Gyūtarō, Musashi-Koyama 牛太郎、武蔵小山
Monday, January 10, 2011 at 12:18PM | Dave 
The first, last, and so only shinnenkai (new year piss-up party) of 2011 ended up being an intimate affair with Jimmy Dean and Butterfly, surrounded by inebriated old men. We’d decided upon the renowned Gyūtarō, an ancient, decrepit and yet immensely charming “proletarian” izakaya situated a hop and skip away from Musashi-Koyama station, in the opposite direction from the esteemed Honoka.
Jimmy is of the mind that it’s not really an appropriate venue for a first-date; probably true considering the lack of heating, air-conditioning and indoor toilet facilities. I managed to “hold-on” through the duration of our visit, but my dining partners had to make the long, chilly trip out the front door and around the side of the crumbling building to the rickety shack housing the unisex (i.e. the only) toilet.
Simply put, the place has been around since the mid-1950s, is ridiculously cheap (despite three of us consuming a reasonable meal and an inordinate amount of beer and Hoppy-shōchū mixes the bill failed to pass ¥4,000), and the master and wife serve loyal locals with no-nonsense old skool izakaya fare mostly derived from pork offal in a semi-boisterous working-class atmosphere that you’d like to think all izakaya once possessed.
The interior is basic – a large U-shaped counter around the grimy open kitchen with its bubbling cauldron of motsu nikomi, at which perhaps 20 can be seated. Immediately through the front door are low benches to left and right for the use of waiting customers. It’s a bit of a squeeze. The master decides who sits where and happily moves people around mid-meal if need be. Overall, he seems to keep the alcoholics and snaggle-toothed gamblers to the left and the more genteel to the right. The menu, such as it is, is pasted on the walls as strips of paper, browned more the yellowing.
Despite my usual aversion to offal the dishes we tried were actually quite enjoyable. Portions are small, but with dishes ranging from ¥80 – ¥280 a piece once can’t complain and should simply order more. The tomato was instantly forgettable. The nikomi rich tasting, not too chewy and possibly better served with rice. Skewers of motsuyaki provided something to chew on, however, and although the taste was pleasing the dense fibrous texture became too much to bear after a while.
Grilled paprika with mustard was as far as we got in terms of veggies. Vying with the nikomi for “star of the meal” status was the atsu-age (deep-fried tofu topped with spring onion and bonito flakes), which as well as being tasty was also the hottest dish of the day and much needed considering the artic conditions in the place.
Friendly patrons, kind-hearted master, rough and ready décor, atmosphere and cooking all at rock bottom prices. Get there early (they open at 1pm at weekends, 3pm weekdays) to secure a seat. Expect them to close when the food runs out in the early evening.
Tel: 03-3781-2532
Reader Comments (3)
id be happy to move n follow the masters orders where to sit... ;-)
He's a lucky Master then...
oh noooo... dont drink n post..