Isomaru Suisan, Ikebukuro 磯丸水産、池袋

A chilly early evening in the sprawling edginess of Ikebukuro and my dining partner and I thought that a warm dinner and cold beer would be better than frozen fingertips.

We headed to the West side of Ikebukuro, having heard that it was not only becoming a little more upmarket, but that it also was home to a decent Pakistani restaurant, Marhaba. In the end we found it after a little wandering, but at 4pm it was still in the midst of preparing for its evening trade.

We considered hanging around nearby, and returning later, but the big, shiny cars parked outside, the huge Pakistani guy blocking the entrance and the high decibel argument coming from within left us thinking that perhaps it might be better to look for a warm table elsewhere. We were in Ikebukuro, after all… 

Cold as it was, walking around aimlessly didn’t seem like much of a cunning plan either. We did come across a Gottsui okonomiyaki-ya though, but that was closed too. Soon enough we noticed the familiar, though at the time yet to be tested, façade of Isomaru Suisan, a chain of Showa-esque fish izakaya under the SFP Group that’s also responsible for Toriyoshi, among other popular chains. I remember seeing Isomaru Suisan in Kichijoji, the sunny, hot afternoon that I enjoyed with Jimmy Dean and Poshand back in the summer. So, why not give it a shot, I thought.

It’s fairly spacious, very simple, extremely faux-Showa/fishing village izakaya in style, being all paper lanterns, branded wooden panels and crates and very, very smoky due to all the tabletop grills. It was also packed. Event at that early hour, it was heaving, hard to place an order, and even more futile to expect the obviously part-time chinless wonders staffing the place to get your order right, if they remembered that you had placed it at all.

Still, the warm, noisy, boisterous atmosphere was fun, and the heat from the grills most certainly welcome. The smoke from the grill eventually became unbearable, and in the end we left with stinging eyes and stank the train out with odour of grilled fish.

Bollocks service, smoke and dining among the proletariat aside, it was okay, in that it was cheap and cheerful. Not that cheap though, at least when it came to beer. It was suitably iced and delicious, but at almost ¥500, it seemed steep when you consider that similar budget izakaya, such as Sakanaya, splash it around at ¥190. Beer aside, the fish, they have other stuff but we didn’t give it a look, was reasonably priced.

The sashimi (maguro and kampachi) was decidedly average, no wait, poor. Most definitely out of the freezer and high in water content. I ended up smearing it in wasabi just to make it interesting. The salmon was small, tasty enough, especially when given a sprinkle of soy sauce. Grilling it was actually more fun than eating it though. Not as much fun, or as time consuming, as grilling the tuna jaw (kama), though. These are huge, looking more like the jaw bone of a cow or something, especially for those who imagine tuna swim the seas in cans. Big, meaty, succulent and with different tastes depending on the darkness of the meat this was worth the effort, smoke, stinking clothes and visit overall.

That’s it. Visit this chain if you need a cheap night out, some fish, and a lesson in patience (see above comment on the service). Enjoyed it all the same though.

Tel: 03-5911-2055