biteable fish on top.

A good selection of sushi, sashimi and a bento box were tried all of which were excellent. There is no photo of the Bento box sadly which was beautifully presented like the rest of our food. Portion sizes were generous and plenty for the three of us and I dont think we topped much more than £10 a head. The taste of the food was very good and equal if not better than some of the sushi chains in the UK. Portion sizes were larger than the the chains in the UK. Definitely an authentic tasty Japanese experience! The only down side with the food was not enough wasabi or ginger and not quite spicy enough for me.

They were very allergy conscious which was reassuring. I adore sushi and Japanese food and hate to be excluded but I could eat the sushi with ease. I would have loved to eat other items on the menu too so just a little bit more allergy consciousness would be great such as making other dishes available to nut and seed sufferers.

This isn't a restaurant it more resembles an authentic Japense sushi bar so it looks somewhere between a takeaway and a small but smart cafe. It is a lovely intimate and yet informal setting to have fun with friends, family or dates. It could be the pit stop you need before visiting the games...

I will leave my original underneath This was my favourite restaurant in Deptford. There are 2 chefs - I'm leaving the review below for him! The other the older man has just ensured I won't be going again - maybe after I stop being angry and ONLY if the younger chef is working! I have been raving to all and sundry about the wakame salad. Today I ordered three, to take with us travelling tomorrow. I bought containers because theirs are shit and they leak. The salads were iceberg lettuce with a smattering of the actual wakame mix on top - I would estimate the ration about 75/35!

The grill duck can only be described as meagre in relation to what I have had at every meal in there and take away. There was not a single vegetable, just duck on the ubiquitous iceberg/ And the last 2 sushi rolls were pretty much empty Do you really think you can get away with that just cos it's take away. So Angry. So gutted. Another one bites the dust!

Original review: Atmosphere - mwah. You come, you create your own and you may. They don't charge corkage and you can byob/w. The food is spectacular, the service is excellent, the value is mind blowing. I love the duck! Everything with duck - yakisoba, sushi rolls, grilled The wakame salad is the BEST I...