Dotori

3 Stroud Green Road, N4 2DF

I think Dotori has been here for a little while, but I very rarely walk down this part of Stroud Green Road so I hadn't spotted it at all. It was only in the snowy weather, when I decided to walk to work instead of cycling that I spotted it. Mr PP decided we must go.

I looked online and saw that it was good, but busy. And indeed it was. Every time we popped round on the offchance, it was rammed. Even at lunchtime. So we gave in and booked a table for after work.

The Menu:
To be honest, we found the menu a little overwhelming, there was just so much on it. Luckily (or unluckily depending on your perspective) the sushi chef was having 10 days off, so that narrowed us down to the Korean menu, but still ...

I have eaten Korean before, but am not that familiar with the cuisine, so can't really comment on the range/authenticity of the menu. With that in mind, and feeling a little pressured by the environment we ordered the Korean set meal for two for £20, which seemed like a bargain. It included all the side dishes, spicy fried chicken wings, and a beef/rice main.

Our Meal:
The food was spot-on, with very few missing the mark. Our first side was some very limp looking lettuce and a couple of slivers of red pepper/carrot, which did not bode well. But everything that came after was tasty and delicious, particularly the chicken wings - we could easily have eaten another plate of them.

The enjoyment was considerably marred by the restaurant itself. We both just found it too uncomfortable and the service was a bit brusque. As it is so tiny we were packed in. Mr PP was boiling jammed up against the radiator, whilst I was a) freezing sat next to the door and b) in the road sat in front of the door to the toilets (which opened towards rather than away from me). The people next to us were so close it was intrusive.

The tables are tiny, which is bad when you've just ordered a multi-dish set meal, a lot of which comes all at once. I ended up with my plate in my lap, as there was nowhere else to put it, and the waitress was clearly irritated by our inability to shovel food in our gobs as quickly as possible.

What we liked:
The food is great, and although we didn't have them, the prawn tempura looked amazing - we had considerable food envy when they arrived at the table next to us! Would definitely like to try more of both the Korean and Japanese menus.

The prices are good too. Bottled beers come in at a reasonable £2.50, so the set meal for two and two beers each totals came to just £30.

What we didn't like:
This is not the place for a leisurely, relaxed dinner. Although we were just having something on the way home from work, this still felt too rushed and hurried. I do appreciate they are busy and want to get the punters through, but it did mar the experience somewhat.

Will we be back?:
Probably, given it's proximity to home, price and tasty food. But the fact you have to book, and the rushed service means not as often as we might have.