Tokyo has a tremendous number of restaurants – and yet, you could starve to death walking around searching for one.
Uoshin Nogizaka is probably among the restaurants you would skip if no one had referred it to you, and that is for several different reasons. It’s a popular, typical Izakaya-style restaurant located in Akasaka not far from Nogizaka subway station. The entrance is not particularly charming or welcoming, you can see crates of beer stacked behind the sliding glass doors.
The first glimpse inside gives way to a narrow restaurant with eclectic décor. In the middle, a corridor loaded with pots and pans. To your left, people are seated on plastic crates converted into stools and tables made of wooden crates turned upside down to which they added legs. To your right, the sushi bar in front, with an aquarium to its side. Behind the bar, there are dishes, plates, pans, boxes, bottles… and smack in the middle of all the untidiness, several cooks hasten to prepare the patrons’ orders.
But if you look closely, you’ll see people having fun eating and drinking, laughing loudly at stories they tell each other. At their tables, many delicious dishes look appetizing. Beer and sake are all over the tables, and after a while the décor starts looking not so unpleasant after all. The room in the back is wallpapered with pictures taken at Tsukiji Market – the largest wholesale and seafood market in the world. It’s a nice way to show that their fish and seafood are very fresh.
If you don’t speak Japanese, like me, you’ll have a hard time understanding the menu, as it’s written entirely in Japanese (photo). They have an English menu, but it doesn’t seem to be as extensive as the Japanese one.
Some of the waiters speak a few words of English, but the best way to order is probably to Google the restaurant and show pictures of the dishes. You can also point to other tables or show them my blog post and have what we ordered.
We started with cabbage salad with bonito – dry fish – and edamame beans paired with cold and dry sake.
We ordered a dish of shredded crab presented with seaweed, a leaf of shiso, and a crab shell. It’s served cold and is really good.
On the way to our table, there was a display with fresh fish on an ice bed that you can choose from. The selection changes according to the market.
Naturally, we ordered a large sampler plate of sashimi.
Some comfort food, warm and crunchy: croquettes with soy sauce.
Grilled scallops in their shells, topped with seaweed. Delicious.
We finished with a preparation of caramelized eggplant served with scallions and sesame seed.
You might not find exactly what we ordered as the menu changes regularly according to the season.
Uoshin Nogizaka has an energetic and boisterous atmosphere; it’s a casual place where people meet to have good food and a good time at a reasonable price.
It’s better to make a reservation, as it’s always packed.
Uoshin Nogizaka
9 Chome-6-32 Akasaka,
Minato City, Tokyo 107-0052, Japan
It was super nice indeed!!