Sakana no Daidokoro Oriental, Motosumiyoshi 元住吉

One of two (the other being in Musashikosugi) seafood-centric izakaya, Sakana no Daidokoro Oriental is a superb dining experience – providing you like huge servings of fresh fish and shellfish as extremely low prices.

Located on the Breman shotengai (out of the east exit of the station, on the left just passed ABC Mart), it’s not a place that jumps out at you, being hidden away on the 2^nd floor of an inconspicuous building, unseen from the street. My dining partner and I stumbled upon the place having been tempted by the signs for an okonomiyaki restaurant in the same building.

Oriental, plays the blue-collar, days-gone-by card well – simple, lively interior complete with beer and beverage posters, rough wooden tables and counters, crates, paper lanterns and bucket loads of noisy, happy diners.

The menu was wide-ranging, covering sashimi and sushi, through grilled, baked, fried and stewed dishes, salads and sides, and a smattering of classic izakaya fare not of the sea. Portions were extremely impressive, tasted great, and then even better when we received the bill at the end of the night.

Service was efficient, friendly and informed. Each member of staff knew their way around the menu, and was happy to offer recommendations and advice.

The clientele were a mixed bunch, young and old, and seemed each and every to be having a whale of a time. The atmosphere was lively, although most of the action seemed to be in the (much larger) smoking section of establishment.

A good range of shochu and nihonshu were available, along with draft and bottled beer, Hoppy and soft drinks. Best dishes of the night were the immense nokezushi, and the succulent, flesh-laden tuna jaw, not to mention thick slabs of fresh, if rough-hewn, sashimi. 

Top stuff.

Sakana no Daidokoro Oriental

044-430-5530

Bowery Kitchen, Komazawa Park 駒沢公園

Apparently the establishment that brought Tokyo’s post-modern café genre into being, after 15 years in business Bowery Kitchen remains an excellent dining spot, whether for lunch or dinner. 

Situated on the edge of Komazawa Koen (on Komazawa Koen Dori), it is also one of the better pet/ dog-friendly establishments I’ve come across. This also means that queues, as well as canines, can be expected on weekends.

This should not deter a visit, however, as both the ambience and food are thoroughly enjoyable. The interior – all tiles, stainless steel and concrete, off set by exposed ducts and tempting displays of beverages and cakes – is rather cool, and perhaps surprising for a neighbourhood diner. As always, the open kitchen is both entertaining and a central feature.

The atmosphere is relaxed, but busy, with clientele ranging from dog-fondlers to dating couples and oldies out for a bottle or two. The menu covers a range of cuisines, North American through European and Asian, most of which come across as somewhat tapas-y.

The food itself comes in fairly well sized portions and at reasonable prices. The mains aren’t particularly large, but it’s fun to choose several dishes to share with your dining partner(s)/ doggie(s). Overall, the ingredients and resulting dishes are fresh, healthy and tasty.

Drinks are a little pricey, so perhaps not the best location for those intent on binging.

After several lunchtime visits, an evening stroll through the park followed by a meal at Bowery Kitchen proved to be an intimate, low-lit affair, with oodles more atmosphere than during the day. 

Worthy of repeat visits.

03-33704-9880

Bowery Kitchen

Pizzeria 1830, Nogizaka 乃木坂

Considering the decent reviews scattered around the web, after a lunchtime visit to Nogizaka’s (across the road from Nogizaka station post office on Gaien Higashi Dori) Pizzeria 1830, I couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed. 

A pleasant enough little restaurant, although both the atmosphere and cooking are more in the café-diner vein, but considering its location (more or less on top of Tokyo Midtown) one could be forgiven for expecting the place to be heaving of a Saturday, where as in fact it was practically deserted.

The menu was certainly wide ranging, which perhaps hints at the pizza being more mass-market than those of other, more dedicated restaurants. There were plenty of antipasti, pasta, and so on, available, too. Lunch sets comprising of pasta/ pizza, salad and drink are also served, although considering the size of the pizza, it’s probably best to order straight from the main pizza menu and make the most of it.   

Those that my dining partner and I ordered – the Margherita and Francescana (prosciutto and mushroom) – were certainly sizable, if not mind-blowingly complex in terms of texture and flavour.

The prosciutto was too thin, almost translucent, and a little bland. The mushrooms screamed, “just out of the tin.” The Margherita was marginally the more flavoursome of the pair, but was still let down by the base, which was neither chewy nor doughy/ salty enough, and watery tomatoes.

These weren’t bad pizzas per se, merely uninspiring. Far better can be had for a smaller investment at establishments that also offer much more in the way of atmosphere and character.

Still, if in the area, Pizzeria 1830 is worth a look. It’s just not one of the Tokyo pizza pantheon.

03-3402-1830

Pizzeria 1830

Toyoda, Yukigaya-Otsuka とよだ、雪谷大塚

Another of Tobi-chan’s recommendations, Toyoda is a nice little bare-bones izakaya within spitting distance of Yukigaya-Otsuka station (Ikegami line).

Certainly old-school, and packed to the gills with old-timers busy about their shochu and bottled Kirin beer, the interior is in better condition than the lantern-lit façade might lead one to believe.

The front section of the izakaya is taken up by a long, L-shape counter, the middle by a dining floor with a half-dozen or so tables, and the third, rear section made up of a zashiki area with low laying tables and the aching limbs they induce.

The menu is broad, covering the gamut of typical izakaya fare, the prices extremely reasonable (although the portions are at best average), and the quality of the cooking acceptable given the overall flavour and price point of the establishment.

The oden and chicken karagage were the best dishes of the evening, with the most disappointing being the chijimi.

Happy diners are served by bustling old ladies with beaming grins and croaky voices. The atmosphere is convivial, and at times rather lively.

Around 10pm, a younger - mostly male - crowd swarms in just as the ojisan are bidding their keep-bottles farewell.

Asupara-maki

Tebasaki

Excellent fun, especially for nomikai goers more intent on drink than food. Expect to leave with plenty of yen still in your pocket.

03-3720-3338

Toyoda

Yakiniku Peking, Motosumiyoshi 焼肉北京、元住吉

A crossing on a major road somewhere in Motosumiyoshi (Toyoko line) marked by two imposing looking yakiniku restaurants on either side road.

Deciding between the two came down to Yakiniku Peking having more customers visible through the 2^nd floor window, and the nice way the neon signage looked on a dark, humid, rainy night.

This atmosphere carried through to the shop interior itself. Clearly a relic of the bubble years, there was something “classic” about the place.

The tabletop grill was in a style I’ve yet to come across, and indeed, my dining partner informed me that the grill with which we were confronted was all the rage in the eighties.

The food itself was a little fresher. None of the meats offended, being tasty and reasonably proportioned.

The best of the evening was the cucumber kimchi and the tongue.

Not a bad restaurant overall, but no better than cheaper chain offerings, such as Genkaya.

044-411-7716

Yakiniku Peking

Yuri Café, Koenji 高円寺

An interesting concept, Yuri Café is a monthly “pop up” café-bar located in a small, fashionably understated gallery hidden away among Koenji’s backstreets.

The second floor of the building is home to a couple of one-room bric-a-brac/ antique (i.e., post-war oddments) shops, also worth a look.

Back to the café, and it’s all white walls and Ikea-esque furniture, a few prints upon the walls and a small kitchen to the rear of the space, from which the delightful Ms. Yuri produces rather nicely put together, and somehow “wholesome” feeling, meals with a traditional Japanese slant. 

The point of interest, aside from delicious home-cooking and superb leaf-wrapped onigiri (rice balls), being that the meal, laid out on a platter, was created with the aim of suggesting the colours and textures in a painting. Said art being reproduced as a tablemat for each diner.

A kooky little place providing decent food, interesting patrons and potent, if over-priced, homemade sangria. The tiny, photograph-filled menus also serve as a little memento of ones visit, too.

 

MLB Café Tokyo, Ebisu 恵比寿

Yet another of Ebisu’s many attractions – this time on the Yebisu Garden Place side - MLB Café Tokyo is far more than its name might suggest.

Housed within a large red brick building, complete with leafy courtyards, the complex includes not only a ground floor café-bar/ diner and baseball memorabilia shop, but also VIP lounges, a restaurant and wedding chapel.

Having been raised on gentlemanly pursuits such as cricket, even the fundamentals of baseball are at best a mystery. Even more mysterious was the connection between the two dominant themes of MLB Café Tokyo’s interior; Major League Baseball, and traditional Japanese pottery.

The juxtaposition of sporting paraphernalia, flat screen TVs and lovingly displayed wabi-sabi teacups and bowls did not, however, detract from the reasonably well-crafted G&Ts, nor the tropical looking concoction favoured by my dining partner.

The menu, for the most part pan-American and Italian classics, was redolent of Frankie & Benny’s. One of its features being the inclusion of “classic ballpark foods,” whatever they might be…

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the risotto turned out to be a waste of time, although the salted veggies accompanying it served as a tasty bar snack, as did the fries (very much in the McDonald’s vein) and nachos. The royal milk tea wasn’t my idea (of course), but the chocolate cake made up for it, if only a little.

 

03-3448-8900

MLB Café Tokyo