NEW RESTAURANT REVIEW: ITSU

Cornmarket Street just got a little bit more tasty.


Tired of shelling out £8 at Wagamama for chicken katsu curry?

Us neither, really. But for noodley/ricey alternatives, Itsu has just opened its doors on Cornmarket Street – and the results are fantastic.

The annotations display a heart-warming absense of condescending Innocent Smoothies-style waffle.

A relatively new project, Itsu is the brain-child of new-king-of-high-street-eateries Julian Metcalfe. Famed for Pret-A-Manger, Metcalfe is driven. His ambition? To ‘change the world’, as he told the Telegraph. And while that might sound ambitious for a mere purveyor of tasty wheat-based products, we’d like to think that the Chicken potsu or the simple sushis on offer are at least steps in the right direction. McChicken sandwich meals, are like, so 2012.

Tasty, healthy, sometimes cheap – the works.

The only possible problem could be the cost; while a Pret sandwich will set you back around £3 to £4, the hot noodle pots on offer here are pushing the £5 barrier. But the sushi and rice-based meals are around £4 and miso soup at £2 is a genuine sip, sorry, snip. Get down there quickly.

Itsu is located on Cornmarket Street, kind of near the Union.