After the huge success of Hello Kitty pop up afternoon tea at Cutter and Squidge, Hello Kitty decided to make another appearance in London this time at Tombo Fitzrovia.

Tombo is London’s first authentic  Japanese café Poke and Matcha bar so the collaboration with (dare I say, one of the best things to come out of Japan) Hello Kitty seemed a perfect fit.  Their matcha bar offers an extensive menu of ceremonial drinks and green tea infused desserts and soft serve whilst their other speciality Poke is a Hawaiian style sushi bowl with Japanese influence of raw fish and fresh Japanese  ingredients.  I was eager in not only trying their traditional menu but also excited to see how they would feature Hello Kitty in their pop up café.

As you come in to the café you can see they’ve completely embraced the Hello Kitty theme, from changing the window display to having cute little Hello Kitty treats on their shop counter.  As you walk through to the back part of the restaurant it has a very minimalist and spacious feel with Hello Kitty posters framed on the walls.

I ordered the Salmon Hello Kitty Poke.  Now I admit there might be something dark about wanting to devour a bowl of sushi rice served in the guise of a cute little kitten but I’ve always been a fan of bento art and love how imaginative they can be with their creations.  Bento art originates from when parents used to artfully arrange their children’s pack lunch boxes (bento) to get children excited about eating their lunch.  I’d like to add it’s now an art form that appeals to adults as well..

How cute is this Hello Kitty Poke?  I especially love how they’ve sculpted little Hello Kitty faces on the carrots and other vegetables.  After a couple of dozen shots of the bowl I sat down to eat.  My sister at this point who ordered something off the Hello Kitty menu (perhaps wisely as it would mean I was disinterested in taking photos and she could actually eat her food) had already finished.  I was worried the poke was just going to be a big bowl of rice and some salad but it was really delicious.  There was a  generous portion of salmon and most of it under the rice along with the sauces and veg.  Basically it was deconstructed sushi so you can’t really go wrong.

For drinks we ordered the Matcha frappe Milkshake and for dessert the the matcha berry sundae.  At first I assumed it might be green tea overload but the flavours did not over power the drinks of dessert.  The service was really fast, I remember the food came as soon as we ordered and they gave a matcha biscuit with the bill which was a nice touch.

As you left the restaurant there was a whole wall dedicated just to Hello Kitty souvenir from teas to totes.  When we visited the café did not serve halal food but since they do now serve Halal chicken. Yay.