Date night in Catford: Sapporo Ichiban and Kaspas Dessert Bar, Catford

Chicken gyoza

Last summer when I was coming home from an Assembly League race, the crowds spilling out of Kaspas in Catford caught my eye. Where could be so pumping on a Thursday night in Catford that there were queues out of the door?

A little bit of research and I discovered that it was a dessert bar / ice cream parlour. I joked with Becks that we should go on a date night to Catford and have a Nando's over the road before we hit up the dessert bar. Six months later and the jokes had turned into reality, it was time for date night in Catford!

I met Becks at Catford Brdige station and as we were walking towards Nando's, Sapporo Ichiban caught our eye. I had a vague memory of hearing there was a good Japanese near Catford station so we decided to go in. It wouldn't be a real South London date night without the chicken shop, but we were prepared to live on the edge....

Sushi platter

I've got mixed feelings about dinner at Sapporo Ichiban. The food was all really enjoyable and tasted fresh. The chicken gyoza came served steaming hot. The freshly rolled soft shell crab, asparagus tempura and tofu sushi rolls all came with fillings that had obviously been cooked to order. The salmon and avocado rolls were good too.

However, the service really let the place down. All of the staff were very friendly, but it was hard to attract their attention. Front of house seemed to be be organised chaos and at the end of the night we got the wrong bill because the person who took our order had written the wrong table number down. The kitchen didn't seem much better with our sushi rolls taking nearly an hour to arrive. I was still hungry when we finished, but didn't dare order any more as I wouldn't have been able to stand the wait.

I don't think their problems are anything an experienced restaurant manager couldn't fix very quickly, they just need to find one. I'd happily go back for the food, but it could be a frustrating experience service wise.

The bill came to a very reasonable £28 including drinks. Being very British we still gave a small tip, although I don't know why.

Inside Kaspas!

And then it was onto Kaspas! The place is bling with sparkly lights, pink high back chairs, a pink metallic wallpaper type arrangement and a Disney movie being projected onto the wall! The crowd was an eclectic mix of families with young kids, teenagers and couples on dates.

I went for the M&M waffle with vanilla ice cream on the side. The waffles were lighter and less greasy compared to some that you get, but didn't have a lot of flavour. I was quite surprised that the ice cream was of the soft serve variety as they also advertise their wide range of gelato.

I also ordered an extra scoop of lemon sorbet which came served in a separate glass. The sorbet had a very sharp taste of lemon and helped cut through the richness of the waffle. I enjoyed the sorbet and it made me think that their range of gelati might be pretty good.

The bill came to under £14 for two waffles, the lemon sorbet and a tea. Again great value.

M&M waffle

Date night in Catford. It certainly was an experience!

Sapporo Ichiban
13 Catford Broadway
London
SE6 4SP

Kaspas

97 Rushney Green

Catford

SE6 4AF