Tombo Cafe

Matcha land

Tombo Cafe

2016 is the year of matcha in London, there's plenty of media buzz surrounding this classic Japanese stable with many restaurants and bars finding innovative ways to get matcha onto menus. Popular matcha offerings include the matcha latte and matcha patisserie. Tombo, a Japanese cafe in South Kensington, is renowned for its awarding winning green tea and sushi, but it's also just launched a matcha and poke bar in Soho under the same name. The Soho bar is a lot more casual, with no sushi on the menu and a focus on rice and salad bowls, with matcha infused drinks and desserts.

Salmon avo lux poke

Classic salmon poke

The "salmon avo lux" was very forgettable; the red rice was overcooked and had a very sticky and soft texture which was somewhat unpleasant. The caviar was also missing and I didn't discover it till I opened my pack, as I went for the takeaway option.The classic latte was also decent at best, it didn't have enough matcha tea flavour and was overpowered by the milk. The sundae however was a delight, it had the perfect soft and buttery texture and the red bean paste worked finely to offered a touch of mild sweetness.

Matcha monaka

Matcha sundae

I have mixed feelings about Tombo; while the desserts were great, the savoury dishes were very average and there are simply plenty of other places that can offer something at a similar level. The setting of the venue seems ideal for a quick lunch, but then again the price is very challenging, you would need to pay over £10 for a main plus dessert which is almost restaurant territory at lunchtime. Personally, I would treat this as a dessert bar as the matcha soft service is pretty impressive and perfect for the summer period.