Ginsuiso, Izu-inatori 銀水荘、東伊豆町

A stay at a ryokan is a fine thing. Especially if it provides a cozy room, onsen a sea view and an interesting menu.

Ginsuiso, an apparently well-reputed inn in Hagashiizu-cho (nearest station: Izu-Inatori), ticked all these boxes, and managed to heat the rooms so perfectly that one could ponce around in a yukata even in early January without the slightest shiver.

Both the evening meal and breakfast were substantial and nicely presented. The service provided was excellent, truly attentive and willing to explain and describe tirelessly. If there were any complaint with the food, it would be that they over played the seafood card with the breakfast. Sure, this inn is right on the sea, but every dish was some kind of fish, shellfish, unholy jelly-like substance or seaweed of some kind.

As expected, drinks were hugely over priced. Thankfully I managed to “smuggle” a few bottles in, so all was not lost.

Dinner consisted of a variety of dishes, ranging from shellfish to cream soup. 

Awabi odori-yaki – live abalone grilled on tabletop brazier

Shiro-ebi konoko gake – white shrimp served on sea cucumber ovary sauce – with shin-takenoko, ika kinomiae – new bamboo and squid topped with tree buds

Ikura, kinome, uni, yuba bekko an – roe, tree buds and sea urchin resting on tofu skin simmered in broth

Maguro, shiromi, uni sashimi – tuna, white fish and sea urchin sashimi

Kinmedai sugata zukuri to awabi – sashimi of splendid alfonsino and abalone

Kinmedai nitsuke – splendid alfonsino simmered in sweet soy sauce, complimented with daikon radish and aubergine 

Kinmedai sanma sushi, hatsuki kinkan mitsuni, hizu kazunoko matsumaetsuki, kukonomi, aiyu nibitashi shirozu – splendid alfonsino and mackerel sushi, honey-poached kumquat, salmon cartilage with herring roe, Chinese desert-thorn seeds and sweetfish simmered in white vinegar

Chilled Fubuki – the only sake of the evening

Steak with salad

Cream soup

Kani zosui – crab and rice porridge

Breakfast

Pickles

Maguro sashimi, ebi, wasabi zuke – tuna sashimi, shrimp and fermented wasabi

Salad

05-5795-0161

Ginsuiso

The Buck & Bell, Long Itchington （英国）

Long Itchington, a picturesque Warwickshire village complete with village green and ducks waddling freely about the local pond, boasts not only a genteel calm, an abundance of charmingly appointed timbered buildings and lush foliage, but also three excellent pubs serving decent food.

One of the trios, The Buck & Bell, has welcomed visitors since the mid-17^th century. Despite having rung time once and for all in the 1980s, it has since been restored and thrives once more.

A spacious well appointed interior, gleaming wood and polished bar pumps, and neatly dressed attentive staff provide a comfortable dining experience. The food, all sourced from local suppliers, made for a pleasing menu of pub grub classics – each well presented and cooked with care – without resorting to the pretention and over-priced, minuscule servings that so often mar gastro-pub offerings.

The starter of note was the field mushroom topped with smoked bacon and blue cheese rarebit – the bacon and cheese worked perfectly, as might be expected, while managing not to overpower the flavour of the mushroom. The mushroom could have been more substantial, a little more “meaty,” but was delicious all the same.

A double baked soufflé with mature cheddar cheese served with apple and celery salad went down well, too, as did a manly portion of crispy whitebait. The bread accompanying these crispy fish was quite uninspiring – something more rustic, grainier, would have suited the fish better.

The mains were a success, too. I had my eye on one of my dining companions’ wild mushroom risotto for the longest time. She thankfully struggled to finish the dish. The beer battered cod with crushy peas, chunky homemade chips and tartare sauce held it’s ground, yet failed to live up to the standards of cod I’ve come to expect from a certain Warwickshire fish and chip shop. The batter, however, was crisp and flavoursome.  

Perhaps the most enviable of my companions’ meals was the Lighthorne lamb kebabs with feta salad, sunblazed tomatoes and sauté potatoes. This was certainly the most appetizing plate to be served, and appeared to be the most substantial. Should I ever return (I’d happily do so) this is what I’d have.

Finally, for the mains, sea bass fillets with smoked bacon polenta cake, chargrilled Mediterranean vegetables and tomato compot. Good, but the fish was not all it could have been. Certainly something else was needed to fill out the plate.

Only one desert was sampled; a rich chocolate brownie with ice cream and peanuts smothered in caramel, I believe. Excellent, the peanuts in particular.

The Buck & Bell does what it sets out to, well. If only this kind of place would stretch to baskets of fresh bread, butter and olive oil to soak up the beer and fill the corners for male diners.

01926 811 177

http://www.buckandbellpub.co.uk/index.htm

Wakataka, Ikebukuro 若貴、池袋

Kaitenzushi is so ubiquitous that it tends to be overlooked. I’d hazard that most diners (at least those who like sushi) have a favourite establishment or two in areas they frequent, especially for lunches or short early evening stops. 

I have a thing for two places; one in Nishi Shinjuku – just behind Yodobashi Camera – the other in Nakano on the Sun Mall. They may belong to a small chain, but the quality of the fish is excellent. Fresh, delicious and served in more than ample portions, their sushi simply rocks. Prices are rock bottom, too – hence the queues, at the Nakano store at any rate. 

Wakataka, however, deserves to be ignored.

I’ve known it as long, but frequented it less. Never great, it’s certainly become worse. Cheap, but not that cheap. The sushi itself is poor. I remember the place being packed in the past. No more.

My dining partner and I did a range of “classics,” from salmon to hamachi, none of which inspired. You know you’re in trouble when the mayo-covered options taste best. 

Sakanaya, Ebisu 肴や、恵比寿

A chain, not ubiquitous but settling in for a while by the looks of things, Sakanaya specializes in low prices and above average portions – washed down with super cheap (¥190) icy beer.

The two I’m familiar with (both in Ebisu, not far from the station) have deceptively narrow looking “front rooms” behind hanging vinyl sheets, furnished with plain wooden tables and chairs.

The upkeep of the interiors varies; I watched a ceiling mounted speaker come crashing to the floor, missing a diner’s head by a hair’s breadth on one occasion…

Both have Tardis-like interiors. Should you be beckoned to the inner sanctum (usually by a south east Asian baring a badge purporting a native Japanese name – think HSBC call center staff only with beer) you’ll be confronted with a cavernous space, most likely filled with trestle tables and benches, around which hoards of thirsty, ravenous youths or white shirted salarymen feast.

It can be disconcerting.

Service is pretty hit-and-miss. So is the delivery of all besides the beer.

The food isn’t going to win any awards – it’s not intended too.

Big chunky otoshi of maguro sashimi, bulging seafood nabe and lethal but delicious deep fried gobo are good enough, if unrefined. 

The daikon salad is impressive, you need climbing gear to tackle the beast. Doesn’t taste of much though. 

The rest is just big, and basic. Better than a kombini dinner, worse than you could do yourself, probably.

It’s about the beer. Best visited in the heat of summer, without an appetite. A couple of thousand yen should suffice.

Which is not to say there’s not a place for this kind of izakaya in the pantheon.

03-3444-7508

http://r.gnavi.co.jp/a454919/map/

Uosan, Monzen-nakachō 魚三、門前仲町

Uosan has been serving cheap, rough hewn and undeniably voluminous fresh fish since before the LDP was even a glint in Toby’s eye; which is to say since 1954, to be precise. 

The mere mention of this near legendary Monzennaka izakaya, situated not far from Orihara Shōten on Eitai Dōri, makes fish lovers and izakaya aficionados go weak at the knees. Or, perhaps, it’s the hour or so of queuing they endure in order to secure a seat that makes them so. 

There’s nothing fancy about Uosan, and none of the staff - the silver-haired mama-san included - waste time with the usual niceties.

Once the front door slides open the patient line of hungry fans dutifully cross the threshold and (unless they are regulars, ancient or have a way with old ladies) are brusquely told where to sit.

If lucky, a spot on the ground floor squeezed in between the other diners at one of the three counters will be awarded. If not, they are summarily banished to one of the three upper floors, and the perils of tatami mat seating. 

It’s a great business model. Open at 4pm, and have a full house and captive audience by 4:02pm. 

Initially, order taking and delivery of dishes takes time to get into a groove - be patient. There’s bottled Kirin beer, Uosan branded bottles of chilled (instantly forgettable) sake, and plenty of the warm stuff being sloshed about in tall tokuri, too. You’ll need some time to take in the menu, which is posted on the walls. There are 126 individual items listed on the wall above the kitchen hatch alone! 

It’s all about fish, although a few concessions to other categories are made, supplied by generations of Tsukiji fish-mongers; their family/ business names are proudly displayed upon one of the walls (as is the case at Okajōki). For variety’s sake, the plethora of fish on offer comes fried, grilled, stewed, boiled and pickled. It’s also absurdly cheap, very big, mostly fresh and pleasingly unrefined. 

While you’re tucking into plate after heaped plate of sashimi - the kampachi, tai and chūtoro were fantastic - and generous portions of juicy, glistening grilled fillets and steaks it’s hard not to notice the strange atmosphere... 

Hardly “cosy,” and not exactly relaxing either. It’s quiet, but in the way a museum or gallery is quiet. You don’t want to disturb the peace, and everyone around you looks so serious. I’d put half of it down to collective fear of the mama-san and her offspring, the remainder to concentration on the task at hand, which is to say consumption of more and more fish.

Either way, it’s not really the place for a party or, for that matter, a leisurely meal. Best to get your fix and head elsewhere for drinks, or something.   

Uosan does provide some great people watching opportunities. Many of the patrons are regulars, and probably locals to boot. Some read while eating, others eat their fill while listening to iPods. Others still spend more time gazing wistfully at everyone else's meals, and seem to forget to order much for themselves. Conversation with strangers is out. With your dining partners, limited.  

03-3641-8071

http://r.tabelog.com/tokyo/A1313/A131303/13003007/

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

Shin Hinomoto, Yurakucho 新日の基、有楽町

I’ve always harboured a not so secret desire to own an izakaya. So my interest was peaked when I heard of an apparently legendary izakaya, in Yurakucho, run by an Englishman named Andy Lunt who has been serving happy customers in his usually packed establishment for the last twenty-five years. Not only is Andy a Brit, but he also hails from the city of Leicester, a short drive from where I myself grew up. Reason enough for me to be intrigued, no?

All accounts suggested that Shin Hinomoto, or “Andy’s izakaya” as it is more commonly known, is a place that focuses on simple izakaya standards prepared with fresh, high quality ingredients sourced by the master himself. Indeed, so famed is he for his ability to select the very best fish at the Tsukiji market, that numerous requests for his services have led him to establish a selection and delivery service, aptly named Andy’s Fish. He picks the fish, has it prepared and then shipped to your door. Sounds good doesn’t it?

From what I’d learned, it’s best to book ahead if you want to be sure of a seat at Shin Hinomoto, and so we did just that. After a quick pint in the Rose & Crown “English” pub across the road, my dining partners and I popped over to Andy’s izakaya. It’s located under the train tracks on the left out of the JR Hibiya exit of Yurakucho station. Nothing fancy, nicely worn and understated – complete with akachochin – the façade certainly promised good things to come, despite being hunched under a rack of ageing air-condioning vents.

The man himself greeted us as we entered, and showed us to our table in the spacious upper level of izakaya with its curving ceiling. Again, nothing fancy. Solid wooden tables, chairs and benches, the usual beer and beverage posters. Cosy enough and just the right level of lighting to allow you to take in your surroundings, and the menu. The staff were all pleasant enough, mostly South East Asian I think, and prompt with their delivery, if a little too keen to remove your dishes if they felt you looked like you were done.

The place soon filled up, and good mix of salarymen, tourists and expats. Conversations in various tongues filled the air, as did a lot of laughter. This is just the kind of place to relax after a long day and enjoy plenty of good honest food and booze at extremely reasonable prices.

The menus, Japanese and English, offered up a nice mix of fish, chicken, meat, vegetables etc., cooked in various ways. Plenty of perfectly usual dishes covering a good range of styles and flavours so as to please almost anyone. A note at the top of the menu reminds you that the menu is just a starting point, and for daily dishes, and choice selections of the best fish at the best prices, one need only ask. Great stuff.

While my dining partners got stuck in to the Guinness and kaku-highball (too small and too weak reportedly) I went for the litre glasses of draft beer, which were also great. As the evening went on we retreated from these heavier glasses and went for the whiskey instead. Nothing special, but did the job.

So, let’s talk food. Overall, it’s big, fresh, simply presented and done just right. Home cooking more or less. Nothing fancy, it is what it is. Which is to say tasty, and extremely satisfying. Considering the excellent portions, variety and freshness the prices were very, very good.

Slices of juicy tomato accompanied by a salad of onion, daikon, leaves and yellow pepper started the meal, and did their job just fine. The tempura moriawase was wonderful, a good mix of a wide variety of fish and vegetables. The renkon, for example, was nice and crunchy, the fish not too oily and aubergine not too floppy. Overall, the tempura was not too oily either, which was a pleasant surprise. The chicken karaage with pickles and Thai-style dipping sauce was also pretty good. Served piping hot, succulent and no gristle to be dealt with. Perhaps each morsel could have been a little bigger, but now I’m just splitting hairs.

The star of the night was without doubt the sashimi. We had the smallest moriawase, and still ended up with a large plate full of various fish, such as thai, maguro, kamapachi and katsuo, fresh as could be and cut in big, thick pieces. Wasabi and garlic set the fish of nicely. The akagai sashimi was also good, at least according my dining partner, although to me it was fairly hateful, seeming like the seafood equivalent of motsu.

Yurakucho always brought to mind Big Camera and yakitori under the tracks. Now, I associate it with Andy’s izakaya – Shin Hinomoto. Great location, good food, decent atmosphere and service, and all at good prices. Not the place to wow visitors with Japanese cuisine, not for a first date either, but for those who appreciate simple izakaya done well this is an establishment you’ll find yourself visiting again and again.

Tel: 03-3214-8021