Izakaya — Restaurant in Oslo

A restaurant with the potential of 5 star +++, but executed poorly.

The food is good and loved the vibe, however our visit didn’t live up to the expectations.

Though informed, we found the system of queuing much longer than expected (1h 15min) and we only realized after visiting why this took so long for 5 tables to finish: chaos.

From ordering to paying, nothing was correct. The staff is very friendly and have their soul on the right place, but the way its structured wether that’s through lack of personal or just not working systems makes the experience feel lackluster.

And last but not least, the prices in the restaurant are currently 30% more expensive than online on their website.

Some things that went wrong: edamame beans came in cold after 35 min of waiting. When they came back they were way too salty. people sitting later than us were able to order earlier. This also happened to other people in the restaurant later on. we ordered okonomiyaki, this never came our drinks came after our food, about 20 min after ordering getting attention from the waiter felt a bit akward, but mostly because they were too stressed to have an eye for...

This smells of "probably good once, but lost their cheff and when people realise going there doesnt make them interesting, they are screwed". Whent with a mix of chinese and norwegian entourage and the judgement was clear, "This is some of the worst japanese food we have ever tasted". After getting the first dish everybody hoped the rest of the food would be better... It wasn't. A sigh of dred whent around the table when the waitor arrived with the last dish of several dishes, because nobody really wanted to eat it, even though everyone was still hungry. We really wanted this place to be good, (forgivingI had to order a new beer three times sinse they never had the one I ordered with 5 minutes waiting time inbetween), but it just wasn't. The coctails were ok though,but just Ok. Checked it off the list and never need to go back. Sometimes, the hype is just not real. Ps. The local does not give a real izakaia experience apparently... Worn down is not the same as authentic , even tho I liked the posters and random yellow stickers...

I don't get the complaints about the lack of a system for reserving a table, as well as the interior design, that some people make here. This place gives me an genuine and original feeling of being in a "normal place" of eating in Japan (at least that is how I think of it). If you want to guarantee yourself a spot then yes, you'll have to show up 10 minutes before opening (like we did) or maybe prepare yourself to wait a little before getting a table. I can, however, guarantee that the food here is fabulous and that any wait is worth your time. I think I would dare say it matches the taste of Issho (and is cheaper), although Issho has a few more items on the menu (not a lot more), a reservation system and larger spaces. For the food at Ikazaya, however, our favorites were "bang bang chicken", "gyoza", and there's a sort of pancake as well that is just excellent. They also have a good assortment of drinks, speedy service, and it is one of the few places I've been that serve Kirin from tap. Have...