One weekday evening I went to Ohashi, famous as one of Tokyo’s three great nikomi (stewed offal) specialists. I had already been to Kishidaya in Tsukishima and Yamariki in Morishita, so this meant visiting the last of the big three.
The front entrance
It looks very peaceful from the outside, but inside the atmosphere is buzzing. Even though it was my first time, I settled in right away.
Nikudofu
You get the stewed meat with simmered tofu. Delicious enough to earn its place among Tokyo’s top three. Good-quality meat with a nice chew, soaked through with a concentrated soy-based sauce. The drinks went down fast.
Tonight’s drink
I was on my own that day, and I probably should have ordered a small bottle instead of the large one. I finished it anyway, of course. With snacks this good, the beer tasted amazing.
Nikomi
When I ordered the nikomi, out came the same meat as in the nikudofu, just a bigger portion. Some places use a completely different cut cooked in a completely different way, but this shop uses the same meat. Just the nikudofu on its own would have been fine.
Ankimo ponzu
There are not many delicacies to match fat-rich ankimo (monkfish liver) eaten in autumn. It came out less than five seconds after I ordered it, and the taste was superb. It felt like the aesthetics of Japanese food distilled into one dish.
As an izakaya overall it may fall a step behind Kishidaya or Yamariki, but considering the relaxed atmosphere and the fact that you do not have to queue, this is the one I want to go back to again and again. Kitasenju is close enough to just run over to, so when I have time I will go back, even alone, and eat my fill like the Solitary Gourmet.