KOYA Bar in City of London

What a great service we got. Amazing staff! We had varied opinions on the food. We did not enjoy the pickled plums but I guess that is an acquired taste. The braised pork was delicious and so were the marinated mushrooms. The chicken wings were nothing special, quite bland. We ordered the duck hearts and we all liked them very much.As mains we had 3 Niku Great taste, sweet broth, amazing noodles and a bit portion of beef shin. However 1 of the bowls had a lot (a lot) of fat.We also ordered the venison broth. While the flavour was good there was almost no deer at all to eat. Just 2 or 3 tiny bit that were so small that could be swallowed even without chewing.

Was on the way bk home decided to get off Bank as I saved this place to visit. The Udon has great bite to it with the Tempura nicely battered and deep fried (it did get slightly soggy) which I expected to come separately. Staff was friendly and greeted us immediately since I guess it wasn't too busy for a Saturday evening. The Green Tea was flavourful and calming indeed 👍

Ordered a hot udon with smoked mackerel and greens. The broth was really good and udon were cooked perfectly. Quick and friendly service. You can even see the chef preparing your meal right in front of you

Lovely restaurant. With lovely noodles udon. I think it is called poke house now.

Customer service:Very welcoming lady, very quick to assist.Food:The food was not exactly what I was expecting. I ordered the curry rice, and I was surprised to find whole uncut vegetables underneath. The sauce was not unbearable but I wouldn't say its worth £11.20. I found the portions to be on the smaller side and were not as filling. The side miso soup was quite salty.Interior:Everything is kept clean and organised. I really appreciated that. Heat lamps are installed in place if you chose to sit outside when it's cold.

TLDR; come here for some proper, authentic udons! A tad expensive but worth it over all. Don’t confuse this with Koya-ko which is a rip off (see my other review)Pretty much the only place in London with some proper, decent udon. These tastes freshly made with just the right amount of chew.We had the Sakana (fish) and the Buta (pork) bowls with a side of the braised pork belly. All of which were delicious in their own way. The Sakana was extremely light, in a good way. The braised pork was simply heavenly with that melt in your mouth feeling.There is a variety of broths and toppings to choose from too. What really makes the menu versatile is the ability to have the udon / soup served hot or cold. This is perfect for all weather and something I appreciated tonight as it was pretty cold!Atmosphere-wise, Koya offers covered outdoor and indoor seating. Both are decorated in neutral tones for a comfortable dining experience. The heaters outdoors made it a pleasant meal despite the cold weather.Slight down side to Koya is that the price is slightly on the expensive side. I have to note that this is already much much better value than their Broadway Market (see my Koya-ko review) branch which takes a street food theme of smaller portions but charging full price.

Nice outside area and clean toilets. Tempura veg for start was lush but worth £9.30? Absolutely not. Mains flavourless and yes, massive prawn but the batter was soggy and mainly in the ‘broth’ (basically just warm water). ‘Poached eggs’ (in the shell) for £2.30… what a joke. Used a whole thing of soy sauce and too much seasoning on the table to make the “broth” taste of something.Wont recommend, definitely won’t come back.

Couldnt give more than 2 stars since the udon was too hard and overall the food was not good. Thought would be bettter than marugame since its more pricey. I gotta give to the breadcrumbs for the tempura because they were good and make sure if you come here only order these because the udon wasnt good. Not recommended for the udon. Marugame has better ones and more worth it!! Not recommended unfortunately from me better go to marugame. Ive tried so many japanese food and this is not for me. Cheers! I hope this helps!

Decent and tasty Udon, tempura was bad though as it was soggy! Would prefer if the Tempura was left out of the bowl to retain the crisp of the batter. Loved the soft boiled Egg, perfectly cooked, creamy and vibrant Yolk!

Set in one of the only areas you’d want to eat in near Bank station, Koya City has an outdoor seating area that consists of benches. We were a group of 11, so we were seated outdoors under the current regulations. Inside there are smaller tables and it is air conditioned very well. When we were there music was low volume but played songs from artists including Robbie Williams, fountains of Wayne and Natasha bedingfield.Everyone was given chopsticks and one napkin each as standard, and they were generous with the cold tap water on a hot day. No extras are on the table - no additional napkins, dipping sauces, or bits that you might expect in a Japanese restaurant.The menu is accessed through QR code and orders are taken at the table by a server. No real detail is given on the menu and googling will not necessarily bring up an accurate picture of food, so best to ask server or look for Google maps location-specific pics.House white is delicious but a bottle of the cheapest wine is £46 which is extremely overpriced for the cheapest bottle.Cold udon noodles come on the side of a simple broth. They are deceptively filling!Katsudon is the best thing in the menu for meat eaters, and the katsu pork is a delicious starter! Miso soup that comes in the side is rich and comes in a container that makes it easy to tackle while you tuck into rice.Definitely an improvement would be some table sauces or toppings to sprinkle on your udon or rice dish.Overall really lovely experience - wouldn’t recommend seating if you have back problems though!