En, Kichijōji えん、吉祥寺

I can’t claim to have tried many of the En chain of izakaya, scattered across greater Tokyo and as far as Yokohama and Chiba, but its Kichijōji iteration has long remained one of my favourite destinations. Situated just a couple minutes away from the station’s North exit, over the years the service, atmosphere, food and drink have remained consistently good, enabling me to recommend this particular izakaya without hesitation. Whether for a cozy night out for two or a group dinner party, En provides an enjoyable dining experience.

Despite having tried the Shinjuku, Shibuya and Marunouchi branches of En, I always find myself returning to the one in Kichijōji. Something about the atmosphere of the town adds to the feel of the izakaya itself, perhaps. From the understated street level entrance and stairs up to the genkan of polished wood and shoe lockers, the cordial welcome and two levels of cozy low-lit, shadowy tatami-floored dining areas beautifully incorporating dark wooden lattices, shōji screens, sliding fusuma doors and private koshitsu rooms, everything about En’s décor and the ambience it creates suggest a distinctively Japanese style. Many are the izakaya that attempt to create this look, but few are those that manage it so successfully. En successfully fuses traditional and contemporary Japanese style without being either pretentious or Disneyesque. 

Unsurprisingly, En is extremely popular. Busy almost every night, turning up without a reservation after 7.30pm usually results in a long wait or being turned away. Booking in advance, especially on Friday and Saturday nights, results in a two-hour limitation being imposed upon your visit. It’s best to arrive early, secure a table and then settle in for a leisurely meal. As well as the splendid interior decoration the clientele also adds to atmosphere. Generally free of students and the twenty-something set, patrons are usually in the thirty-plus, somewhat more well-healed demographic, resulting in a convivial air of conversation without becoming too raucous.

On this particular visit we arrived, without a reservation, at 6.15pm on a busy Saturday. Informing the master of the house that a friend would be joining us at 7pm we were welcomed, assured that there would be no time limit on our visit, and after depositing our shoes in the lockers were led past the lower floor dining area with its open kitchen, counter and semi-private “ante-chamber” up the two flights of broad wooden stairs. Entering the upper level, consisting of several private rooms and a large “party” table off to the right and separated by a gleaming corridor of polished wood and a small Japanese garden from the spacious 27 mat room in which we were to spend the evening, we were shown to our table.

Settling down on our cushions at a table to the rear of the room, behind which was another large private room with resplendent gilded-looking fusuma doors left half open, on our left along the entire length of the room a glass wall looked onto the small garden of rocks, pebbles, foliage and a bamboo fountain lazily dripping water into a stone basin. The room itself contained seven low tables each of which could comfortably accommodate four diners, six at a push. Each table has a leg-well set into the floor, meaning that although one sits upon a cushion on the tatami mats there is no need to endure cramped legs. About two-thirds along the length of the room it is divided by a tasteful lattice of dark wood. On the right, the stucco wall is adorned with washi (Japanese paper) covered lights providing a diffuse combination of pale yellow and orange glows amidst the shadows.

Ordering drinks – Yebisu beer and a lime sour – we perused the nicely designed menu; complete with monthly and seasonal specials and of course the recommendations of the day. An English menu, somewhat less well presented, is also available. However some of the translations are so literal, for example a dish of “cow’s guts”, as to be decidedly unappetizing. In terms of food and drink, a good selection of fish, meat, poultry, vegetable and tōfu dishes are on offer, as well as a wide variety of drinks ranging from beer, wine and cocktails to shōchu and sake. Our drinks arrived with a simple o-toshi of kinu-dōfu, a simple appetizer of cold tōfu in a soy sauce and dashi (stock) sauce topped with shredded bonito flakes. Hardly original, but adequate all the same.

Wanting to take our time in ordering while awaiting the arrival of our companion we nibbled on an oshinko moriawase of pickled gobō (burdock), nasu (aubergine), kyūri (cucumber), cabbage and shibazuke kyūri. Overall this selection of pickles was tasty, with the strong tasting crunchy gobō standing out and the fleshly slightly sour aubergine also being worthy of note. The kyūri was too salty for my taste and the cabbage caught the back of the throat. The portion was of a reasonable size and all the pickles were fresh, with not a daikon (radish) in sight for a change! This was followed by the kinpira celery; a warm dish of slightly spicy, tangy celery fried in sesame oil and soy sauce with sliced red chili peppers and topped with sesame seeds.

By 7pm the izakaya was packed, the waiters and waitresses bustling about carrying trays laden with food and drink and the conversation and sounds of laughter increasing. As is often the case at En, it seemed that most of the diners were also of a mind to make a long evening of it. With our companion now arrived we could commence the meal proper.

Foregoing the always-excellent En salad, I couldn’t resist another favourite, the cabbage and miso salad. This deceptively simple arrangement of half a raw cabbage on a huge bed of ice surrounded by six little cups filled with a variety of miso pastes is truly delicious and entertaining. Each cup of miso has a thin wooden name badge in it allowing those that can read Japanese to know what it is they are tasting. Simply tear off a layer of cabbage and then dip it into your miso of choice. My favourite, the black goma (sesame) miso, is almost dangerously addictive. Others include the peanut miso, slightly bitter kinome leaf miso, citrus miso and spicy kara-miso. Although in recent years the raw cabbage salad has become a mainstay of izakaya, this particular take on the idea is one of the best I have yet come across.

I never feel that an izakaya meal is complete without some sashimi, and as such we decided on the santen moriawase (assortment of three different fish) which on this particular evening comprised of hirame (sole), awabi (abalone) and aji (jack). All were fresh and succulent apart from the awabi which was a little bland and erred on the rubbery side. The hirame was quite excellent. The slices of fish themselves were served upon a large bed of ice piled high with a hermit crab shell, shredded daikon and shiso (perilla) leaves. To the edge of the arrangement two small heaps of wasabi and grated ginger nestled beside a piece of fresh wasabi resting upon a delicate little wasabi grater. Yellow kiku (chrysanthemum) petals added colour. En’s sashimi never disappoints, although I often wish it were a little larger. That said, bigger selections are available. Although we neglected to order it, the California roll is also well worth trying, despite having become less sizable in recent years.

High time for some sake I decided to begin with Bunraku, a cheap, drinkable sake from Saitama prefecture which according to the menu is good hot or cold, but ended up being a little too sweet to my mind. En’s sake, when ordered in the basic ichi-go size, always comes served in a dainty little glass tokuri with equally dainty glass choko (sake cups). Although not an outstanding flavour, at almost half the price of some of the better sake on the menu the Bunraku is not a bad idea for those with a thirst. Taking advantage of my sake-induced lull in vigilance, my dining partners swiftly ordered a sawawa guratan (gratin of fish and erengi mushrooms in white sauce) served in a small iron skillet. To be fair it was not a bad dish, although the fish was perilously boney. The erengi was good and the white sauce pleasant enough. Such concessions aside I remained, as usual, rather uninspired by the gratin. This was followed by some danshaku imo (baron potatoes) fried in big chunky wedges, that even a British pub would be proud of, lightly sprinkled in salt and herbs with a pile of seven spices into which to dip them. Delicious.

Kaiun, a sake hailing from Shizuoka prefecture, was fruity, sweet tasting and markedly better than the Bunraku. So much better in fact that it lasted but a few minutes and I found myself forced to consider my next drink. Desiring a change, and intrigued by the name I opted for Hakkaisan shōchu, Hakkaisan being more usually associated with sake. In fact the taste of this shōchu was reminiscent of the sake of the same name, and as its vapour and flavour were not too overpowering it was extremely drinkable, especially when served on-the-rocks.

By 9pm most had eaten their fill and the atmosphere simmered down to a lovely post-meal tone of noticeably calm conversation and a constant stream of drinks being ordered all around. Still desiring one last morsel, and being desirous of something’s flesh, I finished off the meal with some pork, the yamato buta no miso kasu yaki. A simple dish of sliced succulent pork fried in miso topped with moist grated daikon and hot yellow mustard. Perfect. Suitably full, we then spent the rest of the evening indulging in several glasses of strong tasting Okinawan Kokutō shōchu made from brown sugar. A potent drink, I found it best mixed with a little water (mizu-wari) and ice.

Excellent service, tasteful surroundings, a wonderfully relaxed atmosphere, good food and plenty of interesting drinks to choose from and all at a reasonable price. Indeed, En always seems to cost less than you assume it ought to. Kichijōji has plenty of excellent izakaya, and yet En never fails to please.

Tel: 0422-29-0309 

Web: http://www.byo.co.jp/