かもなべ太郎
This is an izakaya located in a back alley near the Hello Day and self-service stand in Matsubara. I had been curious about it because of its high-end facade, but hadn't had a chance to visit until I heard about it from an acquaintance who had been there. My family and I went on a Sunday night. We arrived after 6 pm and the owner was running the place by himself. Inside, there were about 6 seats at the counter on the left side, and two tables on the raised platform on the right side that could seat about 6 people each. We were seated at a table and ordered two draft beers and soft drinks to start. Since I had heard it was a "fish place" from my acquaintance, we ordered a sashimi assortment. I think it was 2000 yen per serving. It included tuna, sazae (turban shell), sardine, baby sardine, squid, and octopus. Unfortunately, the freshness was not great, perhaps because it was a Sunday. The squid was a bit tough and the octopus was boiled. We then ordered a salad and the recommended chicken karaage from my acquaintance. The salad had sunny lettuce, tomato, shredded cabbage, and shredded fried potatoes on top, which paired well with the dressing. The chicken karaage was simple with salt and pepper seasoning, and was decent. We looked at the a la carte menu for additional items but nothing caught our interest... Eventually, we ordered safe choices like potato fries and cheese tempura, and also decided to try the motsunabe (offal hot pot) since the air conditioning was working well. The offal was large and chewy, providing a satisfying texture. The soup had a seafood flavor, so it was a Japanese-style base with a mild soy sauce taste. We also had champon noodles. For the finale, we had sushi rolls including tekka (tuna), nagaimo (Chinese yam), salad roll, and cucumber roll. They didn't offer sushi nigiri. The tekka had a melt-in-your-mouth texture and was delicious. The total bill came to a little over 5000 yen per person, but unfortunately, we didn't feel completely satisfied with the experience considering the price... It might be more suitable for a large group gathering or party. Thank you for the meal.