吉池食堂 — Restaurant in Tokyo

Local Sushi House Review This place is so local that it doesn’t even have an English name. It’s located on the 9th floor of a well-known building overlooking the train tracks. The window-wrapped restaurant offers a bright and beautiful view. While the decor is standard—like a step up from an express meal place—the long line outside tells you everything you need to know. We were 9th in line and waited about 20 minutes, which wasn’t bad at all.

Now, onto the food. You know how sometimes a restaurant’s atmosphere sets high expectations, but the food doesn’t quite deliver? This wasn’t one of those times.* When the food arrived, I was blown away. It’s the first time I’ve seen real food that looked better* than the plastic display models* out front. The sushi was incredibly fresh—I just wish I had ordered more!*

And the best part? The price. Given the quality, I expected the cost to be high, but it was actually extremely reasonable.** This mismatch between expectations and reality made the experience even better.

Update - at a crazy good price!

Rating: 4.8/5. Absolutely...

Yoshiike is one the largest, most complete all round grocery stores focused on professionals or the amateur cook. Their fresh fish and seafood selection is excellent and reasonably priced. Note: You may find some fish at the nearby Ameyokocho market cheaper. But Yoshiike has things like razor clams, different oyster varieties and whole king crabs which are harder to find elsewhere in Tokyo. Meat selection is quite impressive as well. Staff aren't exactly helpful because I have the feeling they are annoyed with all the foreign tourists who are just poking around without...

The sashimi was just average. The menu pricing was misleading as an assorted sashimi plate was listed at 2700 yen, but that’s per person. You have to order for a minimum of two people, so it actually costs 5400 yen for a plate. Why they list it like that is beyond me, but it’s definitely not worth the price for what you get.

To be fair, I noticed the pricing before ordering and still decided to give it a try. However, I wasn’t impressed with the quality or the price. For the same budget, you can get better quality and more satisfying portions at Kaiten sushi...