As part of my birthday week, I feasted. First up was Yosma, a Turkish place in Marylebone, a little further afield than the spate of places on Edgeware Road.
Walking past it, I don't think you'd necessarily be tempted inside - it looks far more basic than it really is. Inside it is spacious, reminding me of a city plaza round which people eat and drink on terraces.
The food was pretty good too - some thick hummus and two rounds of bread to make sure you scoop it all up with, and then I had a lamb iskendar which collapsed at the slightest prodding from my fork, and my friend had the chicken which was a decent rival to my lamb.
And then the next night I went to Ichibuns which had a totally different vibe. This place is a chain in the making if ever I saw one. It's semi-fast food - a bit like Wahaca or Byron, but Japanese diner style. So there's sushi and sashimi but also steamed buns and burgers. We had a tuna sushi taco (seaweed forms the shell) then dynamite popcorn shrimp - not as exciting as the name implies but nice enough, and then the wagyu buns - the beef inside dry therefore disappointing. You needed the sauce.
I had a fish burger which was nice enough but the other flavours rather masked the fishiness and the texture was a bit soft for a burger. I expected more crunchiness from the panko batter.
The place is fun, and lively and the food isn't *bad*, it's just not particularly *good* either.