01 / ABOUT THE PLACE
About this place
Stepping past the noren curtain at Iseji, just a short walk from Higashi-Jujo Station, diners are met with the warm, unpretentious energy of a neighborhood tavern. The interior offers counter seating well suited for solo drinking, along with tables further back and additional seats on the 2nd floor. Whether for a quick post-work drink or an easygoing group meal, it accommodates guests at whatever pace they prefer.
A natural place to start is the oden, gently simmered in a nourishing, savory broth. Choices span daikon radish, egg, chikuwabu, kuruma-fu, and sardine fish cakes; those unsure of where to begin can order an assorted five-piece or ten-piece platter. The clear, refined dashi enriches each slowly infused ingredient and leaves a clean, satisfying finish between sips of alcohol. The kitchen also puts this broth to further use in dashi chazuke, dashi udon, and oden dashi-wari—a warm cup of sake cut with the hot dashi.
Alongside the oden, skewered meats are a core specialty. The selection extends from standard yakitori like negima, chicken skin, liver, meatballs, and gizzard to cuts of pork such as kashira (temple) and harami (skirt). Each skewer features hearty, generous pieces, and an omakase platter brings together a well-balanced sample of the day's best cuts. The wider menu includes crisp deep-fried liver cutlets, simmered beef sinew, and sake-steamed clams, providing plenty of small plates to accompany an evening of drinking.
The drinks list is extensive. Draft Sapporo Black Label, large bottles of Akaboshi, and Hoppy sit beside celebrated sakes from across Japan, such as Jikon, Senkin, and Urakasumi, as well as premium shochu like Mori Izo and Hyakunen no Kodoku. Open every day until 3:00 late at night, Iseji serves just as well for an early dinner as it does for a calm second-stop nightcap.
