Izakaya kogane — Restaurant in Tokyo

Foreigners not welcome!

We came around 8 pm looking for a good meal. Outside they had a sign saying the izakaya is open until 00:00. When we fit in, the waitress asked us, how many we were. There were several free tables, the izakaya was half empty. Unfortunately, we don’t speak Japanese and, obviously, we don‘t look Japanese. The waitress said „One Moment“ and took a look at the cook, who must have been her boss. He took a look at us from afar - and made a cross with his fingers - meaning they wouldn’t take us. The waitress turned around and said: „Sorry, we’re closing!“ There was no misunderstanding as the cook clearly showed her to have us leave - and the place clearly was not about to close. Being shown out like that, we didn’t protest or say anything - why be rude in sich a situation? We were not dressed like your average Mickey-Mouse-Tourist and didn‘t behave in a weird way - I mean, just some random Europeans dressed like anyone else in a place like this asking for a table for three, nothing more. Well, from our experience we can say that foreigners are not...

7/5

i was desperate to grub on something clean after my long, arduous hair appointment. to my luck, this izakaya was situated right across from the salon and it felt like fate to me. greeted by the three shop owners, i sat at the bar and got a bird’s eye view of the restaurant’s simultaneously quiet yet swift dynamic. this is what i needed, a ginger golden chicken broth to appease myself after my scalp was brutally stinging for 2 hours on end (i made the poor mistake of washing my hair the night before). three individual slices of lime smiled at me from the bottom of the bowl. the wavy egg noodles and slices of scallion cascaded in the liquid like ribbons, and the texture felt the same going into my mouth- springy and delightful. life seemed to come rushing back into my veins again after i finished engorging myself in this dish. i felt alive again, ready to take on the rest of my day and storm out into the streetlights...

A hidden gem in the Harajuku area. I stumbled upon this place and didn't know what to expect. Safe to say, I was pleasantly surprised. I was able to have a wide assortment of recommended food that gave me an idea of what the cuisine was about. It is a creative and daring Izakaya; a fusion of wonderful taste and texture. The service was wonderful, as well! Polite, pleasant, and caring is how I would describe it. They did a great job, overall. Overall, I would give it a 4.5 out of 5. If you adventurous and like to try different things, I would highly recommend going to this place. The hot pot, liver pate, tempura, and 3 desserts (yes, I had 3 desserts) were particularly delicious! I would come back here the next time I am in Japan.

FYI - I did eat quite a bit. Normally, I think 3 plates would be good enough, and a dessert. Typically look to...