The bright interiors of Hiden on Stroud Green Road
What do we need to know about Hiden?
This Japanese restaurant began with a shop in Coal Drops Yard which they opened back in 2020. As that was a pretty small space, with no inside seating, chef Hideaki Yoshiyama focused on doing one main dish very well - Japanese curry. Their menu offered three iterations of that curry - beef, vegan and mild chicken.
Last year they briefly flirted with a space in Camden's Buck Street market, but now they've arrived in Finsbury Park with their first full-sized restaurant. This is what they're describing as a diner-style eatery and as such it's allowed them to dramatically expand their menu.
Where exactly is the new place?
You'll find it on Stroud Green Road, just a few minutes walk from Finsbury Park station.
So there's loads more on the menu?
Absolutely - in addition to the signature Japanese curries, new chef Hiroki Uda, the protégé of chef Hideyaki, is now offering a range of dishes befitting their new all-day status.
If you're popping here in the morning there's a range of pastries and cakes on offer along with coffees, Japanese teas, and matcha and houji lattes. Options include cinnamon rolls and croissants and they've also roped in East London Japanese bakery Kichiya to supply specific bakes.
Japanese bakery items on sale at Hiden
For lunch and dinner, the menu expands still further with donburi rice bowls joining the mix, tofu salads and more. Here's what we had:
Chicken curry with rice (£10.90) - in the original Hiden you could add an egg or extra pickles to your curry. Here those options have been broadened - so you can add in cheese, corn, tofu, fried onion, katsu and gyu-sara to the dish. We opted for a double chicken lunch with an extra topping of kara-age (£3 for three pieces).
Perhaps the most exciting addition to the menu here is the introduction of the croissando - it's exactly what you'd think it is, a croissant sando with three choices of filling - katsu, katsu curry or vegan curry and vegan cheese.
Hiden chicken katsu croissando (£7.50) - with homemade tartare sauce and Japanese brown sauce. It's potentially the most exciting new sandwich for Londoners to try this year and we loved it.
Room for dessert?
At this point, you can return to the pastry counter for inspiration. Here's what we went for.
Matcha canele (£3.30)
And to drink?
With the new premises comes a new alcohol licence and a short but sweet range of sustainable and organic wines. They also do Asahi and Kernel beer and cans of Ozeki one cup sake, alongside a range of soft drinks.
Overall thoughts
We've long been fans of Hiden so to see them find a space that gives them room to grow their menu while retaining the signature dishes that made their name is a good thing in our books. It's a promising addition to the area.
More about Hiden
Where is it? 53 Stroud Green Road, London N4 3EF
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @hidencurry
Subscribe to be the first to get the news from Hot Dinners
