Fatz's

Fatz’s had clearly seen happier days on our most recent visit. On arrival, the genial chef-proprietor warned us that he’d run our of burger buns; fine, we’d made do with sandwich bread. The onion rings were also not available, and the milkshake machine was broken; three misses out of three so far. This was at 9pm on a Saturday night, when the rest of Koenji was hopping; yet in Fatz’s, we were the only customer. Perhaps this was down to offputting death metal blaring out from the sound system, discordant enough to drive at least one curious party away. Or perhaps it was the location, a small and low-rent corner unit tucked away from the main drag. Despite this, our burger sandwich was fine, and the plump chips nicely crisp-skinned and tasting of potato, even though the portion size of the fries seemed better suited to the appetite of svelte Japanese diners than supersized Americans. The dessert list consisted of chocolate cupcake; no key lime or apple pie, or any of the other comfort foods that the US does so well. If you’re looking for a satisfying slice of Americana, you may need to look further afield than Koenji.