I knew about the existence of the shop, but it was my first time visiting due to timing. The atmosphere inside the shop was quite mysterious. The beer was self-served from a container with ice at the back. After taking it, you refill the same brand of beer yourself. As the name suggests, the shop seems to be particular about alcohol. There is a wine cellar inside the shop. This time, I had sparkling wine. The shop owner had a stylish white hair and wore a bow tie, speaking in a refined Kansai dialect. The dumplings were handmade after ordering. They wrapped the filling in the dough in front of you and then cooked it. The meat dumplings were recommended with miso sauce, and when I tried them, the juicy filling paired well with the rich miso flavor. I would like to visit again and enjoy a leisurely drink.

I randomly stopped by this small gyoza restaurant/bar where an older man runs the place by himself. The food is cheap and delicious! The master is friendly and easy to talk to, and he can read the atmosphere well. The gyoza is made fresh to order, even the skin is handmade which surprised me. The gyoza skin pizza was crispy and amazing. This place is a hidden gem for sure!

A small dumpling shop located in the back streets of Asakusa with only about 5 counter seats. The exterior looks like a traditional izakaya, which may be a bit intimidating to enter, but there is a big sign that says "dumplings" making it stand out. Despite its small size, the dumplings are large and hearty. The generous owner makes the dumpling skins according to the order. The dumpling skins made one by one with a hand-kneading machine are thick. The dumplings we had this time were shiso, garlic, and game meat dumplings. The dumplings, packed with filling, are more flavorful than juicy. You can really taste the ingredients, and it's nice to be able to enjoy different flavors. If a plate of dumplings filled to the brim costs 550 yen for 5 pieces, it's quite cost-effective. It seems to be a taste tailored for inbound foreign visitors. Perhaps because there are many hostels nearby. Maybe the flavors are bold and easy to understand for foreign visitors. Also, despite the atmosphere of the shop (sorry!), the wine lineup is said to be extensive. Dumplings and wine make for an interesting combination. (It's frustrating not being able to drink due to the pandemic.) I would like to visit this shop again when I can drink, but with the limited number of seats, it may be a matter of luck whether you can get in or not.

Rumor has it, GYOZA BAR is a popular spot owned by Mr. Ogata, also known on Facebook. They are open for lunch on weekends, and my friend and I arrived early at 5 pm for our 6 pm reservation. We sat at the counter seats where we could see the whole kitchen. We started with sparkling wine as an aperitif and ordered the daily salad for ¥750, which surprisingly came with a lot of cilantro, even the roots! I'm not a fan of cilantro, so I passed it on to my friend. For the main dish, there were various types of dumplings, but some were sold out. I couldn't try the Gorgonzola Italian-style dumplings, so I opted for the meat dumplings and squid-carrot dumplings. The meat dumplings were delicious on their own or with miso sauce, with a hint of oyster flavor. The squid-carrot dumplings had squid ink and were like Italian dumplings, very tasty. We finished off with Kinmiya tea mixed with shochu. It was a delightful meal.

This is a dumpling restaurant in Asakusa 4-chome. The owner manages the place alone. The shop is small, with a main counter and a tatami seating area in the back. The menu is focused on dumplings, with over 10 varieties including meat, vegetable, and fish dumplings. There are also a few side dishes available, but the selection is limited. I decided to focus on trying the dumplings here. The sauce dishes for dumplings are divided into four sections: spicy oil + vinegar + soy sauce, lemon + soy sauce, salt, and miso sauce. However, all the dumplings were delicious even without sauce. The meat dumplings cost 450 yen and are the standard dumplings of the shop. They have a good balance of filling, skin, and crispiness. They are not too heavy and easy to eat, pairing well with alcohol. The shiso dumplings cost 550 yen and have a light taste with the flavor of shiso coming through. They are easy to eat and go well with alcohol. The salmon dumplings cost 750 yen and are packed with delicious salmon flavor. Other fish dumplings available include sardine, mackerel, and parent-child dumplings, which I would like to try as well. The spinach and gorgonzola dumplings cost 850 yen and were listed as a special on the whiteboard. They are dumplings shaped like ravioli with green spinach filling and sprinkled with grated gorgonzola. It's like an Italian dish. It felt like it needed a bit more salt, but adding some salt from the table made it even better. Adding honey made it even better. It would go well with wine. The dumplings were quite tasty overall. The only downside might be the lack of variety in alcohol options. They have a good selection of wine, which pairs well with the dumplings, but it would have been even better if they had a variety of shochu as well. Thank you for the meal.

I made a quick appearance at the Sanja Matsuri in the afternoon (^ ^) I always have a short stay, but I am grateful. However, I am healed by Kaseke-san, dumplings, and bubbles!

At the counter, I had freshly grilled gyoza and champagne. There were many types of gyoza to choose from, and before I knew it, my stomach was full from trying various kinds. Keisuke-san's stories were light-hearted and enjoyable. The akashiyaki we had at the end was also delicious!

Foreign visitors often come here because the food is really delicious! The wine is also tasty.

Everything from regular dumplings to Gorgonzola-filled dumplings is delicious. A precious restaurant with late-night hours.

It was delicious!

Visited around 7:00 PM on Saturday, July 14, 2018. I met Keisuke-san during a gyoza food tour in Sannomiya earlier this year. I had planned to visit him next time I was in Tokyo, so I met my daughter at Asakusa Station and entered the restaurant. It was quite a walk from Asakusa Station, but the beer was delicious! I ordered a bottle of Sapporo Red Star beer from the large glass container behind the counter. It was nicely chilled! We also ordered grilled gyoza, shiso gyoza, coriander gyoza, and plum gyoza. We also had pickles, Super Dry beer, and finally water gyoza, which turned out to be a soup gyoza with grated yam and kelp. It was delicious! After the meal, we walked back to Asakusa Station, making a stop at a sushi restaurant on the way. Thank you for the meal, Keisuke-san! Let's meet again soon!

On February 21, 2018 (Tuesday) from 7:00 pm, I went to a gyoza bar located in Asakusa, Taito-ku, Tokyo. It is situated in a deep area of Asakusa, behind the Kannon temple. I was taken there by an acquaintance for work in Tokyo. The bar had a small sign and a gyoza flag outside, with dim lights glowing in the darkness. Inside, there were a few counter seats in front of the kitchen and a raised table seat in the back. The sign indicated that smoking was not allowed inside, but IQOS devices were allowed while smoking types were not. The patrons included a couple, a solo male, and a local male. I ordered a bottle of rosé sparkling wine and received a separate strawberry to garnish the glass for a toast. The wine had a refreshing, crisp taste, and the strawberry added a charming sweet scent when placed in the glass. Both white and red wines were from Spain, as the owner imports Spanish wines directly. They offer wines that cannot be found elsewhere. The menu had a variety of gyoza options, including meat gyoza which were served with a crispy surface. They were filled with meat but not overflowing with juices. The unique feature here was the "miso sauce" for the meat gyoza. The recommended gyoza types included mackerel gyoza and sardine gyoza, both having a strong fish aroma. The shrimp and avocado gyoza had a light green skin with visible shrimp and avocado paste inside, pairing well with wine. The cilantro gyoza had a generous amount of cilantro topped with salted kelp, and the root part was served separately with a stronger aroma. Other dishes included pickled cherry pepper and tofu with salt koji, cheese with caviar, and grilled green onions. It was a delightful experience enjoying wine and gyoza in the deep area of Asakusa. We were taken care of until late without any pretense.

When the restaurant first opened, they offered a unique mushroom dumpling with a kombu broth base that catered to vegans by not using any animal products. The taste was surprisingly good. After a year, the owner, Keisuke, continues to experiment. The new addition is fish dumplings, with options like horse mackerel and salmon. The horse mackerel dumplings capture the essence of the fish without any fishy taste, while the salmon dumplings have a beautiful pink hue peeking through the skin. Fish-filled dumplings are rare on menus, but the ones at this restaurant are exceptional. It's worth checking with the restaurant as availability may vary. Who knows, they might even have a secret menu?