Taro has been in Kennington for four years now and has established itself as a local favourite, and this was certainly in evidence when we visited on a busy Thursday night.  We’re currently revisiting our ‘Top Ten List of Best Places to Eat in Greater Kennington 2024’ winners to see what has fallen out of favour or improved,  and Taro nabbed the #10 spot.  We love Taro for consistently  serving up authentic ‘Izakaya’ fare, roughly meaning, ‘pub food’, but are they still worthy of their noble accolade? We can imagine they’re shaking in their sushi right now awaiting our answer.

On this visit we focused on the sushi section of the menu. The Taro sushi board offered a great mix of different nigiri and couple of rolls, a great option if you want a variety and feel overwhelmed with choice. We also ordered a rainbow roll, a visually arresting inside out roll with crab. The mango roll was an accidental order, where mango is around the outside of the roll. That’s great if you are a mango fan, less so if you don’t usually mix savoury and sweet. We branched out most with the tempura roll. This was a sushi roll, and in this case with prawn and avocado, delicately friend in a light sushi batter. That sounds heavier than it is and generally got the thumbs up as something different. 

We would definitely advise venturing into the vegetable-focused side dish areas of the menu. The agedashi tofu in soy sauce wass silky and delicate. The seaweed salad was a mix of different seaweeds with a dressing forward in wasabi. We know this reads like we’re binge eating, and you might have a point.

What makes Taro work is its commitment to quality Japanese food at a moderate price point. If you want a big occasion meal, you’ll probably venture that small distance to the West End, and good luck with that. What Kenningtonians demand is something that’s good quality and reliable that won’t break the bank…..Oh, and serves cocktails….

Taro, if you’re reading this (and if not you’re missing out) our only note of guidance is to find a way around the unedifying presence of balaclava hooded ‘Just Eat’ delivery drivers in the restaurant, as it rather cheapens the experience. And no one wants to be cheap.