The high quality food offered at the 「Ajino Izakaya Sakura bar」. It was as good as a Ryotei(Japanese style high end restaurant)!

I couldn’t believe they have such a wide variety of dishes on their menu! They hand-write their menu everyday. Inside the Izakaya, Enka (traditional Japanese folk music) is played.

They have dishes that pair very well with Japanese Sake. They also have a seasonal menu that changes everyday. Rice bowls, noodle dishes and so on. Even if you don`t drink, you can still enjoy yourself here.

Saba(mackerel) kizushi \900.
I ordered Saba kizushi because I wanted to enjoy the shop’s speciality. Kizushi is the way of preparing salted bluefish with tasty vinegar.

I ate it with the ginger. Saba kizushi tastes refreshingly sour but also sweet since fatty Saba fish is used. What a luxury! It’s only my first dish yet I’m already impressed with the quality of the food here.

Potato salad ¥400
It was really mild. The mayonnaise was not overly used. I could taste the potato.
I ate it all in no time!

Kinshi masamune tokubetsu jyunmai Syu(sake made without added alcohol or sugar) 180ml ¥490
Wow! It paired with the dish really well. Very refreshing.

Red snapper Arani( the word used for cooking bony parts of fish) ¥980
I could taste the richness of the fish and it was so juicy. I have never eaten Arani as good as this before. The salty and sweet flavour was the best match for the Japanese Sake .
I promise you, just take one bite, it will knock you out.

They used burdock to garnish the fish. It was nicely done in taste and texture, I found it almost addictive.

Age koimo ankake (Fried young taro with gravy) ¥780
I ordered this dish in order to taste the dashi(broth). They deep fried young taro until it was perfectly crispy then poured thick broth all over it.

By deep frying, the texture and aroma of the taro was brought out to the full. They use Katsuo(bonito fish) and kelp to make the gravy. Honestly, it’s amazing!

Anago sansho yaki( grilled conger eel with Japanese pepper flavour) ¥780

My goodness! They grilled the Anago(conger eel) to perfection! The fluffy texture with the beautiful sauce! I could`t believe I was eating at an Izakaya and not at a top grade restaurant(Ryoutei).

I wanted to try out some more dishes on the menu, but I was too full. I ended my meal with a cup of tea.

I was so impressed with the level of food they offer. Though they prepared the food with as much care as a Ryoutei would, the prices were at an Izakaya level. What a great find!