Sakana Bal in Ebisu is a place I’d wanted to visit for a long time. I’d dropped in once before for a quick carpaccio, but I wanted to have a proper go at the menu. So I made the occasion and went with some juniors from work who live in Tokyo.

Decor

A stylish atmosphere, as you’d expect in Ebisu. Being a good-value place it isn’t exactly a relaxing spot, but it’s more the kind of room where everyone is happily drinking.

Beer

They really know how to pour one.

Carpaccio of the day

The freshness is no joke.

Bread

Well… it’s fine, nothing wrong with it.

Potato salad topped with sardine

The looks alone are killer.

Fried corn

The corn is sweet, so there’s no way it could taste bad.

Tatsuta-age of sea bream head

It’s hard to judge the size from the photo, but it’s enormous. Plenty of meat on it too. I actually started worrying how they make a living selling something like this so cheaply.

Bouillabaisse

Loaded with fresh seafood, nature’s own MSG, so of course it tastes great.

A light sangria

My tolerance has gone downhill lately, so this is the kind of thing I drink these days.

Peperoncino pasta

Nicely tossed, very tasty.

Risotto made with the bouillabaisse

Insanely good. So good it was gone in an instant.

Seafood ajillo

This one too… with this much seafood thrown in, it would be absurd for it not to be delicious. Both the portions and the flavour were even better than the rumours had led me to expect.

Honestly… being able to eat food this good for around 3,000 yen is, well… pretty much revolutionary. Next time someone comes to visit, this is the number one place I’ll take them. The catch is that you have to book ahead, so anyone who gets in touch late is out of luck…

한국어로 읽기日本語で読む