The Japanese Canteen

Delicious warm lunch served very fast. You can’t go wrong with the chicken curry, especially if you get the mixed grain and puy lentil base. I love it and I come here all the time.

Came here for the first time in a long time and tried their new soup ramen dish with ground pork. It comes in a short, round container so you get a lot less soup than you would have with any of the phở places or Chi Noodle’s soup noodle dishes, but it is crammed full of noodle. In terms of what else in there, there are some shaved pieces of cucumber, and a few bean sprouts, celery, and pieces of green onion, but otherwise there is a plentiful helping of pork and that’s it. The soup is quite good though, opaque and reminding me a lot of the soup at Ippudo the other night. Overall it’s a solid dish and the best part is that it’s only 4.95!
I first heard of this place when my colleague said it was her favourite place for chicken katsu curry. Personally, I don’t think the curry is anything special, except that you can get it in a bento and the curry comes in a separate container so you can pour it over the rice itself. And you have the option of brown rice, which can be substituted for an extra 50p. I have also tried the Korean fried chicken, which I thought was really good, and the stir fried noodles, which I remember thinking had the wrong flavour profile… but then again, I haven’t found a yakisoba that I like in this country.
Service is extremely efficient at lunchtime and there are never more than 3 or 4 people in the queue to place an order, and food takes less than 5 minutes to come out on the other side. This is a tad less authentic than Ribon but far better than Wasabi and Itsu, which I try to avoid all costs.

HUUUUGE portions! So you WILL get the 2pm slump because of the amount of rice/​carbs you’ll get! But rejoice for sauce lovers because they are really generous with the sauce here– at least compared to itsu and wasabi and that! I opted for the veg curry and it’s your big standard Japanese curry– it’s not the most stellar thing in the world, nor is it cheap. I can’t give it more than two
Stars. I just can’t.
And they do multi grain rice so you can feel a bit healthier but not really because the size is soooo not a healthy sized portion. Can someone please share with me? Thanks :)
I ate on sitting by the window and it’s quite a nice little spot but it’s a bit noisy especially with the lunch crowd so not exactly the oasis of calm that I’m looking for at lunch! (haven’t found any spots yet– but then again this is the city!)

I used to love this place for its tasty food and generous portions but they’re just getting smaller and smaller and the prices keep going up and up. I love their Korean Fried Chicken and when it first came out it was amazing! Loads of sauce, piled up to the top of the carton and at £5, it was a bargain. Now it’s gone up, there is less sauce, less in the box and it’s gone up to £6. I also used to love their DanDan noodles but when I had it last, it was so greasy and had absolutely no flavour. Love them there and used to go at least once a week but think it will be a less regular thing now. however, if you’re tempted to go to Burro Burrito, go

Ok there are quite a few JapCans in London, but I believe this is the original and best.
Forget the rest of the menu.
Thes is only one thing you need to buy from here, it’s the thing that made JC so huge and why the queue is out the door on the Fridays. I don’t wanna think of the profit margins these guys are making on this but id think they easily sell 1000 of these on a Friday.
What am I referring to? The four magic letters in my office: JCKC. Japanese Canteen Katsu Curry.
Oh yeah baby, this is The Shit.
I’d admit the quality has dipped every so slightly in recent years. Why? The heyday is gone and recession times are here, but the flavour is still here and this is miles better than Wasabi’s attempt.
If you’re feeling particularly brave, go large for an extra £3. Massive meal.
Worried about white starchy rice? You can now go all out and get sprouted grains and brown rice for an extra 50p. Not a bad way to spend £9.45 on lunch. Mmmm.

I’ve walked by Japanese Canteen many times on either end of the lunch rush and always thought it looked like a pretty poor effort. Spartan walls and seating, a menu that looks like it was slapped on as an afterthought with paper flyers adding a few new dishes that just didn’t fit anywhere else, and staff that looked like they were just as likely to slap you upside the head as they were to serve you.
But damn, this place comes alive during that magical 12−1pm lunch hour. You know those scenes in movies right before the 3 o’clock bell rings to let out school? It’s eerily still and quiet, a random frog croaks in the distance, and the scene just screams out for something, anything to happen. Suddenly, BAM, there are people everywhere shouting, talking, and generally participating wholeheartedly in the chaos of everyday life. That’s just what happens to Japanese Canteen during the lunch rush with every seat the slightly cavernous space taken, people propping their food on the smallest surface capable of supporting it, and lines out the door. And then as the hour ends, everyone just fades away.
The staff are still a far cry from warm and friendly, but they are coldly efficient and mow through the line at rapid speed. The kitchen (hidden behind the wall with a small door the only connection to the dining area) is likewise filled with hyperactive chefs dishing out meals almost faster than the 4 person wide queue can order. I’m slightly concerned as to what goes on back there and I think the trend towards more open kitchens is the way to go. For lunch though, I’m content to get in and out as fast as possible so not much of a gripe.
Price-​wise, it’s a bit expensive and slightly smaller portion than the nearby Wasabi when it comes to katsu curry. A regular portion will cost you £6.95 with a large portion requiring a £3 supplement. JC does offer a choice of chicken, pork, or prawn and sticks a good amount of veggies into their sauce which gives it a one-​up on Wasabi. I wonder what else they put in though as I had a slight allergic reaction for a few hours after eating it and I’m not allergic to any food as far as I know…
Thinking back, I’m not sure I’m really up for the mania and price of JC for lunch as £7 can buy you a helluva lot more food at Porterford Butchers just down the street. Still, if you are craving katsu curry it’s likely to be your best bet in the area.

Sorry, just an ok. Not really impressed with the food although my colleagues go there a lot.
I had prawn yaki udon and the prawns were really tiny. Yes, a lot of them, but really, really tiny. First time I see such size in a restaurant/​takeaway.
I will give it another go when it’s sunny as the tables outside are amazing.

Great chicken curry katsu. Best for takeaway. Fast and efficient. Not the best and most friendliest staff.

I love this place, the service is quick, and their chicken katsu curry is one of the best i’ve tasted. The only problem with this place is their dan dan noodles, not that great!

People seem to get the wrong end of the stick with The Japanese Canteen. An Izakaya it is not. A provider of reasonably priced Japanese (ish) fast food it is.
Stick with the Chicken Katsu Curry and you can’t go too far wrong!

Not bad for a takeaway place, certainly much better than the Samurai on London Wall for hot food.
The small portion is just about right, and I am a 23 year old starving man! They also have a larger portion for an extra £3, but I would suggest that might be too big for most people and not worth the extra money.
Foodwise, the pork katsu curry was not too bad. Sure, I have had better, but this is a lunch takeaway place and the charge (£5.95) is slightly pricey but is not an eye-​brow raiser in the City where sandwiches can go for like £7.
I also managed to receive my food rather quickly, within 2 minutes of ordering.
The one downside is that they do charge an extra 20p if you use a card to pay; I really think in this day and age places should not charge for using a card.

This is not Japanese food, it is at best a «quick fix canteen lunch». If you have even been to Japan you will know that these food is really against the food ethics of Japan.
I have been there several times because it is near to my office (and some my my colleagues seems to like it!). The queuing system is very Chinese (or can I say Hong Kong? It is very similar to the one in
), where you order the food and pay, then you are given a number ticket and wait a couple of minutes for your food. But on several occasions I have waited for 20+ minutes, where my mate has already finished theirs!!!
The food — again it feels like some Chinese guys sees there is a market for quick fix Japanese food. The business model is and just throw up some Japanese ideas and hire some students to run the place and pull shed load of money out of it. The food is never right — say the Pork katsu donburi — sometimes the Pork is cold, sometimes they just put too much sauce which make the rice at the bottom soaked full of the katsu sauce, resulting the rice not edible.
And the price — 6 pounds for this rubbish? I mean the food is really a bit of hit and miss, on a good day you get piping hot pork straight from the frying wok with just the right amount of sauce then well it taste ok and palettable, otherwise it is just a waste of your «food quota» (you only eat 3 meals a day — dont waste it!)h.

Yum yum yuum! The bento boxes are a proper big lunch and really delicious. The queuing system is a bit weird but I guess that’s because they have a massive turnover of people at lunchtimes. Possibly a bit expensive to eat in because you only get cheap tables and chairs to sit at, often a little bit dirty, but the food is high quality and tasty.

I found out about the place through word of mouth and was recommended the chicken katsu curry. It seems I wasn’t the only one as everyone in front of me in the queue ordered the same thing, and looking around me, it was all I could see people eating.
The dish is a pretty plain one, so I wasn’t sure what could be particularly good about it, but with a few more ingredients than the Wagamamas equivalent, it was a satisfying eat. I’m a big eater and found the £5.45 standard portion more than enough for lunch, so don’t go for the £3 extra large equivalent unless you’re famished!
The décor is minimal and white and the seating functional, so this is very much a place to nip into quickly rather than dwell over your food for some time.
I’m assured that the queues can get pretty huge on weekday lunchtimes though, although I was there today (Friday) at 12 noon and it was fine.