Kyushu ryori is a favourite. The combination of the usual subtle Japanese flavours with stronger ones makes for nice change now and then. The chance for some horsemeat should never be missed either.

Denbe Kura, an izakaya specialising in the cuisine of Kyushu surrounded by love hotels and Indian restaurants just a couple of minutes from the west exit of Ebisu station, provides a pleasant atmosphere, good food and slow service. The basashi, while being far superior to that on offer at Nakano’s Tabaruzaka, is not quite of the same standard as that at Bakuro, another splendid izakaya in Ebisu specialising in horsemeat.

Overall, Denbe Kura is far better than its surroundings might suggest. The interior is suitably dark and intimate, heavy wooden beams and equally solid looking rough-hewn tables dominate the dining area, while along the left of the space a long polished counter lined with colourful shochu bottles looks on to the open kitchen. Another feature of the counter are the little dishes bearing a rabbit motif set into the concrete below the counter shelf. Cute.

My dining partner and I arrived just before 7:45pm, without a reservation, and managed to secure a place at the counter. By 8pm, people were being turned away at the door. The crowd was fairly lively, trending toward those in their middle age rather than a younger cohort. The service, although polite, was painfully slow, especially in terms of the delivery of drinks. At least twice the staff forgot my order entirely. Despite this, all was not lost as the food went a good way to making up for the tardiness of the service.

Enjoying the long-awaited beer, the meal itself kicked off with an o-toshi of ganumo doki, fried tofu with pickled aubergine. Small, tasty, but perhaps a little plain, as fried tofu is wont to be. The menu is generally quite interesting, with plenty of Kyushu favourites to be had. Shochu also takes centre stage, and being that I know nothing about it, except that it makes my head hurt, I relied on the waiting staffs’ recommendations. First of all I had the Umi, which was described as being “easy to drink and not rough.” It came, after what seemed like an eternity, in a luscious looking blue bottle. Served on the rocks, it was certainly refreshing, and indeed was actually quite drinkable.

I couldn’t resist the Kyushu meibutsu moriawase (selection of Kyushu specialities), which turned out to be a large plate of assorted Satsuma-age – takanazuke, karashi renkon, mentaiko, kininabo and tsukiami – tastefully arranged. The karashi renkon was excellent, being perfectly crunchy and the mustard very hot. The mentaiko was of course hateful, although the kibinabo (little fish on skewers) were wonderfully chewy and flavoursome. In all, this was a nice dish, it certainly looked nice, although I would have been happier if there had been a bit more of it.

The basashi was good. Opting for the akami, it turned out be a gorgeous deep red, cut in thick, succulent slices served with the usual sliced daikon, ginger, shiso leaves and spring onion. Some of the best basashi I’ve had in Tokyo at any rate, although I would have liked it to be served with garlic. It’s always a good idea to be “healthy,” when indulging in izakaya, so in order to tick that particular box a salad seemed in order. A very simple, dynamic (i.e. big and chunky) affair, it was nothing more than tofu, tomato and lettuce smothered in goma (sesame) dressing. Hardly exciting, but it tasted good all the same.

Some rather non-descript shochu, the Tanabata, left me no choice but to try another, the Satsuma Ogojo, which was stronger tasting, a little too much so, and resulted in my returning to beer and the promise of a splitting headache the following morning.

Returning to the menu, we decided on some Kyushu gameni, basically a selection of somewhat uninspiring nimono (simmered foods) – carrot, renkon, gobo, imo and chicken – in a tasty broth. Again, this was little on the small side, and the chicken was very, very bland. Finally, some sui-gyoza in a misty-white tonkotsu (pork) soup riddled with onion and leaks. This was great, and again left me wanting more.

Denbe Kura is a pleasant enough izakaya, and worth the visit. The food is a little hit and miss, but generally pleasing. The basashi stood out in particular. For those who like to drink, in can be a little pricey. The service is painfully slow, but the atmosphere makes up for it. Will visit again.

Tel: 03-3711-7100 

Hanbei is Disneyland. Or at least, probably what Disneyland would do if they had a Showa-land “attraction,” only without the endless queues of people having “fun.”

My esteemed colleague, the very same who introduced me to the delights of Lad’s Dining, recommended Hanbei (funny, I assume it’s the close proximity of Lad’s Bunny Bar that led him to stumble upon Hanbei…) as it was cheap, fun and “old-style.” And so it is.

Situated behind and to the right of Mark City, not far from the Keio Inokashira line entrance and that famous yakitori place that always has smoke billowing from it, it’s fairly easy to find thanks to the old yellow backlit street sign at the top of the stairs leading down to this basement izakaya. Prices and food are basement too.

The interior is jam packed with old posters – film, TV, consumer products etc. – and nice old metal (tin?) advertising plates for soft drinks, medicines and stores. Showa era toys and robots adorn the place here and there while all the while once-famous songs (rather military sounding at times) fill the air. It’s colourful and actually rather entertaining.

Clientele-wise, there’s a good mix of young couples, students, giggly semi-legal girls and chain smoking salarymen. Thus, it’s also pretty lively most of the time, but in a fun, “don’t need to care about those around you” way. The service can be good if you get the floor staff, and a little slow and surly if you request anything from the kitchen staff populating the semi-open kitchen that dominates the room.

As I said, it’s cheap. Very cheap. Certainly not as expensive as this place. While this is great as far as beer, kaku-highball and Hoppi goes, it has a decidedly negative impact on the food.

Put simply, the “cuisine” on offer is miniscule, and of a lesser quality than that served up at holes such as Watami. The o-shinko moriawase usually provides a limp selection of cucumber, red cabbage, takuan and/or daikon, three pieces of each if you are a party of three, and four if you’re a party of… The octopus tempura wasn’t that bad, sure it’s oily and limp, but also strangely compelling after a dozen drinks or so. The chicken karaage come with a sparkler and tiny cocktail Hinomaru Japanese flag thrust in them. Need I say more?

The okonomiyaki, which cost around ¥300 is resoundingly poor. I regret to announce that this sorry affair turned out to be my esteemed colleague’s introduction to the dish. Same goes for the yakisoba too. Really, really bad. The kushi and yakitori are also very small, but then they cost no more than a ¥100 a stick. Probably the best I’ve had over several visits (I’m glutton for punishment, okay) were the onigiri. But then, how easy can it be to utterly ruin those?

Okay, the food is rough, and it’s Showa-land, but the drinks are cheap and on both visits I’ve laughed until I cried, thanks to my dining partners. For a cheap drink, with some gut-lining nibbles it’ll do. Just.

Tel: 03-3464-0775