We take things a little too literally at Izaka-Ya
By The Prodigal Fool, published on 29 September 2009
Ask any concierge in Brussels to recommend a Japanese restaurant and you’ll inevitably be directed to either Yamayu Santatsu, Samourai or Tagawa. All decent restaurants but all rather too cynically aimed at the business man – Japanese or otherwise – on an expense account for our liking. Somehow they don’t provide that down-to-earth atmosphere and approach that is a feature of our favourite Japanese joints (one of which is Shin Hinomoto – Andy’s Izakaya- in Tokyo in case you’re wondering). So, we were very pleased indeed to chance upon Izaka-ya on a recent trip to the Belgian capital.
Now, before we go any further – and by way of small explanation for the debacle that follows – we should perhaps give those of you unfamiliar with Japan some background. The term ‘izakaya’ literally means a place where alcohol (sake) is served. Originally, izakayas were nothing more than that. You could go and drink there fairly cheaply; the food element was an afterthought. They served what were effectively elaborate bar snacks with your sake: yaki-toru, o-den, kushi-age – chicken, vegetables and meat respectively cooked and served on skewers. Your typical izakaya customer was a salary man, looking for an honest drink at the end of an honest day’s work.
Well, that’s pretty much the frame of mind we were in as we made our way through the unassuming entrance in a very typically Brussels terraced street. Once inside, we surveyed the room. The first thing we saw was a group of eight or ten loud Japanese men, complete with cheap looking white shirts and dull ties. Real, authentic salary men! A great sign. The rest of the clientele looked to be made up of regular locals (many seemed to know the staff well) of all ages – perhaps an even better sign.
There are about twenty small tables dotted around the ramshackle and rather dilapidated room but they also serve at the centrally located bar behind which the barman seems to double as sushi chef. Without a moment’s hesitation, we headed straight for the latter.
We downed a couple of Kirins. Crisp, cold and delicious – just the way we like ‘em – and ordered an assortment of sashimi.
The sashimi was prepared in front of us by the chef and we can report that it was of excellent quality: fresh, tender and tasty.
Now, unfortunately, we can’t report much else.
You see, dear reader, they have a lovely local restaurant tradition at Izaka-ya: you can order a large bottle of sake, drink what you like, then at the end of the evening, write your initials on the bottle and leave it behind the bar for subsequent visits. How could we resist?
The sake was – to our plebeian western taste – absolutely delicious. Smooth, dry and served chilled; it was like nectar of the Gods to us. How we were looking forward to sampling it further on our next visit. And how proud we were that, in the meantime, our initials would stand tall and proud behind that noble bar, on that most noble of bottles, for all the other customers to see. We were fast becoming legends in our own supper time.
Except…
That magnificent, glorious, righteous bottle is not currently sitting behind the bar at Izaka-ya where it belongs. Indeed, the poor little chap didn’t even make it to the end of the meal. With The Prodigal Fool and Straight-Six working on it together, it never stood much of a chance.
As a result, we’re afraid that this is going to be one of the less informative reviews you’ll ever read on the pages of The Prodigal Guide. Beyond the sashimi (genuinely excellent) we can report that Izaka-ya serves a very broad selection of dishes. We sampled most of them: lots of grilled meats and vegetables on skewers, some noodles in broth, miso soup, tempura, rice and so forth. Our over-indulgence with the sake means that we can’t really vouch for the quality of any of it nor indeed make any informed comment about the rest of the evening.
What we can tell you is that we had a simply fantastic time and we would happily return.
Perhaps next time we won’t take things quite so literally. Who knows? We might even be able to bring you a review of the food…
Izaka-Ya, 123 Chaussée de Vleugart, 1000 Brussels, Belgium Tel: +32 2 648 3805
We take things a little too literally at Izaka-Ya
Ask any concierge in Brussels to recommend a Japanese restaurant and you’ll inevitably be directed to either Yamayu Santatsu, Samourai or Tagawa. All decent restaurants but all rather too cynically aimed at the business man – Japanese or otherwise – on an expense account for our liking. Somehow they don’t provide that down-to-earth atmosphere and [...]
3 Responses to “We take things a little too literally at Izaka-Ya”
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Patito, if you joined us too, the sake bottle definitely wouldn’t stand a chance!
Seriously though, you would like it. I recommend you try it.
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[...] Bertorelli need to slug it out for that title. Low points for out reputations? The meal we had at Isaka-Ya in Brussels that we were too drunk to remember let alone write about [...]
Patito
13 October 2009
Boys, sounds like a fun night and a place to try for myself sometime!
xx