An izakaya (居酒屋) — literally "liquor dwelling" — is a Japanese combination of pub and casual restaurant. You order drinks first, then food as you go, in small portions, over the course of a few hours. The point is not to eat a full meal and leave; the point is to drink, talk, and keep ordering until you've had enough of both.
The food at an izakaya is specifically designed for drinking: salty, savory, satisfying in small bites, with enough variety to share around a table. Most dishes are 200-600 yen (roughly $2-$5) in Japan. The drinks are similarly unpretentious — draft beer, sake, shochu, highballs.
Understanding what's on the menu is the key to enjoying one.
The Format
Ordering: Japanese izakayas typically have menus with photos (a lifesaver if you don't read Japanese). Ordering is done by waving down a server or using a table tablet system. You can order multiple rounds; the bill is settled at the end.
Otoshi (お通し): A small dish that arrives automatically when you order drinks — not asked for, automatically charged (usually 300-500 yen per person). This is a Japanese custom. The dish varies by restaurant; it's typically a small salad, pickled vegetables, or a small preparation. Don't refuse it — it is the establishment's hospitality.
Sharing format: All dishes are meant to be shared. Order several dishes for the table, not one each.
The Essential Drinks
Nama beer (生ビール): Fresh draft beer. Sapporo, Asahi, Kirin, Suntory. Order this first, always.
Highball (ハイボール): Whisky + soda over ice. Usually Suntory Tory's or Jim Beam at casual izakayas, Suntory Kakubin at more serious ones. The standard drinking-food pairing at modern izakayas.
Shochu (焼酎): A distilled spirit made from sweet potato, barley, or rice. Lighter than whisky, stronger than sake. Served on the rocks (on the rocks), with water (mizu wari), or with hot water (oyu wari). The izakaya spirit.
Sake (日本酒): Available at any izakaya, usually in multiple varieties. Order hot sake (atsukan) in winter, cold (reishu) in summer. Cheap heated sake at a casual place is one of the great drinking experiences.
The Dishes: A Guide
Starters and Cold Dishes
Edamame (枝豆): Salted boiled soybeans in their pods. The universal izakaya start. Eat by pulling the pod through your front teeth; discard the pod. Always the first order.
Hiyayakko (冷奶豆腐): Cold silken tofu in a pool of soy sauce, topped with grated ginger, green onion, and katsuobushi. The tofu serves as a vehicle for the seasonings. Simple, cooling, perfect with beer.
Caesar salad / potato salad: Most izakayas serve these Western-influenced salads — but the Japanese versions are different. Izakaya potato salad uses Japanese mayonnaise (Kewpie) and is creamier and softer than Western versions.
Sashimi (刺身): Raw fish, sliced and arranged. Not unique to izakayas but always on the menu. At a casual place, order tuna (maguro) or salmon (sake). At a better izakaya, order the chef's selection (omakase).
Grilled Dishes (Yakimono)
Yakitori (焼き鳥): Skewered and grilled chicken. The izakaya staple. Ordered piece by piece. Standard options:
- Negima (ねぎま): chicken thigh + leek, alternating. The essential order.
- Tsukune (つくね): chicken meatball. Often glazed; sometimes served with egg yolk for dipping.
- Torikawa (とりかわ): chicken skin. Extremely fatty and crispy. Not for the faint-hearted.
- Tebasaki (手羽先): chicken wings, grilled or fried.
- Sunagimo (砂肝): chicken gizzard. Chewy, mineral-flavored.
- Reba (レバー): chicken liver.
Yakitori is ordered either tare (sauce — sweet soy glaze) or shio (salt). For chicken thigh and tsukune: tare. For skin and more delicate items: shio.
Shishamo (ししゃも): Small smelt fish grilled whole, including the roe-filled belly. Eaten entire. Common at izakayas; highly seasonal.
Grilled salmon / mackerel (sake, saba): Fatty fish grilled simply with salt. Served with grated daikon and a wedge of lemon.
Fried Dishes (Agemono)
Karaage (唐揚げ): Japanese fried chicken — marinated chicken thigh in soy + ginger + sake, coated in potato starch (not wheat flour), and fried to an extremely crispy exterior. Always served with mayonnaise and lemon wedges. The most ordered dish at izakayas.
Gyoza (餃子): Pan-fried pork dumplings. Izakaya gyoza are typically from the Osaka school — a little thicker-skinned, crispier on the bottom, with the filling more loosely packed than Chinese jiaozi. Served with soy + rice vinegar dipping sauce.
Agedashi tofu (揚げ出し豆腐): Lightly battered silken tofu, deep fried, served in a clear dashi broth with grated daikon. The tofu exterior is crispy; the interior is barely set custard. The broth softens the exterior as you eat. One of the most technically demanding fried dishes in Japanese cooking.
Tatsuta age (竜田揚げ): Fried pork or chicken marinated in soy + ginger, creating a dark crust. Older variant of karaage; similar eating experience.
Kushikatsu (串カツ): Osaka-style breaded and fried skewers — meat, vegetables, seafood on skewers, panko-coated, deep fried. Dip once in the communal sauce at the table (double-dipping is a Osaka cultural violation taken very seriously).
Rice and Noodles (Late in the Meal)
Chazuke (茶漬け) or Onigiri: Served late in the meal, these are the Japanese version of late-night carbs. Chazuke (green tea over rice + salmon or pickled plum) signals winding down. Onigiri are rice triangles.
Ramen: Some izakayas serve ramen as a final dish — again, the late-meal carb function.
Vegetable Dishes
Yakiimo (焼き芋): Roasted Japanese sweet potato. Dense, sweet, and only this kind of sweet potato. Different entirely from Western sweet potato.
Corn on the cob with butter and soy: Japanese izakaya corn — grilled corn drizzled with soy sauce and butter. Absurdly effective.
Baked potato with butter and mentaiko: Japanese baked potato topped with spicy pollock roe mixed with butter. The mentaiko melts onto the potato and the brine adds salt that butter alone doesn't.
How to Order
The rhythm: Drinks first. Edamame immediately. 2-3 cold dishes to start (sashimi, hiyayakko). 3-4 grilled or fried dishes. More drinks. If still hungry: a rice or noodle dish at the end.
The quantity: In Japan, each dish costs 300-700 yen and portions are small. Ordering 6-8 dishes for a table of 2-3 is normal.
The bill: Expect to spend 2,000-4,000 yen per person in Japan (approximately $15-$30) for a full evening including drinks. In the US, izakaya prices are significantly higher — typically $25-$50 per person.
The full recipes live in the book.
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