This pork motsuyaki place ticked all the atmospheric old-school blue-collar izakaya boxes, and seemed just the place to settle in for a prolonged Saturday afternoon session. Unfortunately, the menu failed to keep us there for long.

We’d been hoping for something similar to the dining experience at Katoriya, but as it turned out our hopes were dashed. The food was okay – nothing special, but good no nonsense cooking centered on pork offal. The problem was the lack of much else besides. There’s only so much grilled piggy bits one can take without something else in the mix to liven things up. What little else there was was okay, but being limited we ended up feeling we’d tried everything within half an hour of arriving. Even the potato salad couldn’t save us, only being available on Wednesdays and Thursdays. After less the an hour we were back on a train headed for Asakusa and dinner back at Kamiya Bar…

Tsukemono - strong tasting, very slippery 

Interior - classic syle, counter seating around open kitchen

Pork liver - tasy, but small 

Pork offal - neck and ???

Grilled tōfu - lighlty seared, topped with onion, daikon and ginger

Interior - kitchen

Grilled vegetables - shitake mushrooms, leeks, peppers

Asparagus - comes crunchy and accompanied by cherry tomatoes and too much mayonaisse 

03-3600-5895

Būchan

Frozen whale meat tends to have the same oddly firm texture as the dairy-milk ice pops I ate as a child, and is practically tasteless, which is hardly a ringing endorsement. Although the whale meat yakisoba sounded interesting it turned out be a pile of bland noodles and sauce, of the kind usually encountered at festival food stalls, with occasional nuggets of whale meat doing little to impress. The beef nikomi wasn’t up to much either…

Counter seating - traditional theatreland dining 

Whale sashimi - not worth the political fallout 

Whale meat yakisoba - risable 

Beef nikomi - average at best, but once favoured by Kitano Takeshi

03-3844-9114

Hogeisen

Seated at the long counter dominating the dining space, we soaked up the relaxing atmosphere, the chef’s recommendations and a variety of shōchu, the best of which (at least as far as my aching head could recall the following day) was the Nakanaka – an old acquaintance.  

The food itself was okay, but being a little small left us feeling hungry, and somewhat out of pocket. Not that it was bad, the various dishes just weren’t particularly exciting, and of those that worked there was not enough. If picking favourites, the nanoha with su miso was delicious, and then jidori karaage excellent (I could have eaten a mountain of the stuff). Although in season and thus hard to ignore, the takenoko was a bit of a let down, being less flavoursome than anticipated. And these days, after having being spoiled at izakaya such Monzennakacho’s Uosan, dainty little plates of even daintier morsels of sashimi are just an annoyance…

The service was attentive enough, even being overly so to begin with – food orders were requested before the first drinks and otsumami had been delivered, which, considering the relaxed ambience, was entirely uncalled for. Still, not bad overall, but best suited to a (very) light meal and some drinks, rather than a prolonged evening meal.

Otsumami of assorted vegetables 

The menu - Kyoto cuisine, delicately proportioned... 

Nanoha with su miso - a delicious accompaniment to iced shōchu

Sashimi moriawase (for two) - tasty, but not nearly enough

Open kitchen - great for receiving recommendations of the day

Grilled takenoko - the brazier was a nice touch, if not quite hot enough

Jidori karaage - the best dish of the evening, light batter and delicously moist chicken

03-3713-2488

Kokoroya

Despite the name and some Welsh-themed decoration, (as well as some tempting whiskeys) for the most part the café’s interior had a more Parisian feel to it, somehow reminding me of Minami Aoyama’s Nid Café. 

The beer (Heineken) took forever to be poured and served, but was (surprisingly) well worth the wait, tasting better than any I’ve yet had here. The menu looked interesting, and the grilled sandwiches were okay, but hardly memorable. Despite a Foursquare recommendation suggesting that the cheesecake was mind-blowing, it turned out to be tasty and quite attractive, but not that special.

Wouldn’t rush back for the food, but settling in for an afternoon drink would be fun.

The bar - Welsh overtones 

Interior decoration - European flavour

Cheesecake - much lauded, but just okay

03-6452-4933

The lunch menu provided all the Italian staples, and baskets of bread helped fill the corners. The tuna salad was about as dull as they come, but the corn and potato soup and prosciutto-topped margherita made up for it. Although no longer on the menu, my dining partner mentioned to the staff that she’d once enjoyed a cheese risotto there and had hoped to repeat the experience; the request was speedily accommodated, but the risotto didn’t live up to expectations. 

Obviously better visited once the weather improves if dining al fresco, but I’m curious to try the restaurant proper of an evening.

Tuna salad - dull, limp, uninspired 

Corn and potato soup - smooth and creamy 

Bread and olive oil - a simple pleasure, and replenished if asked for

Cheese risotto - somewhat bland

Margherita topped with prosciutto - moreish

03-6277-1612

Es  

In the end the visit to the camera store proved fruitless, but lunch at Shinki Soba (conveniently located among the izakaya, rāmen shops and girly bars that make up the afore mentioned neighbourhood), was pleasant enough. Not purely dedicated to soba, the menu covered a range of more general izakaya standards, and some few of the patrons clearly treat the place as such.

The soba were nice and firm, and the tempura crisp and light. For the price and locale, the set lunches provided good cost performance, but the beer-pouring machine in the kitchen was the star of the show, and the communal pot of coffee brewing on the counter was a homely touch.

Cold Soba and tempura lunch set - perfect now the weather is warming up, and filling and nutritious too

Menus in black and orange - still all the rage for Japanese establishments

Soba and tempura in hot broth - delicious but the tempura batter soon becomes soggy

Soba - firm and slightly texturous 

03-3387-1116

Shinki Soba

Neglecting the basic lunch sets, we ordered from the “Chef’s Menu” lunch options, choosing saag with cheese, accompanied by a large, lightly baked naan, rather than rice. Both curry and naan were flavoursome, although the former was not as good as some.

Some Internet comments suggest that both the quality of the food and the service has declined since the restaurant moved premises – the previous iteration being still visible on the other side of the street – but, we had no complaints with either. I’ve the impression that most dishes here are adapted to Japanese tastes, so this is probably not the place for a truly “authentic” Indian dining experience, but still keen to visit Ghungroo for dinner, all the same.

Attractive sugar bowl

Cheese saag with naan

Tidy interior

03-3406-0464

Ghungroo

The dull, barren interior and rubbish food were well complimented by a total lack of atmosphere. If there were one “good point” it would be the embarrassingly apologetic and attentive service from the waiter. His shame was written all over his face.

The food was so bad that we actually rushed to get through it lest the experience linger. The appalling pasta dish aside, the four cheese pizza, consisting of a burnt, crunchy pitta-like base and a tomato-meat sauce (without the meat) topped with three cheeses and honey (not good with the meat flavoured sauce…), was hard to make sense of.

How on earth is this place in business?

Tomato cream sauce and shrimp pasta -- without a hint of tomato

"Four" cheese pizza

Takenoka tempura 

03-3475-6099 

Aoyama Janoja

Uncle Tom, situated a short jog from Ebisu station’s East exit, is one of the better known and loved of the genre.

Usually busy, especially of a lunchtime, the portions are pretty good, the prices extremely reasonable, and the pints of Yebisu beer very cheap. 

The atmosphere is redolent of a rāman-ya, and the interior rather 1970s/ 80s, complete with a collection of prints by John Lennon. 

The salads, although sizable, aren't prizewinners, but the spaghetti is strangely compelling. The asparagus, bacon and egg pasta was certainly moreish, and I have it on good authority that the cod roe and nattō variety is equally tasty…

03 3442 1934

Uncle Tom

Tucked away on a narrow side street off Aoyama Dōri, not far from Omotesando crossing, a block or two before Franc Franc, Torimasa is a small yakitori-ya, that’s been in business for three decades.

Its popular, so queuing at lunchtime is not unknown. Once inside, the place seats about two dozen – at a push – with counter, table and tatami seating available.

The atmosphere is pleasant, although not exactly lively, and the interior simple, clean and nicely “shibui.” It’s also possible to spot the occasional TV/ movie celeb’ lunching there, too.

Taking a counter seat is recommended, from where you can admire the glass case stuffed with waiting-to-be-grilled yakitori. Each skewer of which is excellent; fresh, huge, tender, juicy and (most importantly) utterly delicious, the speciality of the house being succulent Nagaoya cochin chicken, generous portions and a nicely balanced tare sauce. 

The master of the house, a portly gent usually to be found perched at the counter of a lunchtime, is friendly and has enough English to make non-Japanese speaking guests feels welcome, and even provide a comparative analysis of British and West German ladies-of-the-night during the 1970s. The master also wistfully explained that he’d had to take skewers of foie gras off the menu, as suppliers simply can’t source the stuff large enough anymore.

The lunchtime menu consists of two sets (donburi and rāmen) and the teishoku, all for ¥1,300.

The donburi set is more than most can manage, being comprised of a gargantuan bowl of rice toped with four or five skewers of chunky, tender chicken morsels (the liver being particularly good), pickles and soup. The rāmen set provides a full bowl of noodles in broth, a mini version of the aforementioned donburi and pickles, too. Finally, the teishoku offers soup, rice pickles and the same yakitori skewers that adorn the donburi.

Dinners come in full- or half-set courses, both of which I’m eager to try.

This is yakitori at its best – perhaps even better than that at Kushiwakamaru (although with a less expansive menu), although far less friendly on the purse than Katoriya.

03-3405-4515

Torimasa