Izakaya: The Japanese Tavern

Japanese Required: A lot
Good for: Everyone

If you stay in Japan for a while, you'll probably hear the term "Izakaya" a lot. "Izakaya" in Japanese translates to "Tavern" in English, and they are truly the taverns of Japan. You can find Izakaya restaurants everywhere in Japan: down side-streets, near train stations, in rural areas, in urban areas, etc. They are almost certainly more common in Japan than fast food places.

All Izakaya restaurants are essentially the same. They usually serve food on skewers, rice, and miso soup. They also serve edamame (soya beans). The food is served family-style, and there are usually several different types of meat on each skewer rather than a single place having multiples of the same kind. You can almost always order some sort of fried food, and assorted alcohol is the norm.

I have been to many different Izakaya restaurants around Nagoya as well as to one in Inuyama. Although they are all the same food, each restaurant has slight differences to match the place they were built. The restaurant in Inuyama was a more intimate, close seating style that was suited toward families or close friends. The atmosphere was very comfortable and bright, and our table was actually sectioned off from the rest of the restaurant via sliding doors. This gave it a very personal feel even though, just a couple feet away, there were at least two or three other tables with people seated in their own sectioned off areas. Meanwhile, a place in Sakae had more open style seating.

Something to note about Izakaya restaurants is that they very often have traditional Japanese seating arrangements, which means no chairs. If you aren't used to sitting on a cushion, then adjusting might be a little bit difficult. Although the place in Sakae was more open, the space made it feel less comfortable and relaxed. This was in part due to, despite having a private seating area, being able to hear and see the other people in the restaurant whereas, in Inuyama, I had the feeling of just being with my friends.

I would have enjoyed the one in Sakae if I was eating alone because I would still feel apart of the buzz and would most likely have been invited to join in some of the conversation. I recommend the one in Inuyama (or similar ones) for eating with friends and wanting that tavern feel while having some privacy. Check them out and decide for yourself which you like more.

Komeda's Coffee: Not just a coffee shop

Japanese Required: Moderate

Komeda's coffee is a well known place in Japan to get coffee. When I went there, I was expecting to smell coffee thick in the air and see mostly light snack foods and the like.  This, however, was not the case. The smell was not rich with the scent of coffee despite the place being so full I had to wait a while to be seated. The inside had soft mood lighting, and it had a very relaxed atmosphere. Part of this was the fact that elderly Japanese people filled most of the seats, and they always give off the full extent of their relaxation in how they hold themselves (and how intense their conversations are). Once I was finally seated, I got treated to a surprise via the menu.

Yup. Komeda's coffee is a sandwich shop! The place sells hamburgers, egg salad sandwiches, and other, similar stuff. In addition to these normal sandwiches and such, there's the option to have the Komeda Pizza. I'm personally not a fan of burgers, so I went with some toast and the pizza. The pizza had some green bell peppers (very little, so it was hardly spicy), onions, and ham pieces. Meanwhile, the toast had two options: cut into four slices or kept as two normal slices. I opted for four slices because I have a habit of spreading too much butter on normally sized toast.

The pizza didn't have much sauce or cheese, so most of the actual substance came from the bread. The entire pizza was slightly chewy rather than the crispier versions you might get from pizza hut. The toast was pretty normal as far as toast goes, and they supplied enough of both jam and butter. The pizza also came with tabasco and a packet of lightly salted peanuts. I, being a salt addict, loved the peanuts.

Overall, Komeda's Coffee was a pleasant experience. The food was alright, I received both my pizza and my toast in less than the amount of time I spent waiting, and the serving staff was responsive when I asked questions (like "what is in the special Komeda Pizza?"). I wouldn't recommend that anybody go out of their way to eat here, but, if you're in the area and want to take a brief coffee break, Komeda's Coffee is not a bad choice.

Italian Restaurant: Gran Piatto

Gran Piatto in Hiroshima

Japanese required: Moderate
Cost: 800-2,000 yen per person
Good for: Everyone

Gran Piatto is an Italian restaurant found all over Japan. I have eaten there several times, alone and with large and small groups. The restaurant I go to (at Nagoya University) consistently has a pleasant atmosphere, and the waiting staff is friendly and patient. The menu (which is in Japanese) changes a bit between lunch and dinner, and even more if you organize a party beforehand.

I've tried a few different meals, both pasta and pizza, and I like the pasta a lot more than the pizza. Usually, pizza and pasta are about the same to me, but the pizza crust is too weak. Whenever I go to actually eat a slice, the oil-covered breading bends and basically dumps the cheese and toppings onto the plate. Having to carefully lift every slice up by both sides and roll it into a circle to be able to eat the pizza ruins the pleasure of eating it. The pizza tastes really good, but it's not worth it to me.

The pasta dishes, on the other hand, include a variety that is equally as delicious as the pizza without any of the complications. The pasta available changes depending on the day, but there's always a lunch set available which includes bread as an appetizer.

If you schedule a party, then the food will be a set course with free drinks. The serving style for a party is different from just a normal group: at a party, it's a family-style meal. There were at least three or four different plates of food that could have been considered a main course served throughout the party, and even with a group of roughly 15 people we couldn't manage to eat all of it.

With consistently good service, good food, and a soothing atmosphere, Gran Piatto is a restaurant I would definitely recommend to anyone looking for someplace to eat while in the Nagoya University area. It is my go-to place whenever I visit that part of Nagoya.

Eating Out: Ramen

  

Japanese Required: Moderate

Cost: Around 650-1,200 yen per person.

Good for: Single people, couples, groups up to four or six people.

I went out with a friend (C.) to walk around Ozone and see if there's anything we felt like doing or checking out. After walking around and talking for almost an hour, we decided to have lunch at a ramen shop. The majority of the seats were at the bar, with three tables near the back that could seat four. Since it wasn't busy, we were seated right away at the bar. We talked for a little bit before ordering.

 

 

I had some pork, clear broth ramen with fried rice as a side. The ramen and fried rice were both served hot, with the rice coming first. The fried rice was good, though I regret waiting to take a picture before eating because I prefer to eat it while it's hot. The broth for the ramen was tasty, and I really enjoyed the noodles. Usually, for the type that I got, I would add sesame seeds for the texture and a slight change in flavor. Unfortunately, there were no sesame seeds available. The service was prompt even with only two people on staff, and C and I both enjoyed our food immensely.

He had lunch set of pork ramen with a miso broth, rice, and fried chicken. It looked like it might have been even better than what I had. He added a bit of spicy sauce that was available to his soup. The sauce was about as spicy as normal pepper, so adding a little shouldn't be too bad for anyone who wants a different flavor but is afraid of burning their mouth.

Overall, the customer service was fine, the food was good, and the company was great. If someone asked me to recommend a place to eat ramen that I knew would have good food, I would recommend this place. I wouldn't recommend it for anybody wanting to host a party due to the limits on seating. Otherwise, this place is great. If you would like more information regarding the menu or prices, please visit their website: http://www.fujiichiban.jp/english/index.html

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/

Hidden Relaxing Spot near Fushimi / Yaba-cho: The Flow Café and Lounge

Japanese required: Advanced (katakana / hiragana and some kanji)
Cost: 500 to 2000 on average, per person
Good for: Anyone (1-4 people for the Flow Café is best)

The Flow Café and Lounge, which is located near Fushimi, is a great place to have a meal and relax for a while. It has a calm atmosphere, and the mood is suited to just taking a bit of time sitting with someone and talking.

When I went there for the first time, I went alone to the second floor and had an enjoyable lunch of pasta. Though the lunch set menu options were a bit limited (two pasta dishes and one rice dish), the food was good. The room they seated me in was lit via a covered window, so it was dimmer than outside. I found it very relaxing, and the comfortable chairs made it all the better. All of the seats are made of soft materials (leather, fabric), which makes it easy to just sit back and enjoy the music (which includes quite a few songs in English). The way the restaurant is spaced made it feel that I had my own private area even with several groups of people around me. I had some white sauce pasta with corn and broccoli for my meal. There was so much sauce that even after I had eaten all of my pasta, there was a small pool at the bottom of the plate. Since it was a lunch set, I also had a croissant and a small salad as an appetizer.

About half of the regular menu was made up of pasta dishes, but there weren't any pictures. Because of this, it would be very difficult to order without being able to read Japanese. You can order a variety of both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. I had some orange juice. I would recommend it for eating alone or with one or two others. The restaurant is rather small, and most seating areas are limited to about four people.

The second time, I went to the first floor with a group, and we all spent about two hours talking and eating. We had a separate room from the rest of the restaurant, and it had soothing background music with comfortable, leather seats. The food was alright but not memorable. I enjoyed the atmosphere and company more than anything. The room we had was oval-shaped, so it was easy to have conversations with a lot of people without moving a lot.

 I went there on a Saturday, so the only menu options were Eggs Benedict or traditional Japanese food. I'm not a fan of Eggs Benedict, so I had a Japanese meal instead. The menu had pictures of the different Eggs Benedict dishes, but the normal menu did not have pictures for anything but desert when I looked at it. This would probably be best to take a date or some friends for lunch.

In the evening, the Flow Garden opens, which is an open-air bar / barbeque on the third floor. I've never gone there, but, if the set up is as good as the other two floors, then it'd be a great place to relax and have a few drinks.

Overall, a great place that has variety to suit anybody's interests.

Kamimaezu: A Good Restaurant Experience

Japanese required: Moderate
Cost: 2000 yen or more per person
Good for: Single people, couples, small groups (up to around 4)

I went to Kamimaezu and had lunch at a restaurant located on the second floor of the Orchid Garden near the subway station (a post about the garden will come sometime in the future). The restaurant itself is pretty decently sized, and it has a few windows to look down at the orchids which gives it a more open feel. There are several tables, and all of them seat a maximum of four people.

I went there by myself, and it gave me a very similar feeling to the Flow Cafe: a nice place to just chill out and relax for a while. The servers were, as per the norm, friendly, and I actually talked a bit with one of them about myself and shared some other small talk while I waited for my food. I ordered some pasta with an oil base and a mix of greens and meat. When I first got the dish, I was a bit suspicious of whether I would actually like it or not. Although the presentation was lacking, I actually really enjoyed the pasta.

After I'd finished eating, a Japanese couple caught my eye. They were the only other customers in the restaurant at the time, and the woman seemed like she was interested in talking to me. I smiled and bowed my head toward her, getting a similar response, which led to her walking over and talking to me. She offered to take my picture, and I accepted. After that, she invited me over to sit at their table (which was only a couple steps away from mine), and I fell into having a conversation with them.

 

I spent perhaps twenty to thirty minutes chatting with the two of them, finding out more about them as well as sharing quite a bit about myself. The woman admitted that she actually wanted to talk to me but felt too shy because she doesn't speak English. Once I did a Japanese gesture toward her (bowing my head), she felt more comfortable with the thought that I might actually speak Japanese. Once she realized that I am actually fluent, she opened up and I feel like the three of us became rather friendly in a pretty short period of time. They even took a picture of the three of us using their camera and printed it out for me to have.

The most surprising part was what happened after all of this. They paid for my food. This kind of generosity is rare, but the woman explained to me that she really enjoyed meeting someone from a different culture and said it was thanks for being good company. When I told this story to my friends (Japanese or otherwise), they were all as surprised as I was. Not only did I get to have a fun time hanging out with a pair of friendly people, but they also paid my way! While the food was good, the company definitely topped off my experience.

A restaurant for specific tastes: Bistrot Labourer

Japanese Required: A lot
Cost:  2000 or more per person
Good for: Single people, couples, small groups

Bistrot Labourer is a restaurant near Jingumae station. The restaurant is a bit out of the way, but it is very cozy. It had enough space to intimately seat roughly twenty people and then seating for another five people at the bar. I went with a group of friends. The restaurant had three lunch sets: hamburger with miso sauce, fried oyster, and an omelet filled with rice (called omuraisu). I had never had omuraisu, so I went with that. All of the lunch sets came with a salad and corn soup, and the first two options also had bread or rice as a side. The omuraisu came with a desert instead (vanilla ice cream).

Taken from Bistrot's website

The omuraisu was pretty good at first, but the novelty wasn't enough to enjoy the dish. The experience of egg, rice, and ketchup together gave me mixed feelings. On the one hand, I liked the rice's texture and taste. On the other hand, I feel that the flavor of the ketchup overpowered the flavor of the egg, and I prefer the taste of egg. While this isn't something I'd eat again if I had other options, I'd say it's worth trying if you like egg and ketchup. The ice cream was soft enough to eat easily with a spoon without dripping everywhere. A few of my friends had the fried oysters, and they looked rather good. If I were to go again, I'd probably go for the oysters.

The restaurant had an overall pleasant atmosphere. Everyone was talking and laughing, and the servers were very nice. I would probably go there again for lunch if I was in the area with a couple of friends. It seems to be a very local-only restaurant, so I doubt it gets particularly busy in the afternoon. For anybody interested in visiting Bistrot Labourer, more information can be found in their website: http://www.nagoya-labourer.jp/