John Devitt and Shuko Oda founded KOYA in Soho in 2010. Sixteen years on, it’s one of the capital’s most beloved restaurant groups, responsible for opening many a Londoner’s eyes to the joys of high-quality udon noodles.
Devitt, a former city trader who swapped the trading floor for a life in hospitality, was among the panellists at our third and final CODE’s Founder Series event, in partnership with Toast, last week. The discussion explored how founders’ previous careers have shaped their approach to hospitality. You can read some insights from the panel here.
Meanwhile, here’s co-founder Shuko Oda on her five dishes to try at KOYA – your essential guide to what to eat whether it’s your first time there or you just haven’t been in a while. Enjoy.
Chicory with whipped tofu and KOYA umami oil
One of the newest dishes on the menu. The umami oil is something that we’ve just launched as a retail product. It’s something we’ve been working on for the last year or so. It’s basically an oil with lots of bits in it like kombu powder, shiitake, fried onions, and almonds so it’s got a nice crunch, a load of umami and a bit of saltiness from soy sauce. It’s a really tasty condiment that goes with so many different things. I use it at home all the time and everyone in the family loves it. The dish is like a dip where you use the chicory to whip up the tofu and umami oil. It’s a staff favourite.
Ten-Tojidon
It’s been on the Soho menu from the start but even some of our regulars haven’t tried it. It’s a really nice rice dish that I want everyone to try. It’s basically two prawn tempuras that have been cooked in our tendashi sauce and finished with a dropped egg. It hits the right spot if you’re hungry, if you’re hungover, and you just want a bowl of something comfortable and satisfying. The prawn tempura soaks up all the dashi and then it’s finished with an egg. I feel like everyone should try it!
Japanese Breakfast
We’ve been serving the Japanese breakfast since we opened the bar in Soho. It’s special to me; it’s something I always wanted to try and do in London. Not a fancy one but a normal Japanese breakfast done well with grilled fish, pickles, rice and miso soup. It’s something we’re proud of because breakfast wasn’t always busy but we kept at it and we’ve come to the point where it’s busy most days. I’m really glad I stuck with it.
Saba Udon – smoked mackerel with greens
Again, this has been on the menu from the start. It’s something we thought of when we were thinking of ‘what’s local?’ Smoked fish is very English. We always wanted to do something that was our take on the local cuisine. It works really well. It’s refreshing with the greens. The smoked mackerel is seared on the pan so it’s got a little bit of crisp on the inside because we steam cook it after it’s been seared, the inside goes fluffy. It’s been a staff favourite from the start. Everyone who tries it kind of gets into it for at least a few months.
Kitsune Udon
This is fried tofu that’s been cooked in sweet soy kombu stock. We take pride in that one because even in udon restaurants in Japan, you would usually buy in the fried tofu but because we are here, rather than buy in fried, I thought why don’t we fry it ourselves? We get the tofu from a company called Clean Bean. He’s been going a bit longer than us, he’s just off Brick Lane, a one-man show. It’s amazing tofu. The tofu is a lot more substantial than the average kitsune udon that you might get in Japan and holds a lot of umami and sweetness. It’s one of my favourites.
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