Lunch cycling. On this day, with the cold wind blowing strongly, I decided not to go too far and instead searched for a new ramen shop in Ikebukuro. I stumbled upon this place, "Izumo," which had a line outside. I waited for the opening at 11:30 am, and was seated at the counter with a divider. They had a unique discount system where you could get 10% off if you drew a "super lucky" chopstick. Unfortunately, I got "small luck" (laughs). The main lunch item was the "Unagi Tamadon for 1980 yen." I opted for 300g instead of the default 750g as I wasn't confident I could finish it all. Even with 300g, it was quite a generous portion. The rice was coated with sauce, topped with a 3cm thick tamagoyaki, and a thick piece of eel on top. I dug into the eel, tamagoyaki, and rice. The rice had absorbed the sauce well, making it easy to eat. The tamagoyaki was surprisingly substantial in both volume and taste, making it a bit challenging to finish. Nonetheless, I managed to finish it and left the restaurant satisfied. I then moved to the next restaurant, which was actually my original destination - a ramen shop next door.

An izakaya specializing in eel dishes. The menu is extensive with a variety of options. They offer a good selection of drinks including sake. The food is decent for the price, but if you're looking for delicious eel, you might want to try a different restaurant. You can enjoy various parts of the eel with drinks. The portion seemed a bit smaller than the photos displayed. The eel is grilled to give it a nice smoky flavor. The rice is not as flavorful as it looks.

I wanted to try the eel and rice bowl that I often see on Instagram, so I visited the restaurant. I went around 2 pm on a holiday and there was no wait. The price was around 2750 yen including tax. The dish looked just as impressive as it did on Instagram! The original rice portion is supposed to be 750 grams, but you can choose in 100-gram increments. I wasn't sure how much rice I usually eat, so I went with 300 grams, which was too much for a woman in her 30s. Despite going on an empty stomach, I couldn't finish it and ended up in tears. The eel was plump and voluminous. The egg, which everyone calls egg roll, seemed more like a savory egg custard with dashi broth. Personally, I think a sweet egg roll would have been a better match. The taste was decent for the price.

This is a shop that I have been interested in for a while, known for its eel and beef bowl and eel skewers. Especially the eel and beef bowl is famous for looking great in photos, often appearing on the top page of food review websites. I visited the shop on a weekday night without a reservation and was able to enter without much of a wait. Inside, there are 39 seats. I ordered the "Eel and Beef Bowl (300g of beef)" and some alcohol. You can choose between 100g and 300g of beef for the eel and beef bowl. The 300g portion of the eel and beef bowl looks impressive and tastes quite good, especially the eel which is soft, fragrant, and delicious! On the other hand, the beef is a bit firmer than at regular beef bowl shops, with a good taste from the sauce on the outer meat, but the parts hidden under the eel have less sauce and a lighter flavor, so you might get a bit tired of the beef towards the end. Maybe the 100g portion is recommended! The rice is brown in color but not as strong in flavor as it looks, with a light and not overwhelming taste. Next time, I definitely want to try the eel and egg bowl. Thank you for the meal!

I discovered this restaurant through a segment called "Kotteri Patrol" on a show called "Momoclo Chan". They serve dishes like eel butter skewers and eel beef bowl, which are indeed rich and flavorful. We arrived on a Saturday just after 12 PM, and luckily there was no wait due to heavy rain. However, a line started forming after we got in. The eel skewers were delicious, especially the eel butter skewer where butter was drizzled over eel strips. The combination of eel and butter was amazing. We also ordered the eel beef bowl for our main dish, which was quite filling so sharing it between two people was just right. It was a reasonably priced way to enjoy eel, and the casual atmosphere made it easy to enjoy with drinks as well.

Today's lunch is at the popular eel restaurant "Izumo" in Ikebukuro. There is always a long line at this place. I chose the "Unagi Tamadon," which is a generous portion. You can get a free extra 750g of rice, but to avoid food waste, I ordered mine with only 200g and waited for the dish. The chopstick wrapper here doubles as a fortune slip. I got a great fortune, saying something like "As happy as a Kansai person when they find 551's pork bun." Truly a Kansai-style restaurant. First, I tried the "Unagi Butter," where you can squeeze as much butter as you like onto the grilled eel skewer. Eel and butter are a perfect match. Then came the "Unagi Tamadon." Even with just 200g of rice, the dish looked impressive. The eel was cooked to perfection. However, the unexpected large portion of tamagoyaki (Japanese rolled omelette) posed a challenge. It was a struggle to finish it all, as it exceeded my daily intake. Despite that, the satisfaction I felt was well worth the price of 2500 yen. A great meal at a great value.

I went to an eel izakaya! Exciting because they serve eel with alcohol! Had beer, highball, and akadama while enjoying eel skewers like yakitori, easy to eat and incredibly delicious! It was so good that I ended up ordering an eel and beef bowl as well. It was huge and bursting with flavor, so delicious! Will definitely come back!

On the day of the Midsummer Day of the Ox, for a final stop of a daytime drinking stroll, I went to this place. I have visited the Shinjuku branch a few times, but this was my first time in Ikebukuro. The eel skewers were consistently delicious as always. The eel skewer with butter was so good that the staff had to say "stop" before I stopped shaving off the butter. It was devilishly delicious! Unfortunately, the blue cheese was sold out today... They offer appetizers, and you can choose from three dishes. You also get a chopstick bag fortune when you choose. If you get a super lucky draw, good things will happen! Smoking is allowed inside the restaurant.

Business hours: 11:00-24:00 *After 3:00 PM, there is a table charge and one drink minimum Closed on: No regular holidays Number of seats: 1st floor counter seats, table seats, 2nd floor tatami seats [Lunch Menu] Eel Bowl: 2000 yen *Free extra rice On the day before the midsummer day of the ox, Izumo-san was visited to prepare for it. Therefore, the special "Tower of Eel and Egg Bowl" and "Overflowing Eel and Beef Bowl" were not available on this day. We had no choice but to order the "Eel Bowl" with extra rice. The eel and rice are cooked together, so the sauce is not as strong as it looks. It would be perfect if the sauce was poured over the white rice, but we will have to come back another day for the large portion menu we were looking forward to.

Taste: 3.0 Cleanliness: 3.0 Customer service: 2.5 Cost performance: 3.0 Preference: 3.0 (Appearance preference: 4.0) This is the towering eel and egg rice bowl. You can choose the amount of rice (750g). It certainly looked towering and had a fierce appearance. It has been a while since I saw such a menacing dish. Taste: The eel was average, the egg was average, and the mixed rice was slightly different from my preference (I prefer sauce on white rice). The chopstick wrapper turned into a fortune slip. Mine said "Great Luck" (I thought everyone got the same but the couple next to me got different fortunes). I apologize for doubting it! The taste was slightly different from my preference but the appearance was great, so overall I would rate it 3.5. There are no paper menus, so please be aware that orders are placed through mobile order. The menu can be checked within the mobile order system.

I went out to Ikebukuro in the afternoon on a regular day. I had a few errands to take care of, but the heat was too much for me to walk around too much, so I decided to cut my outing short. It was still a little past 3 pm. I had planned to visit a few more stores, but since it was early, I thought I would just have a drink and enjoy a bowl of eel, which is perfect for this season. The first place I headed to was "Unatei," but when I arrived, the store that was supposed to be open all day was closed. It seemed like they were taking a break, probably due to a shortage of staff. So, I decided to go to this backup option. The place is located in a narrow alley leading from the Tobu Department Store in the West Exit to the West Exit Park. It seems to be based in Kansai and has been open for less than four years. I knew of its existence but had never been inside before. The interior was cluttered and small, with a counter surrounding the kitchen in an L-shape with 7 seats, 2 four-seater tables, a private room-like space in the back, and more seats on the second floor. Even at this time, two seats at the counter and one table were occupied, all by people using the izakaya. I was seated at the end of the counter, where an acrylic partition remained. As soon as I sat down, a young female staff member pointed to the QR code posted in front of me and said, "Please place your order on the web." It was assumed that customers had a smartphone and were familiar with using it, even at an old-fashioned izakaya like this one. The process wasn't too difficult, so I managed to do it, but I worried that I might make mistakes or double-order when I got drunk. However, since the staff took the orders in front of me, it seemed okay to tell them verbally if there was a mistake. I placed the following orders one by one: I sent the order for a "large draft beer," and a chime rang in the store, and it was promptly served by the staff. The drink came with an appetizer, and I was told that I could choose from four options, including cold tofu and salted fish entrails, and I chose "crab miso tofu." It was a ready-made dish, but it was delicious in small quantities. (The appetizer cost 330 yen.) For snacks, I ordered four famous eel skewers: "Kamo no Ho-yaki," which is the original style of eel dish, where the eel is cut into thin sticks without being split and resembles "Kamo no Ho," the origin of the word "kabayaki." In the past, the bones were still attached, but here, the central bones were removed, and the unsplit pieces about 5 cm long were skewered and served in a white-grilled style. It was delicious with the pink rock salt provided, as the crispy skin and tender meat were delightful. "Shiro Tanmaki," which is made by cutting the opened eel vertically into 2 cm wide strips, skewering them, and grilling them with salt. It was served with a good-quality tube of wasabi sauce, and it was quite delicious. "Liver," which consisted of about four pieces of liver skewered together and grilled with sauce. It had little bitterness or unpleasant taste and showed the freshness of the ingredients. "Kabuto," which is usually cooked until the bones become tender in a pressure cooker, but here, you could enjoy a crispy texture and good flavor. In addition to the dishes, I ordered one more item. There were many other snack options besides eel dishes, but it was difficult to decide while sliding the screen on my smartphone. I thought eel dishes would be good after all, so I ordered "Eel and Egg Hot Pot." As expected, a pot of eel and burdock root wrapped in egg in the style of Yufuin was served in a simmering state. It was slightly overcooked, but the egg was fluffy and the sweet seasoning was not too strong, making it quite delicious. I transferred it to a small dish with lotus flowers and used the mill on the table to grind and add sansho pepper, but the flavor was not quite right due to the coarse texture. For an additional drink, I ordered a "Highball" to go with the hot pot.

The other day, I had a delicious meal at "Izumo" in Asakusa Yokocho. I had to wait for about 30 minutes before entering because I had business in Ikebukuro. It was nice to see horse meat tsukune, which was not available in Asakusa, but unfortunately, they didn't have the unlimited carrot appetizer that I was looking forward to. The Engawa senbei was so delicious that I ended up drinking a bit too much (crying). They mentioned that they will make unlimited daikon appetizers next time, so I am looking forward to that. And now, onto the main event - #IkebukuroGourmet #Eel #Engawa #HorseMeat

I sat at the counter seat right after entering the restaurant. There were also seats in the back and on the second floor. It had been a while since I had been to an izakaya, and I was excited to see some unique menu items. I had a hard time choosing from the menu. I was happy that we could choose from 4 different appetizers. The eel rice bowl was fluffy and delicious, with plenty of oil. If you don't increase the rice portion, it's a very small amount! If you're drinking, it's fine as it is, but if you want to eat more rice, it's better to increase the portion. I hope I can go back again. The appetizers were simmered eggplant for 330 yen, crab miso tofu for 330 yen, eel rice bowl with pickles and liver for 3,300 yen, cherry blossom horse sashimi for 869 yen, Oyuki no Kura sake (180ml) for 759 yen, anglerfish tempura for 484 yen, eel tataki for 1,419 yen.

Good points: - No reservation required - Can choose the amount of rice - Satisfying portion size for men - Nostalgic music playing - Can adjust the amount of sansho pepper by yourself Bad points: - The narrow interior may cause inconvenience for passing by or being bothered by neighboring customers - The taste of eel varies depending on the part

The eel rice bowl served at this restaurant, known for its smoking-friendly atmosphere and all-day lunch service, is visually stunning and impressively large, a dish that many may have seen on Instagram. Although I didn't order it myself, as I wouldn't be able to finish it even with two heavy drinkers, I was pleasantly surprised by the overall quality of the food. The eel was crispy on the outside and tender inside, with just the right amount of fat. I was a bit wary of trying the horse sashimi, so I opted for the cooked version, which had a firm texture due to the low fat content of horse meat. And let me show you something I couldn't resist taking a photo of, even though I had already started eating - the amount of liver in the liver sashimi was quite impressive! I wonder how much they put in there. As for the eel sandwich, it was a surprising twist - not made with bread, but with eel sandwiched between rice. Innovative! For those who find themselves craving more eel after finishing their eel rice bowl, this could be a great option. They also had a variety of sake available, making it a good choice for those looking to leisurely drink in Ikebukuro during the day!

On this day, I had a daytime drink in Ikebukuro. It had been 2 months since the last time, so I was excited as I headed to Ikebukuro. The organizer chose an eel restaurant in the west exit...■ Izumo IkebukuroFrom Ikebukuro Station, it's just a 15-second dash, located just before the famous sake bar "Fukuro". When I arrived at the restaurant at 12 pm on Sunday, there was already a line... We gave our reservation name and were led to a table at the back. Here, you order by scanning a QR code with your smartphone. Once everyone had arrived, we ordered the "Great Deal!" set for each person.◆ Light Drinking Set ¥1500Includes a mega jug drink, eel short strips, white eel short strips, eel bone crackers, and liver with ponzu sauce. Since there was Hoppy in the mega jug drink, we all decided to go with Mega Hoppy. For those who don't like liver with ponzu sauce, the manager recommended another dish as a replacement. We started with Hoppy - Cheers! Drinking Hoppy in broad daylight is delicious. Since we were a group of good friends, we had lively conversations on various topics. Someone who had recently been to Miyako Island shared some "Miyako Island information" as the dishes kept coming.・Eel Kabayaki Short Strip SkewerRotating the skewer and sprinkling with sansho pepper was like being at a noodle bar. The glossy eel was plump and juicy, and when you put it in your mouth, it was soft and fluffy. The sweet and salty sauce combined with the charcoal-grilled eel flavor for an exquisite taste.・Eel Shirayaki Short Strip SkewerCrispy skin, topped with wasabi, and when you eat it, the eel's flavor spreads nicely with just the right amount of fat.・Eel Bone CrackersCrunchy and full of calcium. When you bite into it, a fragrant aroma spreads.・Liver with Ponzu Sauce and Potato SaladFor those who don't like liver with ponzu sauce, we received potato salad instead. This was a wonderful service! After Hoppy, we switched to sake, with a strong green tea high as a chaser.◆ Pickled Mustard Greens and Edamame ¥374A mix of pickled mustard greens and edamame. It makes a great snack!◆ Fresh Chives with Raw Egg ¥539In the center of the chives, there is a yolk reigning, with bonito flakes sprinkled on top. Once again, we encountered a rare type of chives with raw egg.◆ Eel Roll ¥759Lots of leeks. Eel sandwiched between layers of thick rolled omelet. Alright, let's order the specialty dish for the finale!◆ Eel and Egg Bowl ¥2500Wow, what an impact! A brown "sauce rice" piled high, topped with a hot omelet. And on top of that, a glossy grilled eel. Its appearance was powerful, truly a "eel, egg, boom!" feeling. Let's share and eat it right away. The brown rice is not soaked in eel sauce like it looks, but it's rice cooked in sauce, with a firm texture, not as strong in flavor as it looks, lightly flavored. The thick rolled omelet is soft and has a pudding-like texture. The gigantic eel is glossy and beautiful, with plump flesh that unravels finely in your mouth. Oink, I ate it all! After finishing the voluminous eel and egg bowl, my stomach was full. As I stood up to pay the bill, I witnessed bowls of uneaten "Eel and Egg Bowl" placed at each table. Some people were eating only the eel and egg, leaving most of the rice uneaten. When I mentioned to the staff, "This is terrible," they said, "Everyone takes photos, and some leave it like this." The visually striking eel and egg bowl. Is the purpose to take a photo of it for social media rather than eating it? Prioritizing Instagrammable moments over eating? As someone who was raised not to waste food, I couldn't believe what I saw.※For more details, visit the blog with a sense of presence...【Waraibuta2】http://waraibuta2.blog.fc2.com/In their 60s. A man who knows all about bars shares his blog about drinking【Folk Toys Forest】https://folktoys.blog.fc2.com/A nostalgic and heartwarming blog about folk toys

A certain competitive eater (Garlic Fool) YouTuber uploaded a video on Nico Nico Douga, so I decided to check it out thinking it looked delicious... However, I had a bad feeling about the unenthusiastic staff. As I looked for the menu, the staff said, "Oh, we only take orders through QR code"... Minus point 1! "But as long as the food tastes good, it's fine," I thought, and ordered the eel rice bowl. It arrived. "Oh, this looks pretty good as expected..." The visual was nice, just like the YouTuber had shown. However, the problem was the taste! I took a bite... Huh? It's not that delicious. In fact, the rice bowl was too salty from the sauce, and the eel was like a seasonal item from a convenience store, no, even the supermarket's version is cheaper and tastier... It's not tender at all. And they charge over 3000 yen for this... That's insane. Oh well, YouTubers are just crap.

The table was a bit small and orders were made through a QR code. They had some good sake options. I tried grilled chicken hearts for the first time and they were delicious, seasoned well and tender. The eel was decent, typical for an izakaya. Ordering eel will make the bill a bit pricey, but if you're just looking to have a quick drink, it might be worth it. Personally, I think one visit is enough for me.

I enjoyed the way the eel was prepared. Eating eel in a refreshing style was nice for a change! It was my first time trying grilled white eel, and it tasted more like rich white fish than eel! I wish I had room in my stomach to try the rice bowl as well. It's best to have a little room left in your stomach to enjoy a drink after getting full!

I had always been curious about the restaurant "Izumo" in Ikebukuro, and I finally visited for dinner. They offer dishes like Short Rib and Grilled Mackerel at reasonable prices. I ordered the Mini Eel Bowl as a finishing touch, and it was the perfect size.

On Sunday afternoon, I went to Ikebukuro. It's a small restaurant located in a narrow alley across from the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre square. You can spot it by the big telekura sign, although I wonder if telekura is still operating these days... It's Sunday, but they still serve lunch here! I ordered the Unagi Tamago Don. It's a small place, but you order using a tablet. You can choose the amount of rice you want, and this time I went with 200g. The eel was piping hot and delicious! The egg was more like a slightly sweet pudding than the usual dashimaki. The portion was unexpectedly large, and I ended up with heartburn while eating... so frustrating. It would be nice if they also let you choose the size of the tamagoyaki. The chopstick rest at this place is like a fortune slip, and if you draw the highest luck, you get a 10% discount on your meal! Amazing! And I managed to draw that on my first try. But then I found out it couldn't be used for lunch. There's nothing more disappointing than getting a great fortune you can't use. Oh no!