Monograph ::: A Japanese Supperclub that serving Udon Noodles

Monograph is a Japanese Supperclub that's has been getting rave reviews ever since it first launched. The chef behind it is Ugo Lo Presti, a self-taught udon connoisseur – who used to run a sushi restaurant in Italy. He moved to London a year ago and launched Monograph to showcase Japanese cuisine and in particular Udon noodles. Despite the explosion of ramen joints that have opened up in London, there are very few places you can get a great bowl of udon noodles.

Monograph is one those places.  

The design aesthetic is minimalist, the flavours are clean and fresh and the focus is on celebrating the ingredients. Every dish we had was executed flawlessly.

Like the thick strands of silky-smooth udon noodles served in a hot dashi broth full of flavour. How can I describe that broth: it was warm, comforting with the slightest hint of sweetness and a touch of acidity from the lemon slice.

Two types of fish were served with the udon. The first was a Saikyo-miso marinated Salmon that was simply amazing. It was creamy and silky having been cooked after marinating for 24 hours in white miso, mirin and sugar. The second was a vibrant smoked Mackerel marinated in yuzu and soy sauce.  All the fish he served were ethically sourced.

It was impressive how well-balanced the whole dish was and though I did try, I couldn’t finish all the broth and noodles. You definitely need to come hungry for this!

Before the udon was served, we had started with a light fresh salad of watercress, katsuobushi (smoked fish flakes), ponzu dressing and the most gorgeous soft tofu.

Dessert was a lovely trio of Japanese sweets: a lovely little chocolate mochi ice-cream; a glutinous rice cake filled with sweet red bean paste (Aka daifuku), which was a bit odd in texture. And finally an amazing Doayaki – a Japanese pancake with green tea matcha custard.

So Monograph runs practically every Friday at 7pm either at a café in Old Street or in an old cinema house in Dalston and the menu varies from month to month depending on theseasonality of some ingredients but follows the same 3 course format of a salad, bowl of udon  and dessert. 

Best to come with a group of friends or bring a date, its great value for money since you pay £29 online for tickets and it’s BYOB – so you bring your wine or beer and there’s fridge to pop your drinks to have it chilled up. You leave feeling completely full and content, having experienced a taste of Japan.

The Monograph team

To find out the next supperclub dates, check out the website: 

www.monographlondon.com/

or follow 

@monographlondon on twitter/instagram

P.S. I was neither asked nor paid to write this review. I paid for my ticket and wrote this glowing review out of my own free will!