Inspired by Shio-san's review, I visited Northern on a weekday. It had been a while since I last drank near my workplace, the last time being about a week ago in the Nihonbashi area. Upon opening the heavy door and climbing the steep stairs to the second floor, I was seated at a small table for two since there was no counter seat available. I started with a Kirin bottled beer for 539 yen. For snacks, I ordered sardine sashimi for 440 yen, new burdock kinpira for 330 yen, and zucchini tempura for 330 yen. The sardine was surprisingly fresh and delicious, with no fishy smell and a good amount of fat. The portion was small and reasonably priced, making it easy for solo diners like me. The kinpira had thick slices of burdock, providing a nice texture and a hint of sweetness from the burdock. The zucchini tempura was larger than I expected and had a crunchy texture without being too tough. Both dishes were delicious, but I would say the sardine was slightly better. Not wanting to disappoint Shio-san, I ordered two chu-hai drinks for 275 yen each. They were not too sweet without syrup, but the alcohol content was a bit light. Considering the price for sitting and drinking, I had no complaints about the total bill of 2,189 yen.

■Access 1-minute walk from Suitengumae Station on the Tokyo Metro Hanzomon Line ■Visit Frequency First visit ■Purpose Dinner with a senior colleague ■Overview An izakaya located on the 2nd floor of a building along the main street of Suitengumae. The distinctive feature is the name of the restaurant and charming illustrations on the wall of the building. The interior is clean with a wood-based design, and there are about 7 or 8 table seats. ■Menu The menu offers a typical lineup of izakaya dishes, including sashimi, simmered dishes, noodles, rice dishes, and oden. The dishes we had on this day were as follows: - Sardine sashimi - Firefly squid marinated in soy sauce - Yakisoba - Assorted oden - Rolled pork with yam - Several other alcoholic drinks ■Impression We started with a beer, which had a very clear taste indicating that the beer server was well maintained. The sardine sashimi was fatty with a strong umami flavor and no fishy taste, offering excellent quality for the price of 330 yen. The oden had a well-infused flavor, making it a perfect snack. Especially, the radish was so tender that it easily cut with chopsticks, showing that it was carefully prepared over time. Although the atmosphere is that of a casual izakaya, the attention to detail in cleaning the beer server and the time put into preparing the dishes made it a place where shortcuts were not taken. I look forward to visiting again soon. Thank you for the meal. ■Rating at the time of posting 3.06

The drink prices made me think it was a standing bar, but it turned out to be a large table seating restaurant. They have a wide variety of drinks and food on the menu. It's fun to carefully choose from the whiteboard inside and the strips on the wall grouped by price range. Today's lineup was like this: - Chu-hi x3 for 750 yen (photo 2): Drinking from a glass jug, the refreshing carbonation feels nice. - Vice sour set for 480 yen, refill for 200 yen (photo 3): I usually prefer plain drinks but decided to try something with color. It's not too sweet, so it's okay, and the size is just right for finishing one glass with a refill. - Assorted sashimi for 800 yen (photo 4): A surprising mix of bonito, sardine, and sea bream. The freshness and generous portions at this price range are impressive! On this day, I had 5 jugs and 1 dish, totaling 2,453 yen. Thank you for the meal, I will come back again.

[Location] When you go from Suitengu-mae intersection towards Kayabacho on Shindai Bridge Street, the shop is located on the second floor of the building on the left hand side. [Store, Interior] You will go up the stairs to the second floor. On the left is the kitchen, and on the right are table seats lined up. The interior of the shop has concrete walls with menu items stuck on them like strips of paper. The shop is open from 2 pm to 11 pm on weekdays, and from 2 pm to 9:30 pm on weekends and holidays. It is closed on Mondays. [Food] The sign says appetizers start from ¥250. Overall, the prices for the dishes are quite reasonable. Items ordered: - Sashimi: A 3-piece assortment of octopus, marinated sea bream, and amberjack. - Simmered fish head: A generous portion. - Tempura of rapeseed blossoms: Felt like having something fried, so ordered this. [Drinks] I had Highball for ¥400 throughout. [Service] The staff seemed to be a couple, with the wife in the hall and the husband in the kitchen. The wife's attentiveness was nice. I hope this post serves as a helpful reference for your restaurant choices.

I had work in the neighborhood in the evening and found this place that I had been curious about. I saw octopus, my second favorite after shellfish, on the menu and ordered the tako sashimi. It was delicious. Generally, seafood is tasty as expected. I also ordered a few skewers of yakitori, which were also delicious. The drinks are reasonably priced, especially the regular chu-hai. This is a good place to drop by casually. They are open from 2 pm on weekdays and have a good selection of set meals, so it would be convenient for when you miss lunch or have a strange schedule.

The staff are great and the cost performance is top class, so I highly recommend it!