I’d heard there was a place in Asakusabashi that’s a bar in concept but serves proper, serious cooking, and on top of that has great ramen, so I dropped in. I called ahead to book a table, and the reply was, “We don’t do reservations here.” Fair enough, I thought.

Starting with a draft beer

A bowl of salad first

Middle-aged guy and all…

Nikomi (simmered beef)

Just as the reputation promised, the food was delicious. A fairly rustic style, though.

The signature dish, tonteki

Amazing pork. The fat just melts away. The portion was so big I actually worried how they make any money selling it like this.

A lemon sour, I think…

Assorted mushroom soup

The cream was seriously rich and the mushrooms had real character, so it made a great drinking snack.

Grilled horumon (offal)

This one was just so-so.

Highball

Sausage

Not bad either, but nothing that really made an impact.

Spicy tsukemen

The noodles

As is the trend these days, they use whole-wheat flour. Tasted really good too. It’s such an unusual concept for a restaurant that I wondered how it would go, but while it’s a bit hit-or-miss, the food was definitely good. The menu changes often, so I’d love to drop by now and then, but the problem is it’s not close to home. I hope I get the chance to go back once in a while. (The elderly owner has quite a strong personality. He has a drink or two himself and likes to crack jokes. There are also rules: no one under 15, and no hats. Best to keep that in mind…)

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