Robata Musashi Shinbashi — Restaurant in Tokyo

Atmosphere was buzzing on a Saturday night with the robatayaki, manned by a determined-looking chef, taking centre stage.

Armed with a reservation for four we were shown to a tatami table in the corner. Being someone of tall stature I found it cramped and uncomfortable: both feet went to sleep after a couple of hours of motionless sitting. My friends ordered for me as my Japanese was limited. That was handy because I imagine it would be difficult for non-Japanese speaking tourists to communicate with the waiters, especially when noise levels are so high.

A poster at the front encourages customers to order at least two drinks per person.

We ordered a variety of different dishes from the menu, some were good (green peppers, fried rice ball) and draft beer went down nicely. Unfortunately some 20-30 minutes after making the order the waiter told us several things were out of stock, and only 6.30 in the evening. Tofu was burned on the bottom and poorly seasoned, fries were bland too. When it came to paying the bill they simply gave us a piece of paper with the total amount and no items listed, so it was difficult to check accuracy of the bill.

Disappointing as it had the makings of a very nice izakaya, which we were looking forward to visiting after reading such...

Tips for non-Japanese: An English menu is available You should order one alcoholic drink per person on arrival (ordering non-alcoholic drinks afterwards is fine) Once you've finished eating, please leave promptly since the restaurant is very popular and other customers may be waiting Taking a few photos of the restaurant and your food is okay but don't overdo it! Smoking is allowed so if you have a strong aversion then consider another restaurant instead Some items come in pairs so it's better to order one and see if you like it first! Recommended dishes: mackerel (saba), deep-fried thick tofu (atsuage), ginko nuts (ginnan), shiitake mushrooms, squid (ika), scallop (hotate)*

For affordable and tasty grilled food, this restaurant was really really good. Compared to high-end restaurants and chain restaurants, it's not exactly spotlessly clean but that kind of adds to the atmosphere.

A great place to bring visitors who want to try something a little different to a standard izakaya.

I didn't actually try the scallop because I was too full but it looked amazing...

I read online that this was one of the best places to have robatayaki. However, similar to some other reviewers, we were denied entry into this restaurant by the unfriendly man at the door because we didn't speak Japanese. Such a disappointment as we were looking forward to a good last meal in Tokyo only to encounter such a situation. We have read that some non-Japanese have managed to make it into the restaurant though. So I guess you can try your luck. But we didn't want to patronize a place that didn't even bother trying to make an effort to...