Restaurants

This homely, long-standing restaurant is a magnet for locals. Take time to look at the multiple menus to find delights such as baigai (a kind of whelk) simmered in saké, sliced thinly and served with lemon; or burdock and carrot simmered in dashi, with a pleasantly smoky flavour. Also good was a small dish of cooked angler-fish liver, served cold in a vinegar-based sauce with grated radish and sliced spring onion. Uni sushi was ultra-fresh, wrapped in crisp nori. Less impressive was our zenmai shirataki (royal fern with devil’s tongue noodles), served without the shirataki, and an odd ‘scallop and kidney bean’ tempura: green beans and a tiny amount of scallop in a heavy jacket of batter. The rather kitsch decor is looking a bit dated. Service, though friendly, could also do with a spruce-up. We dined off cheap blue and white plastic plates, which weren’t changed at all during the course of our meal. We were also disappointed to be charged £4 for a single shot glass of fairly low-grade saké.

Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2008