Izakaya Issa — Restaurant in Região Imediata de São Paulo

Terrible service. I do not speak Portuguese so my partner who is Brazilian relayed a question I have about a dish I was going to order. The couple in front of us, whom we shared a table with, had already had their order taken and pretty much finished with their meal, while we struggled because the (we assume the hostess, she is of older age and has different uniform than the rest of the staff) kept leaving us mid-order or hurried us, or told us that a specific dish is "just a drink", suggesting us to order something else (it's an ochazuke). It took us 3 attempts for her to successfully place an order for us since she kept abandoning us, and we were even helped by the couple in front of us to place an order for the drinks because the old lady kept leaving before we even finished talking. It was terrible.

Food finally came, we asked for something to be taken out of my partner's dish and they failed to deliver that request. When brought to another staff's attention, she sighed of the thought that the food has to be remade, and my partner hesitantly said that it's okay there is no need to remade it. We had lost our appetite and the last dish never came, we finished what we could eat and just left. They insisted we take the last dish with us on our way out and we refused, one of the kitchen staff chimed in and said "that food is cold anyway". That just means our last dish has been sitting out cold and was never delivered to us. We came here to check it out due to the high amount of positive reviews but honestly, I don't think they care about respecting customers, especially if you do not speak Portuguese. Take your business elsewhere, the food is not that good either for all the trouble we...

If you are a person of color DON'T go there. The food is decent, the portions small and pricey, and so are the drinks, no japanese beer selection and average overpriced sake. I was mistreated by the old lady at the door. I don't speak Portuguese so I was trying to put my name in the waiting list...one of the ladies called me in thinking I was next in line. I tried to explain I just wanted to put my name on the list...once they figured I was not the one they were calling, the old lady PUSHED me out and refused to let me put my name on the list. She physically pushed me out, and was very rude. My friend who is white, and doesn't speak Portuguese either, went in and asked to place her name on the list , and they immediately did so...I was appalled at the difference in treatment. We stayed just because my friend wanted to try their food. The food was good but I couldn't shake off the unpleasant encounter...this old hag sour the whole experience for me. We were rushed by the server to order food...they just want quick rotation. That old lady may be the owner but she needs to retire and work on the customer service portion of the place. I do not recommend this place at all...there are plenty of other places in Liberdade that have great traditional Japanese food. I do not recommend giving your money to rude racist...

Hands down best izakaya (heck, best overall restaurant) in the whole Liberdade neighborhood. And I don't mean this lightly.

There's beauty in simplicity and this restaurant proves it. Every dish we ordered packed a unique punch which left us speechless, and are well worth the price.

The Karaage was perfect. Not greasy at all, very crunchy and juicy, the ginger didn't steal the show nor was it absent from the flavour. It just made the chicken shine even more.

Tyampon (which I had) had a really rich and complex flavour, I had to contemplate life with each bite because it was just that good.

The service was also great, everybody was really friendly and answered all of our questions with patience.

Depending on how big your group is and what time you arrive, you may have to wait in line for a bit before you enter. You have the option to either sit at a table or at the counter. I suggest the counter since it's easier to order and you can chat with the lovely people that work there (plus, if you sit at the right end you will always be smelling the wonderful foods from the kitchen nearby).

All in all, you can't go wrong here, I'm sure you...