I order takeout from here reasonably often, but their delivery menu is limited, and… I mean, it’s an izakaya, delivery is just not the right format. (Which is not to say that the delivery food isn’t good - it is - but I think you lose more of the experience than you would for many other kinds of dining.)
Finally got out here properly, with a friend. Waited ~40 minutes to be seated, but we did arrive around prime time.
Pork Jowl (special)
Excellent, we ended up going through 3 of these over the course of the night.
Grilled Whole Mackerel (Hokke)
Very good, though my friend was sad that they’d cleaned out the guts of the fish.
Roasted Duck
Apparently I forgot to get a picture. Quite good, sliced thin, cooked medium rare, skin was soft but I didn’t care too much about that, and the duck was very duck-flavored.
Nasu Miso
Good - basically what I expected.
Yaki Onigiri w/spicy miso paste
My first time having a grilled rice ball, I think. Big fan, properly crispy outside, still toothsome rice inside. I do wonder whether a red yuzukosho would’ve also worked (instead of the spicy miso paste).
Beef Intestine
Very nice, fantastic creamy texture, not noticeably funky (which is either a plus or minus depending on how you feel about typical intenstine funk).
Grilled Smoked Unagi
I don’t think I’ve had smoked unagi before, but holy cow. Bite of the night!
Hokkaido Uni
Apparently the first “ok” uni that my friend has ever had, their previous experiences being very bimodal. (I didn’t have any, so can’t comment.)
Overall, I’d say they still seem to be firing on all cylinders. If you go, check whether the chef’s beef suji (tendon) curry is on the menu - it’s maybe the first and only curry I’ve had that tastes distinctly different from other curries (and IMO far superior). It probably won’t be, but it shows up randomly. From my delivery experiences, their yuzu chicken udon is excellent, as is the quality of their sashimi, and they do better donburi than anyone else in the area.