Gyōssantei, Shibuya 魚山亭、渋谷

The shop card I have for Gyōssantei – a decent little izakaya located opposite the entrance to Shibuya’s Bunkamura – has a date scrawled on it: 4/10/09/. I’m lazy about posting izakaya visits… 

Topline judgment? Well worth a visit, but with a few caveats.

They serve a fantastic line in Kyushu cuisine, the majority of which focuses on that of Miyazaki prefecture; which of course tends to mean jidori, or naturally reared chicken. Which isn't to say there’s not more than just chicken, whether charcoal-grilled or deep-fried and smothered in mayo - namban style, to recommend Gyōssantei’s pantry.

For instance, the abura miso salad was exemplary. Dynamic, in that delightfully “in your face” way that izakaya sometimes get so right. This “salad,” served in a wooden masu (a nice touch), consisted of chunky cuts of celery, carrot, cucumber, daikon and leaves accompanied by a miso and berry-oil paste.

On the other hand, the unashamedly chewy otoshi of snails succeeded in offending. A local (to Miyazaki) beer, Hideji, went some way to making amends, being light, crisp and faintly hoppy. So too the various grilled fish heads.

The sashimi, in this instance a moriawase of maguro, kasago and saba, was excellent, just way too dainty.

If grilled fish is really your thing (it should be) then the yaki kamasu, a somewhat infrequently served, thoroughly delicious long-snouted species, will put a smile on your face.

As will the Yukkuri – a potent shōchū which to be honest sent my head spinning…

When feeling tipsy, some meat helps. I looked no further than the buta kakuni with shiraga negi. The three succulent, weighty pieces were not at all oily and only lightly doused in juices, so as to retain some of that delightful crumbly texture that good braised pork offers.

A wonderful oshinko moriawase – cucumber, carrots, ginger, daikon, takuan, kombu and umeboshi – provided a fantastic array of strong flavours, too. This offset the overpowering sweetness of the Jūyondai; a sake I’ve not bothered to revisit since.

Food aside, the interior is tastefully appointed. Although not large, the floor space is put to good use. You don’t feel crowded. Avocado green walls framed with dark wood and dimly lit to boot create a suitably intimate, “Japanese” atmosphere. The hanging noren before the kitchen and the cute little counter near the entrance, upon which are jars of beans, pickles and freshly prepared recommendations of the day, reinforces this ambience. This considered approach to the interior design benefits from the application of seasonal sprigs and dried shishito (peppers) for chopstick rests.

What of the aforementioned caveats?

Despite the generally excellent service from the floor staff, the mama-san was pushy. Extremely so. Probably well intentioned – she is both proud of her menu and well informed regarding the foods and ingredients there in – she manages, nonetheless, to raise hackles. On each of the handful of occasions I’ve visited her establishment, she was hassling us from the moment we were seated. “What will you drink?” “What will you eat?” “How many of those?” “Why not try another of these and one of those to go with it?”

The approach was utterly out of kilter with the ambience of the place and the demure service provided by other – admittedly more youthful – ladies that wait the tables. This mama seemed more suited to some grubby snack bar. No one enjoys a hard sell at dinner time.

Fancy another sweeping generalization? Here it is – despite good food, decent drinks and pleasant surroundings, I always come away thinking it’s just a little over priced.

03-5489-6350

http://r.tabelog.com/tokyo/A1303/A130301/13001146/

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.  

UPDATE: 03/06/12

Yesterday's visit to Uosan, after a little over year, proved to far more enjoyable than the first. Same hour-long wait in the queue of expectant diners, and when the doors opened at 4pm, the place was immediately full.

This time, however, we were ushered to the second floor of this three storey izakaya. Without a doubt, the second floor is much more entertaining than the first. None of the monastic silence and strict rules on seating arrangements being enforced by fearsome matrons. Just a room filled with friendly, talkative and extremely happy patrons intent on consuming vast amounts of high quality, low price fish.

Whether it be raw, fried, grilled or battered every dish is perfection.  

The highlight of meal was the lightly vinegared mackerel sashimi. Perfect on a warm summer day.

Huge (at least a litre or more) flasks of warm sake were being imbibed all around, causing inhibitions to be cast aside and more than a few of the surrounding diners proving to be not only talkative, but full of beans, too. As was this bowl.

If you've yet to visit Uosan, you don't know what you're missing. 

Having eaten our fill, Izakayasanpo (thanks for the invitiation, Tobi-chan) and I headed on over to Ohira Shoten for some serious nihonshu. Seems it's still do a brisk trade, too. 

03-3641-8071

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

Orihara Shōten, Monzen-nakachō 折原商店、門前仲町

Yesterday's izakaya sanpo set off from Shinagawa station and took in Daiba (with some chilled beer out in the sunshine at dining bar Caress), the possible new Tsukiji site and a home center before landing us in Jon's manor; Monzennakacho.

While Jimmy Dean kept a place in the rapidly extending, yet patient, queue outside Uosan, Butterfly and I hopped across Eitai Dōri to explore the backstreets and alleys in the vicinity of the admittedly impressive Fukagawa Fudōdō.

Happily, we stumbled across a neat little sake shop/ standing sake bar by the name of Orihara Shōten. I should have recalled it from previous dispatches... Anyway, after dining at Uosan, we headed back there for a drink or two.

Despite the selection of cheap toys and candies at the entrance, the interior was nicely done and still had the lingering scent of fresh timber (opened for business just last month). To the left, shelves heaving with snacks, novelty tipples and the various accoutrements of the sake drinker. To the right, floor to ceiling refrigerators cooling a respectable line-up of choice sake.

We made - and paid for - our orders at the small bar and kitchen to the rear of the shop. To accompany our drinks, a variety of otsumami and sake no sakana, as well as the dreaded oden were available.

While the master of the house worked the kitchen, a jolly old chap with a ready smile manned the floor with its two sturdy tables at which drinkers prop themselves.

A simple menu of recommended chilled sakes offered some old favourites and a few I don't remember trying before. Prices were reasonable for both sake (¥250~¥750) and food (¥100~¥300). I stuck with the Dassai and Denshu, and Jimmy worked through plenty of the rest.

Mostly full from our excellent fish dinner, we ordered some food out of politeness more than anything else. All we sampled was more the adequate, especially for the price. The peppered duck was really rather good.

The turnover of patrons through the course of the evening was fair. The numbers present at any one time were too, although it was never exactly heaving. Great atmosphere too, thanks in part to the friendly old chap attending to our needs.

03-5639-9447

www.oriharashoten.jp

Shakey's Pizza, Ikebukuro シェーキーズピザ、池袋

This chain is more or less all over the place, although you may not notice them. They just tend to blend in to their surroundings (despite often garish facades), or else are outshone by more youthful offerings. Over the years, and despite being aware of and reported to regarding Shakey’s, I’ve managed (thankfully?) to avoid venturing across the threshold of any of their eateries. Until now that is…

Having navigated the semi-deserted streets my dining partner and I skulked in to entrance and down the flight of steps to yet another basement Ikebukuro establishment. Busy, despite the threat of radiation and repeat earthquakes, it was still clear that having any empty tables at all was an unknown phenomenon for the young staff.

We paid our ¥850 upfront for the all-you-can-eat buffet lunch, although we passed on the opportunity to “size-up” with drinks and salad bar. Swiftly seated in a bland corner of the cavernous interior, we soon navigated the queue and piled our plates with fresh, and not so fresh, pizza – all the usual varieties, as well oddities such as the Kit-Kat Crushed Pizza (the least vomit-educing example, believe me…) – utterly tasteless pasta, one seemingly all about bacon, the other garlic and some Japanese mountain weed. Curry and rice, too, graced our table if not our sensibilities.

Apart from either slightly dry or slightly soggy, yet equally bland, pizza, the only other thing on my mind was, “how can you make pasta that tastes of nothing?”

This chain, and all they offer, has clearly seen better days.

03-3983-4818

www.rkfs.co.jp

Genki-ya, Ikebukuro げんき屋、池袋

A fortnight ago the deadly convulsions of mythological Namazu, the capricious catfish residing beneath this archipelago, were an issue far less pressing than the tribulations of a train home delayed by suicide.

Stranded in Ikebukuro station – chilly, surrounded by fed up commuters and with no way of knowing how long it would take for the tracks to be cleared – I gave in to hunger and convinced my similarly stranded dining partner to join me somewhere nearby for dinner. 

We plumped for Genki-ya, a little place situated on the East/ Seibu side of Ikebukuro on the way to the Sunshine 60 Building, due to all the descriptive menu pages and photographs plastered all over the street level entrance to this basement izakaya.

Neither interior nor food was noteworthy. A narrow space, filled with the usual worn wood table and benches, with tired beer posters for decoration. The young lady waiting the floor discharged herself admirably, considering the limited space and lack of customers.

Our meal served its purpose; it kept us off the platform/ streets and filled us up. Not bad, certainly not stooping to lower-end chain store levels, but hardly refined. Prices were reasonable, but not to the extent of Yukari! 

The award for most interesting dish/ flavour of the evening surely went to the sun-dried firefly squid, which despite resembling aging umbilical cords or Rabbi’s cuttings tasted really good, pungent almost, especially when dipped in cheap mayonnaise (as is traditional in these parts). The karaage and yakitori moriawase deserved no awards, but won’t get the chef in any trouble either. 

03-6907-4120

http://r.tabelog.com/tokyo/A1305/A130501/13053038/

Yukari, Harajuku ゆかり、原宿

The subdued, dark stained wood and narrow steps of Yukari’s entrance belie the three floors of roomy, if spartan, izakaya within. Besides the aluminium air ducts, bare lighting and coat hangers adorning the wall, an assortment of beer posters and hand written menu excerpts are all that brighten the otherwise instantly forgettable décor and dinner-hall atmosphere. 

My dining partners and I arrived early, a little after 6pm, to find each floor sparsely populated and unsettlingly quiet. As time wore on, thankfully, our floor – the third – did indeed become busier as a mix of middle-aged salarymen, students and Harajuku libertines settled in. For these patrons, at least, the food was secondary to lively chat and chain-smoking… We reeked of stale smoke by the end of the evening. 

For us, the food (and talk?) was secondary to the guzzling of beer. Cheap beer. ¥180 beer. We managed to polish off two-dozen of them and a good amount of food between the three of us, with the final tab coming in at just under ¥3,000 per head. In terms of price, this was almost American territory… Only with less vomit…

Although bags were provided for the overly ambitious among the young drinkers that frequent Yukari. 

Service was prompt, delivery for the most part swift – although a couple of our orders disappeared into the nether only to return after our gentle admonitions. Clearly, you’ll not be visiting here for the cuisine. It’s all about the low price, bucket loads of beer and/ or highballs, and cheap, oily and defrosted standards to line the stomach.

The evening’s fare commenced with an otoshi of bean sprouts and enoki mushrooms. Ravenous as we were, these dishes followed in quick succession, allowing barely enough time for them to be hastily snapped before the next arrived. By time we were done, repeat orders were the all we had the will to muster.

Avocado, unadorned, dipped in soy sauce, was soft and creamy, and just a tad too cold. The shioyakisoba topped with cabbage, leak and bacon was just what the doctor ordered and, according to one of my dining partners, a vast improvement upon the sauce-smothered variety.

Maguro sushi and minuscule nigiri tipped a hat at the bounty of the seas and two fingers at conservationists. If you are serious about your raw fish, don’t bother. The maruyaki ika, sadly, did little to impress. Not as soft and recently-defrosted as the stuff they cast before you at the American, but still not quite right either.  

Inevitably, the beer tally required balancing with carbs. We needed to look no further than the fried potato wedges smothered in molten cheese and then drowned in Tabasco. The fried cabbage with konbu was actually quite enjoyable, too. We made short work of it at least, although the neighbouring table managed to make a bowl of the stuff last all night. 

Although neither too greasy nor too fatty, the chicken karaage was average at best, yet filling. The fact that I enjoyed the limp, unadulterated garnish of lettuce leaves as much as anything else served for us speaks volumes.

Yukari is all about the beer, and nobody pretends otherwise between the hours of 5pm and 5am, for ¥180, Monday to Thursday. 

03-5785-4100

http://r.tabelog.com/tokyo/A1306/A130601/13050072/

Kōya, Ikebukuro 香家、池袋

Continuing in the Chinese chain shop vein, Tokyoeater mentioned a recent visit to Kōya via the Twinterweb and so, as we happened to be in the area, my dining partner and I decided to take a look at the Ikebukuro iteration. It’s conveniently located in the Esora building, a brief walk and an escalator ride or five away from the South exit of the station, and cooks up a simple line of Hong Kong style dishes.

I remain blissfully unaware of the persuasion of Esora’s tenants, but from what I glimpsed they sell the usual spread of ladies accessories, shoes, apparel and sickly-sweet cottagey European teapots and assorted kitchenware.

Pre-meal research had caused us to worry – quite needlessly as it turned out – that Kōya would be heaving of a Friday night and, moreover, that the Ikebukuro Esora store is particularly “girly.” It was neither. There were four other customers at best, and only one of them was female, and not at all girly at that.

Most department store/ mall-enclosed dining spots leave me despairing at the best of times. Utterly lacking in character and authenticity, they seem best left to lunches rather than precious evening hours. Unfortunately Kōya did little to persuade me otherwise. Both food and service were passable. Not outstanding in any way, I had hoped for more, somehow, and thus felt a pang of disappointment. Not sure what I’d been hoping for… Maybe a little more spice, a punchy taste or richer “ethnic” flavours. Whatever I’d wanted it wasn’t supplied in sufficient style.

Sticking to beer, we made short work of the appetizer, the negi to chāshū no piri kara. Enjoyable enough, but the negi was somewhat overpowering. My dining partner, being determined to take a hit of spiciness, had the oni tantanmen, which although certainly spicy overplayed its hand a little, so as to catch the back of throat. Volume and presentation (clean) were both fine, although the thin noodles were lost amidst the strong taste.

My shirunashi tantanmen shōrompo setto did indeed lack soup and come accompanied by small dumplings, the twain completing the set. The dumplings were steaming, soft and a little dull. The noodles, topped with spicy minced meat were very, very dry, so as to clog the mouth, and relied over much on fresh cut negi set all around. The taste of which detracted from the peppery flavour of the noodles and smacked of budget “bulking out.”  A shame really, as given less negi and more of the noodles I’d have happily devoured more of this, provided I had the beers to wash it down.

My views on these kinds of places – or rather locations – remain unchanged. Kōya makes for a reasonable lunch, and represents fairly good value for money even if the food itself lacks subtlety.  Not worthy of an evening visit though.

Tel: 03-5944-9158 

Web: koya.co.jp