Ito

As small and carefully designed as an origami crane, this Japanese eatery brings you all the charms of an authentic Nipponese izakaya (bar-cum-restaurant), minus the small crowd of drunken Japanese salarymen at the counter. The warm setting, redolent of cosy neighbourhood bars in Tokyo, puts you in the mood; but the real fun starts when the personable staff bring you the first dish.

The food comes in tapas-sized portions, of which you order either three (€19), four (€25) or ten (€65). Although the menu changes on a monthly basis, you can expect inventive variations on the usual suspects of Japanese cuisine: cod flavoured with Teriyaki sauce and Amaretto, risotto soaked in saké, cauliflower sliced as fine as rice grains – all delectable. And though they’re sometimes slow to arrive, you can while away the intervening time with a glass of saké or imported whiskey. Tip: don’t come hungry, unless you’re happy to splurge.