RAIZU ―来伊豆― — Restaurant in Izu

My husband and I found this place on google whilst searching for food to eat and we are SO GLAD that we did. Food, service, atmosphere was perfect. We’re both foodies who never really give such high reviews but felt this was extremely deserving of the high ratings it has.

The food was not only delicious and cheap, but also some of the most unique dishes we’ve tried in Japan. We read other Google reviews which talked about the wasabi pasta and garlic pork rolls, so we tried it and found them AMAZING. (I never liked wasabi before this, but was impressed by it). However the dish that really blew our mind was the squid stir fried with butter & squid liver. Sounds strange? We thought so too and just wanted to try something new. BUT it turned out to be the highlight. We then rounded off the meal with a piping bowl of Japanese chicken porridge with pickles, ginger and scallion. A hearty and wholesome end for a cold day.

The service was also A+. We were greeted by the lovely Japanese couple running the place who tried their best to explain the dishes to us with the little English they knew. They were very welcoming and kind, and even gave us a pair of lucky cat charms at the end of the meal. They were also extremely cute and introduced us their pet iguana who is apparently not Japanese, but from...

The best Izakaya experience of my life, and a really homely and friendly one at that. The owners are super friendly and the vibe of the restaurant is really authentic and local.

Their signature dish, the wasabi spaghetti, is a must have. The wasabi taste is super fresh and pairs well with the seaweed. We also loved the deep fried chicken cartilage - goes really well with alcohol. We also got the fried burdock and the pork ginger roll, both were also amazing.

I did not expect such a small local Izakaya to have such great food but it was truly above expectations. Although we don't speak fluent Japanese we nevertheless had entertaining conversations with the owners about sumo, Australian lizards, and other random topics. The other customers were also very welcoming.

I could not recommend this more to anyone staying in the area. This is a truly local experience, and a cheap one at that - we ordered 4 dishes and 2 drinks, and the total came at just 4,000¥. They even gave us some delicious wasabi cream cheese as service. They also helped us move our car out the driveway as it was quite dark.

We asked our hotel to book for us, but on a Thursday night it was fairly empty so it might be fine to just walk in.

Thank you so much to the owners, it was a really unique and...

A restaurant nearby the onsen resort that I was staying for the night. Since it was recommended to try out so I went there. Unfortunately, the dishes that were highly recommended are being served during full and winter, and I went doing a springtime. So I may need to come again at some point.

I still tried out other dishes. I had the wasabi and seaweed spaghetti, the onion mochi. They were so good. But my stomach isn't that big so I couldn't really finish such large dishes.

The shop owner and the clients are very friendly. I would not expect some remote places residents knowing English well, so I tried my best to speak with my broken Japanese. As I finish the meal, the owner of the shop offers to take me back to my hotel so I don't have to walk back in the dark. Surely, I will come back someday again during fall or winter to try out...