Roll Papa

This place is really, really good.
They serve cheap, delicious Korean and Japanese food:
— I think in the day time they have lots of sushi… but there is never much left by the time I have arrived in the evening.
— The pumpkin croquette curry is soooo good. If you take it away, they serve the curry in a separate pot so the croquette or katsu doesn’t get soggy on the way home. The katsu udon is also really tasty.
— Last night we ordered katsu curry, katsu udon and gyoza… and it all came to £13! Bargainous.
— Apparently from next month they’ll be able to deliver
— There are just a few seats… so you might not be able to sit in the restaurant. It seems like it is designed more for takeaway.
The Japanese options aren’t the most authentic, but they are really tasty and excellent value… so I am definitely a fan.
The chef is Korean, so I really need to go back and try more of the bibimbap!

Excellent Japanese takeout! Food always tastes fresh. Love that you can get brown rice too. Really great addition to the Holloway Rd!

Great little place on Holloway Road, serving great tasting food at very reasonable prices.
I’ve been there now a couple of times, tried different dishes, and food was always delicious. My personal favourite is the chicken katsu curry!
Straight forward, tasty Asian food — what else can you ask for!?!

Another new place on Holloway Road! I had never imagined this part of town to be a foodie haven (I moved here for other reasons), but that’s definitely the way it seems to be heading. I’m starting to wonder if, in these straitened times, the Highbury crowd have started venturing into more northerly wildernesses in search of cheaper eats. Certainly very few places in the area stray above the £5−7 range for main courses, and Rollpapa is no exception.
And excellent value it is too! A takeaway pot of chicken katsu curry for £4.90 was tasty and substantial. I particularly liked the touch of providing a daikon pickle, cherry tomato and a little salad with mango dressing on top of the already generous helping of chicken, well spiced curry sauce, and rice. The sushi, sampled via a small set of salmon, seafood stick and avocado california rolls was fresh and good quality, and very reasonably priced at £2.50.
The shop itself is fairly small, but has three four-​person tables with high chairs, and seems like it would be a perfectly comfortable place to sit in. The basic model for this place seems to be Wasabi, with the option of either a hot option or sushi, or a mix of both, and a similar set of prices. However Rollpapa offers a considerably more interesting range of hot food, which also seem freshly prepared, rather than sitting around in those canteen-​style hot trays. There is relatively less choice of sushi, but this may well be a pragmatic decision to avoid wastage while the business is still getting up and running. I suspect that this will change over time.

As many know sushi is my Kryptonite. I’m still learning the ins and outs of it but I think I can tell good from bad and my Temaki from my Nigiri.
The one thing that supersedes much of that is my capacity for laziness! To my gleeful pleasure this place opened a few weeks ago next to my home. They serve above average sushi for below average prices. Being opposite the Met university, near Arsenal FC and with most dishes being under £6 this is never going to challenge the food in places like SushiSamba, Shiori or even my personal favourite Atari Ya but the convenience, price, and service earn it the extra star.
The owner Eddie is Korean and works with his father and sister in the shop. They are developing more and more interesting menu choices including Korean favourites such as Bulgogi. He seems to genuinely want to serve the serve the needs of the local tastes but also keep the quality.
I shall certainly be returning, lets face it, it feeds my laziness…