Delicious and Inexpensive Italian Restaurant: Saizeriya

Japanese required: Almost none
Cost: Between 500-1500 yen per person

Good for: Everyone

Saizeriya is a famous Italian style restaurant. One of its locations is in Sakae, which is where I tend to eat. On average, my lunches there cost around 850 yen. The meals are consistently good, the spacing of tables means I'm always comfortable, and the service is great. It's currently my favorite restaurant to have lunch at whenever I'm in Sakae, either with people or by myself.

Normally, I go there and have some garlic bread, popcorn shrimp, and pasta or pizza. The garlic bread is delicious, but the popcorn shrimp is only good if you eat it while it's hot. The texture turns horrible if you let it cool off. You get to cut your pizza yourself, and the bread is soft and doughy, but it doesn't fall apart under the weight of the toppings (an experience I have had at other restaurants). The pizza tends to have sauce more towards the crust rather than evenly spread, but it's still quite good. 

The pasta I tend to eat is rather simple: just meat sauce with spaghetti. They have a lot more options, but I like the meat sauce the most. The sauce is spread pretty thickly over the top, so I have to mix it in with the rest of the pasta, but there's more than enough to do so. I can't really taste the cheese they sprinkle in with the sauce, but it makes the food look prettier before I eat it. The food usually arrives either with both of the appetizers first and the main dish soon after (a couple minutes) or at the same time. The pasta stays warm for a while, so this isn't usually a problem.

The restaurant has cheap prices with good food. The main dishes are pizza, pasta, and steak. There's also a sizable selection of lunch sets and appetizers, such as having a side of rice (one lunch set choice) or some popcorn shrimp (a side dish you can order separately). The menu is written in Japanese and English and has pictures of the food, so there's no problem ordering food even if you can’t read or speak any Japanese. The restaurant is pretty large, and the waiters react quickly if you ask for something or call for them. 

There are also smoking and non-smoking seats. In addition, they have many drink options along with a drink bar option where you can just pour yourself any of a number of choices. I've gone there with friends before and had a couple of them even mix drinks together, though I've never tried it myself. They swore it was the most delicious drink they've had in a while, but to this day I am skeptical. The drink bar doesn't seem to have a limit on how much you can drink, though alcohol isn't available without ordering it specifically. If you aren't feeling like having any special drinks, water is free.

 Overall, with great, inexpensive food and a relaxed atmosphere, Saizeriya is a great place to eat if you're ever in Sakae. You can find more information at saizeriya's website: http://www.saizeriya.co.jp/