Koya, who recently opened another branch, Koya Bar, just down the streat from its original restaurant on Frith Street, has been around for quite a while but I (finally!) did my first visit a few weeks back. It was a cold cold January evening and me and some friends thought a warming bowl of noodles would make a perfect supper.

We started with a few small plates specials from the board and I must say they varied a bit. The fried tofu (above) was alright I thought, but not being a tofu fan my comments may not do it justice. My friends seemed to enjoy it a lot more!

The sword fish came in breaded and fried chunks complete with bones and things. Not my favourite but perfectly OK.

But I really enjoyed the grilled oysters!

For our mains most of us had noodles, but Jenny chose a domburi (rice bowl) with beef and vegetables that looked really good!

I had a wonderful noodle soup with pork, vegetables and miso. The broth was had great flavour and the udon noodles a nice chewiness to them, the pork itself was probably the least exciting with the dish. It was just what I needed; a soothing and warm bowl of noodle soup!

Laura also had a noodle soup, but one of the specials with miso and fried salsify (I think), not in the picture. Unfortunately the photo of Amy’s noodle soup with vegetable tempura came out grainy, but I think you can imagine what it looked like. It was also really nice.

We were very satisfied with our meal (and wine) but it’s not a place where you can linger. As soon as you’ve finished someone wants your table; it’s first come first serve – no bookings.

Koya, 49 Frith Street, London W1D 4SG