あっとらんこ
I often pass by this place, and it's quite unusual for a shop around here to be bustling with customers rather than having idle staff. I last visited this place before using Tabelog, so it must have been about 3-4 years ago. I've been wanting to visit again and leave a review. We visited with a few people on a weekday. We made a reservation and arrived quite early, but the place was almost full. The drink menu is well-stocked and the prices are reasonable. They seem to take pride in their selection of sake and shochu, so it might be a great place for those who enjoy drinking. By the way, they serve Asahi beer (disappointing for Kirin fans). Overall, it's a good place, but I was quite disappointed by the smell of cigarette smoke as soon as I entered. It's a drinking place, so I won't ask for a non-smoking area, but it would be nice if they could consider making it comfortable for non-smokers in such a stylish interior. Now, about the food we had. The appetizer was finely chopped cabbage pickles or salted cabbage. Hmm, the portion was small and I wish they had put more effort into it. The assorted skewers were served in the order they were grilled, so I'm not sure how many there were, but they were all delicious. The assorted offal skewers were the same. The half-raw liver was the best! I ended up ordering more. The seared char siu skewer was served with a melty and flavorful roasted pork. I felt like asking for rice and green onions! The anchovy and leek dish was a palate cleanser. The grilled leeks had a hint of anchovy aroma and a unique texture. The fried yam was a large piece of deep-fried yam. It had an interesting texture. The mountain of cabbage was peeled and served as it is. The core was incredibly sweet and the cabbage was served with spicy miso. However, I didn't feel as satisfied with the portion (was it a large portion?) so I wished for a bigger serving. The liver paste had a mild liver flavor. In other words, it was easy to eat. The portion was a bit small, so I wanted more. The Japanese-style omelette rice was made larger than usual since we had a large group (I ate half of it). It was not a light Japanese-style dish, but rather a hearty one. The liver was especially delicious, perfectly cooked! We fought over it and ended up ordering a lot more (laughs). The restaurant is not very spacious, and the seats are not wide either. It has a cozy izakaya-like atmosphere where people drink shoulder to shoulder. The staff are young, but the customers are mostly in their 30s to 50s, with few older and younger people. The staff are cheerful and friendly, and they are good at sales talk. They recommend dishes like, "How about trying this next?" but it doesn't feel pushy, it's very natural and impressive (others should learn from them). Since the place was crowded, the orders didn't always come in order, and it was sometimes difficult to place an order because the staff weren't paying attention, but overall it was a satisfying experience. The bill was cheaper than expected (maybe because we had a large group), which was nice. We received a 5% discount coupon valid until the end of March, but it seems it won't be valid from April. I wonder if they will continue without raising prices? This place has a unique atmosphere in Higashiyamato, so I hope they continue to do well in the future.