Coco Ichibanya, London

Christmas came early for fans of Japanese curries, as Coco Ichibanya opened its first London branch. Japan’s biggest curry house chain has 1,777 restaurants in Japan, more than 150 across the rest of Asia and eight in the US, but the Leicester Square branch is the first spot in Europe where foodies can tuck into the comfort food dishes that are reaping success across Japan.

Coco Ichi, as the chain is nicknamed by curry aficionados, is a specialist in kare raisu, or curry rice dishes. UK foodies are likely to be familiar with chicken katsu curry, the dish with panko breadcrumbed chicken, but Coco Ichibanya brings more to the table. Customers with more conservative tastes can top their curry with traditional crispy chicken or vegetables, while the more adventurous topping options include scrambled egg, squid, hamburgers(!), and natto – the fermented soy beans that are as divisive as Marmite.

Coco Ichibanya lets customers fine-tune their desired dish to match their tastes exactly: in addition to toppings, you can determine the spiciness and sweetness of your chosen curry, as well as choose the size of the rice portion – 300g is the standard, but the hungry among us can go up to half a kilo.

The doors to the curry wonderland opened to the public on 12 December 2018. Be prepared to extend your lunch break if you're hoping to bag a table; the queues are testament to the popularity of kare raisu.