Reviews elsewhere had led to me to high expectations of Ebisu Kaigan, and in all honesty they were not met. To be fair, the evening upon which we chose to visit was thoroughly miserable; pouring rain, and a chill wind (yes, back in the cold spell in mid-November 2009). I suppose, shivering and dripping at the time, I had hoped to be bathed in glorious, warming golden light upon opening the door to the place, or something like that.
Actually, it’s a cozy enough little place. Not exactly spacious, three plain wooden tables surrounded by folding chairs and old metal stools fill the main floor – raised up from the level of the genkan with its rusting diving helmet – to the rear of which is an L-shaped counter that can seat around seven or eight at a push. Interior décor is basic; hanging bamboo blinds, the odd poster or picture here and there, rough wooden floor, and assorted bottles of shōchū upon the counter. The second floor is somewhat better presented with a cleaner, more traditional Japanese appearance. Cushions to sit on before low, polished wooden tables and plaster walls framed with dark wooden beams.
Throughout the course of the evening the service was excellent. Attentive, accommodating and, most importantly, prompt. The jibīru (regional beer), Ebisu Kaigan, was interesting, richer in terms of both colour and taste than the usual Japanese beer (which is thoroughly enjoyable!), and yet hardly anything to write home about. A glass suffices.
The O-toshi of mussels in broth was tasty, although a little overpowering in terms of flavour. A huge plate of katsuo – thick, meaty slices – with spring onion was excellent, if for the volume alone. A small bowl of salted ginnan made a pleasant compliment to the Yebisu beer, while the jakoten proved to be both bland and uninspiring in terms of presentation, perhaps unavoidable for mashed fish….
The tsukemono were fairly pedestrian, the gobo (burdock) being painfully soft whereas they should have been crunchy, the cucumber, daikon and carrots fair, the quail's eggs delicious.
As for the sake, the Nakaya, hailing from Shizuoka and purportedly made from water flowing from peerless Fuji itself, was pleasantly dry. A plate of hirame sashimi, a white-fleshed fish served with the usual shredded daikon, shisō leaves and wasabi was reasonable, although my gut reaction was that it was average in terms of presentation and taste. The moyashi (bean sprouts) and sweet corn in sesame oil was utterly delicious, but then goma is an awfully naughty flavour, hard to resist… A forgettable salad of assorted vegetables followed, before the arrival of a simple, yet tasty, plate of yakisoba containing fried squid, cabbage, carrots, peppers and bean sprouts.
All this was rounded off with several glasses of mugi-jōchū, in particular the Tajibei, from Kagoshima.
Not a bad izakaya, although not great either. As mentioned earlier, I felt somewhat disappointed. I had been under the impression that Ebisu Kaigan specialised in fish and other sea food (perhaps because of the bright red rowing boat propped up outside the building?) but as it turns out the menu consists of the usual izakaya fare and is not particularly weighted towards fish. A good selection of shōchū is available, but as I'm not a huge fan this did little to appease my overall disappointment. Certainly an establishment capable of better things. Couldn’t help feeling it had seen better days and / or been allowed to slip. If in the area - about seven minutes walk from the west exit of Ebisu station up Komazawa Dōri in the direction of Nakameguro and Daikanyama – worth a visit, perhaps, but not on the top re-visit list.
Tel: 03-3710-0778
http://www.ebisukaigan.com
Monday, November 26, 2012 at 7:40PM | 
The recording of another boozy conversation regarding Tokyo's pizza scene, with Messrs. DeOrio and Lovitt of Japan Eats fame, is now available here:
