Restaurant Review: Itadaki Zen

Whatever your position on Itadaki Zen, it certainly has one thing no other restaurant in Europe can boast: the title of Europe’s only vegan, all-organic, Japanese restaurant. A diminutive but welcoming space, Itadaki Zen is nestled in the heart of King's Cross.

With a façade straight out of a high street in Feudal Japan, Itadaki Zen lures visitors in with rustic, oriental hemp drapes partitioning off the rooms and authentic Japanese produce for sale on shelves. Perhaps as a long-time nihongophile myself, it was my personal affinity for all things Far Eastern that evoked the genuinely Zen-like calm which descended as I crossed the threshold into the restaurant, but it does, detectably, evince a refreshing and peaceful atmosphere.

With disembodied, tinkling instrumental music radiating softly in the background, old leather menu covers and vintage oriental screens,  Itadaki Zen has enough charm to move the most hard-hearted of food critics. If you’re a sucker for a restaurant with a heart, look no further than Itadaki Zen - with a note in the menu politely reminding visitors not to waste any food and no expense spared to keep all ingredients organic (including the excellent soy sauce), it successfully vindicates its vegan food policy. The restaurant’s ethics are only one side of its story, with substantial evidence that they are an enterprising holistic health project, soothing body, mind and soul with its superfood-rammed menu and medicinal herbal teas.

The service is satisfactory and the variety, for a vegan restaurant, is surprisingly wide and balanced. For an original take on a traditional Japanese dish, the oriental herb sushi is highly recommended.

Perhaps a little too pretentiously New Age for some, Itadaki Zen is not for everyone but for foodies with a conscience and a penchant for gourmet Japanese cuisine or in-the-know Londoners, it is a must-visit venue worth deviating from one’s well-trodden path to visit. As for those with a sense of adventure or a taste for the exotic, it is also well worth a stopover.

Plan your visit on Itadaki Zen’s website.

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Criminal Minds Revamp Genre Classic ‘Baptised by Dub’

Tribe Steppaz have cooked up a re-edited and remixed version of Criminal Minds’ rave classic 'Baptised by Bub', downloadable and streamable on Soundcloud. Hurling ‘Baptised by Dub’ into the 21st century, the release features 2 new remixes and remastered versions of the original & the original remix.

The track is guaranteed to get any party thumping, pounding with 140bpm beats and a modern dub take on the classic Criminal Minds riff and twisting the original vocal samples, dub bass and jungle techno breaks into infectious new shapes.

After taking a short break from their record label, Tribe Steppaz have made the right decision in reviving it with this banging release.

Get it now on their Soundcloud.

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Entail presents Okie Dokie Warehouse Party with Speedy J 18/05/2013

On Saturday 18th May 2013 Okie Dokie meets Speedy J at London Bridge for a pure techno night presented by Entail Records. The Okie Dokie warehouse parties have been gaining a reputation, playing host to the likes of Marc Houle, Matador, Perc, Dominik Eulberg, Sascha Dive, Tobi Neumann, Robert Babicz and many more.

The event will feature a high-calibre lineup of cutting-edge artists. Jochem Paap, aka Speedy J, of warp records, will be topping the bill – a Rotterdam DJ widely considered a pioneering techno producer alongside Laurent Garnier, Aphex Twin and Richie Hawtin. Other standout artists include Chris Stanford of EarToGround fame and Jack & I.

The limited capacity event will sell 600 tickets in advance and more on the door. With a state of the art sound system, live visuals and exceptional music, this is one bash that is sure to sell out fast.

Get your tickets here.

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Sankeys to Close

 The much loved Manchester dance club is set to close next month after managers revealed they are going to focus their efforts on promoting Sankey’s sister club in Ibiza.

The owner of the club David Vincent has announced that the club will close indefinitely. He said: "I have decided to close Sankeys in Manchester indefinitely this summer as I focus my attention on our third year in Ibiza. I want our Ibiza project to be the best club in the world, just like what we have achieved previously in Manchester, as I get the feeling this could be our summer.

“But I need my production and staff from Manchester to come to Ibiza with me to achieve this goal and therefore both clubs cannot be open at the same time. Who knows when we will be back in Manchester, or if we ever will be back, or what comes next in this great city I love.

“I want this current chapter of the club's history to end with a spectacular party, so we are rounding off the May bank holiday with a huge line-up. It's a 12-hour marathon set from 1 PM to 1 AM on Monday [May] 6th, with a stellar cast of names and the Sankeys Manchester residents, in the spirit of our epic 12-hour Tenaglia sessions."

Sankey’s last event will see a number of renowned DJs taking deck duties - Joris Voorn, tINI, Enzo Siragusa and Darius Syrossian are all confirmed to play alongside local residents Jozef K and Us & Them, and Sankeys Ibiza regular Bones. Two additional guests will also be announced closer to the date.

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Amsterdam’s PITCH Festival Boosts its Lineup

 This year’s PITCH has seen a number of dance acts added to its bill, opening it up to a wide range of genres. The Dutch festival has added a host of big names to its lineup, including Julio Bashmore and Dizzee Rascal.

The festival looks set to cater to a wide variety of tastes including grime, dub, house and world music, with club darlings Rustie and Hudson Mohwake bringing their sets to the bill alongside previously announced names such as Disclosure, Trentemøller, JETS and James Blake.

Objekt will also be playing, as will Australian chart topper Flume, jazz master Mulatu Astatke, acclaimed dub outfit Fat Freddy's Drop and Shangaan Electro. Hyperdub affiliates Darkstar will also perform.

This year's event will take place on the weekend of July 5th and 6th in Amsterdam's Cultuurpark.

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Mosca Hits Australia

The UK house DJ has announced he will be playing Australia for the first time in a string of dates starting later this month.

Mosca will be travelling to Australia to play shows in five cities across the country. He will be playing over the ANZAC day weekend, Australia’s national remembrance celebration.

The Australian tour will kick off with a show alongside dance titans Eats Everything, trap sensation Baauer and ShockOne on April 24th at The Bakery in Perth.

The following day, the Bad Apple crew will host an all day event at the Abercrombie Hotel from 1 PM with an extensive bill that includes James Cotterill and locals Garry Todd, Preacha and Kali.

On April 26th Mosca plays a set at Sugar, followed by an appearance at Melbourne's Revolver Upstairs on the 27th for the Too Much 4th Birthday.

His final gig will be in Brisbane on April 28th for a Kush Club boat party which departs Ferry Terminal 1, South Bank, at midday.

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Disclosure Announce Debut Album

The South London brothers have announced the release date of their debut album Settle.

Disclosure’s first full length album will be released by PMR Records on June 3. PMR is responsible for the house duo’s singles "Latch" and "White Noise" which had huge success in the UK singles
chart. The label is also affiliated with other popular British acts like Julio Bashmore and Jessie Ware.

The single "You & Me” will be released before the full album, to give fans a taste of what Settle has in store. On April 19, the track will be premiered by Annie Mac on her BBC Radio 1 and will be officially released on April 28th. The full tracklisting for the album is yet to be revealed.

Read more at the Guestlist Network