Edamame

Edamame
15 Holywell Street
Oxford
OX1 3SA

Edamame is a tiny little home-style Japanese restaurant in Oxford, with a cult following and odd opening hours.

Run by a couple with children from the downstairs conversion from an apartment, the hours are short, and the places closes early. Serving cheap and cheerful Japanese cooking with a simple menu and Sushi every Thursday, this place is a hit with the local student population: as evidenced by the length of the queue that winds out into the street.



This fateful Thursday, we were joined by C and M, for our first ever sushi night at Edamame's in the 5 years I'd been in Oxford.



A and I initially ordered a selection of tamago (egg), amaebi (raw sweet shrimp), squid (raw), octopus, tuna, salmon and poached shrimp.



C had the salmon and tuna set.




Our order of salmon roe gunkan maki were delicious. The little pearls of slightly salty salmon eggs bursting deliciously when pressed on the palate.



Tuna and salmon sashimi. Thinly sliced, but so fresh and sweet it was definitely worth it.



More salmon: although the knife work does not match professional sushi chefs in specialised restaurants, the cuts were good and the flavour of the fresh fish delicate and creamy.



More sushi! a repeat of the sweet shrimp, some tuna, salmon and unagi (grilled eel).




Edamame serves real wasabi for a small price (50p), but our host dissuaded us from it, telling us that they had replaced the powdered wasabi that day with 'wasabi with bits' - a new product that they were trialing. This turned out to be pungent and delicious. Definitely better than the usual bright green and chalky mess that's served in large pyramids.



We always love our miso soup...



A brief swirl and the spring onion, wakame and tofu cubes appear.



C had the Asahi black, which he likened to a light porter, but declared to be weird coming out of a can with funny writing all over it. He's a bit like that.



The damage: a fairly heavy dose of sushi and sashimi for A and me, with C and M being more sensible with their orders (not being gluttons like us), with two beers and a large sake came to just over £70 sans tip. Steep for this little joint, but not bad for what we were served. Their usual dinner menu is cheaper, and well worth a visit.