Nihonkai, Shibuya 日本海、渋谷

Nihonkai, a rather rundown, unloved looking izakaya on Shibuya’s Bunkamura Dori (across the road from whale meant specialist Kujira), probably saw better days, and probably a couple of decades ago.

Accessed by a grubby, graffiti smeared elevator, my dining partners and I were hard pressed not to be lured away by the girly bar in the basement of the building. We had, however, chosen Nihonkai and the promise of plenty of fish for our Friday evening rendezvous.

The interior, seemingly just a worn L-shaped counter and a few tables but actually also comprising a fairly spacious rear room with a raised koagari of equally worn wooden floors, cushions and low, leg-ache inducing tables, was plain, tired-looking, dishevelled, dull. So much so in fact, that my hopes were raised. Perhaps this izakaya would turn out to be a hidden gem of no-frills “traditional” Japanese dining?

Perhaps it was. I’d like to think not, but then again I’m sure plenty of similar places were at one time accepted, filled with compliant, undiscerning customers and enjoyed a steady trade. Nihonkai certainly still seems to be doing just that.

We arrived around 6:30pm; to be welcomed by worried looks from the staff and a disinterested glance from the lone patron slumped at the counter. Strangely, considering the lack of diners/drinkers, by 7pm the staff were already wiping the day’s recommendations off the blackboard, only minutes after suggesting that we try them! Things livened up later on, with several crowds of Japanese and gaijin diners jostling around the tables and settling in for the evening.

Overall, not many “youngsters” in sight, the average age of the clientele being around 35, I’d hazard.

Having realised that using chopsticks, eating fish (yep, even the raw stuff) and utilization of rudimentary beer ordering vocabulary were part of our combined skill-set, the staff eventually warmed up a little, even going so far as to stop pretending not to understand what we said.

As is often the case, once they had realised that our little party was going to order booze in quantities hitherto unknown to mankind even the master, a jolly looking fellow with cracked teeth and a dirty apron, made several appearances. He seemed keen to get rid of his stock of clams... 

To get to the point, Nihonkai is all about cheap, basic izakaya fare and humble surroundings. You make your own fun, while the shop serves up simple recognisable, rough food to wash down with plenty of cheap drinks. Everything on the menu is ¥300 (¥315 including consumption tax), with dishes such as the sashimi moriawase (passable, well, not that bad actually), being calculated (roughly) as a multiple thereof, being as it contains four or five different sashimi.

The otoshi was something fairly foul and instantly forgettable; best swallowed without giving it too much thought. The sashimi, both the moriawase and the hamachi, were reasonable, a little small perhaps but fresher than I’d feared. The clams were extremely gritty. A situation little improved by my colleagues drowning them in Tabasco… Don’t try that one at home! (In Mexico they do it with Tabasco, Limes and Tequila, apparently…)

Chicken karaage, small and oily, but not overly fatty, and enoki mushrooms swimming in butter (arteries clogging with every bite) followed. It soon became abundantly clear that you get what you pay for. Which is to say not a lot.

There was also some broth filled with onions, potato, carrot and chicken. Warming, more or less tasteless and a little on the thin side. The asparagus wrapped in bacon went down well, as did a good-sized plate of tsukune balls on skewers.

A chicken gratin was probably not a good idea in the first place, and a couple of bites left me much the wiser.

The same goes for the steak and salad. Too much fat, and had that weird taste that bad meat sometimes has, when you know it really, really, ought not to. Woe was I!

The squid and mayonnaise went some way to rectifying the situation, although at this point our beer to food ratio was tipping dangerously toward the falling out of our chairs stage, meaning that pretty much anything seemed good at this point.

We still had enough presence of mind to order a salad. Might as well not of bothered though. Some cabbage, cucumber and tomato smothered in egg yolk. Not exactly inspiring.

The whole paltry meal was consumed, barrels of beer were laid waste, and headaches were promised. If you care about food don’t even bother. If you need an easy venue for a down to earth piss-up, you could do worse.

Tel: 03-3476-2512

Comments

[Norio]

I will be happy to have this establishment near us (my standard is low and getting lower), but probably, my wife, will not let me go (because of the quality of the food not the girly bar in the basement, of course.). BTW, did two of you (or may be more people in your group?) eat all the food? Hope, at least, it was cheap.

[Dave]

Uncle N, there were several of us that night. I'm no longer able to eat that much in one sitting!
True, it's easy to judge izakaya, sometimes harshly, when they are within easy reach.
When I was back in the UK, I'd have given my left leg for such a place!