Tamoiyanse, Shinsen たもいやんせ、神泉

Tucked away in hard to find corner of Shinsen, one stop from Shibuya on the Inokashira line, Tamoiyanse is a splendid little izakaya specializing in the cuisine and shōchū of southern Kyūshū some eight minutes map-assisted walk from the southern exit of the station. Actually, even a map was of little help, and only after two phone calls to the politely patient staff of the izakaya did we eventually find the place. Hot and hungry, we were amply compensated for our expedition once we finally arrived.

Outside the entrance, which itself is tucked away on a corner of the building in which Tamoiyanse occupies the ground floor, hanging from a solid wooden frame is an impressive navy blue noren (shop sign) bearing the name of the izakaya written in bold white hiragana. Once inside, we found a simple stone floored genkan (entrance hall) complete with small table and chairs. Walking along the short corridor, past a couple of small koshitsu (private rooms), we were greeted by a friendly bandana-wearing young man who upon congratulating us on finding the place led us to a seat at the large dog-leg counter which dominates the main room. Before the counter is a semi-open kitchen, and behind us the fairly spacious room consisted of polished wooden floors, low tables and floor level seating. One wall is covered in a handwritten shōchū menu, the name of each written in bold black kanji upon strips of white paper, another covered in bamboo-wicker matting is decorated with a lantern, Japanese mask and happii coat. Elsewhere, simple light coloured stucco walls are framed with dark wood. On the whole the décor is basic, unfussy and comfortable. More brightly lit than many izakaya are apt to be, the atmosphere is warm and friendly. Probably an excellent choice for a cold winter night. Despite being a Friday evening, at 7.45pm the place was not overly busy, although by 8.30pm it was packed. Customers were an interesting mix of salarymen, gaijin, students, and lots of women.

Hot towels, menus and an o-toshi of three tsubugai (whelk) were delivered, and our drink orders taken. I settled on beer while my dining partner chose a glass of rose that was quite reasonably priced. We then spent a long time marvelling at the menu. The recommendations of the day written in black characters on a white page with orange accents, a style seen all over Tokyo in recent years, offered a wide range of interesting dishes that seemed somewhat different from the usual izakaya fare. The rest of menu consisted of page upon page of dishes, and a listing of around eighty different shōchū, from Miyazaki and Kagoshima Prefectures, which when combined with those displayed on the wall totalled around one-hundred. Only one sake, Garaku, is available. Being neither well versed in the ways of shōchū or a big fan of the drink I nevertheless decided to sample some of them, rather than keeping to my usual beer and sake. Aside from the shōchū several wines, red and white, as well as plum wine are available by the glass or bottle.

Perhaps concerned that we were taking over long in ordering, a friendly, straight talking middle-aged woman, who seemed to be the head of the waiting staff, appeared at our side to explain the menu and offer her recommendations. Following her advice we chose the gyū no tataki, small thin slices of rare lightly marbled Miyazaki beef dipped in ponzu sauce and grated garlic before wrapping the beef around slices of raw onion. Thoroughly tender and delicious my only complaint is that the dish was a little on the small side. Keen to try some shōchū, I explained that I’m not particularly keen on very strong tasting varieties with overpowering fumes, and was advised to try the Obisugi from Miyazaki Prefecture. Served on the rocks, it turned out to be a very mild drink. Perhaps a little too mild. Highly drinkable all the same, I felt assured that I could enjoy several without passing out.

Caught up in the warm atmosphere and feeling thoroughly at home we did not at first realize how slow our food was in arriving. After sometime, however, it became a little annoying and yet from what we could see being served all around us the quality of the food seemed to justify the time taken in preparation and delivery. Another shōchū, this time the Hibari, from Miyazaki was excellent although right on the edge of my strength threshold. With each sip I could feel the alcohol working its magic. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I at least wanted to eat some more before falling off my chair.

Eventually the yasai sumi-yaki, charcoal-grilled vegetables, arrived. A wonderful assortment of chunky zukini (courgette), imo (sweet potato), kabocha (pumpkin), erengi mushrooms, baked onion and green peppers. All were simply gorgeous. Lightly cooked so as to retain their flavour and texture, each was dipped in salt. The baked onion, soft and fleshy, was the best I’ve had outside of Kyoto’s Negiya. As we finished off the last of the vegetables an oshinkō-moriawase (assorted pickles) arrived, over an hour after we had ordered it! It was however worth the wait. Fresh, crunchy pickled radish, carrot, burdock, rakkyō (pickled scallion), cucumber and leaf mustard. Overall it was a good-sized dish with a nice range of flavours.

Inspired by the choices of those around us we next had the momoyaki no ninniku, charcoal-grilled chicken cut off the bone in juicy morsels accompanied by garlic and long quarters of cucumber. To be honest, I found the charcoal taste to be a little overpowering, and the chicken itself a bit on the chewy side. My dining partner, on the other hand, enjoyed it immensely. Such concerns aside, it was certainly a huge portion and excellent value for money. I washed the chicken down with the Yakonoshimodai-Shizenrin, a shōchū from Satsuma, which in all honestly was too strong for my liking. In order to remain sober I then tucked into an enormous dish of chiken namban, four large succulent portions of chicken breast fried with the skin left on, covered in sickly tarutaru sauce and served with a pile of lettuce and chopped tomato. Although filling, and initially very tasty, I soon found this particular dish to be too oily. We finished of the meal with a large slice of chocolate cake, light and not too sweet but perhaps a bit dry.

In all Tamoiyanse is an excellent izakaya, providing relaxed, comfortable surroundings, an awesome range of shōchū, interesting food and great service. The delivery is slow, but I’d put this down to care being taken in the cooking of each dish and, perhaps, the menu offering too many different dishes. Nevertheless, we felt very much at home and spent a thoroughly enjoyable evening at this easily recommendable establishment. Prices are reasonable, although in the mid-range, with our meal coming to a little over ¥6,000 per person. I’ll certainly being going back for more.

Tel: 03-3461-4333

Web: http://tamoiyanse.com/top/index.htm