Shibuya City, Tokyo, Japan｜楽椿ーラクチン

Excellent izakaya! Food is fast, delicious, and reasonably priced. We went there once and it was so good, we went back a second time during our trip. It will be a return spot for sure! They have an English menu, but don't use it—the items are much more limited. Plus, it's way more fun to point at random items and see what you get. You won't be disappointed! I have bare basic Japanese reading skills and saw that there was a "chi–zu" (cheese) dish of some sort, thinking it was savoury. We ordered it and it came out as a sweet honey cheese custard with bread to dip. It was very unique to experience! They also ran out of a certain dish and showed us some corn cobs instead. We went ahead with it, despite not knowing what to expect, and the dish became my favourite! It was some sort of honey glazed, buttery and savoury corn that was then flash fried. I still dream of this dish and have tried to recreate it—it's that good. If you order the mackerel, they come out with a blowtorch and tell you to be ready to squeeze the lemon on after they've crisped the surface. Super cool! Space is usually packed but it's well worth the squeeze. Sit in front at the kitchen bar if you want to watch the chefs work their magic. Our bill was around ¥5500 ($66 CAD), so not too bad for a lot of food. Note: Photos included are not all the items we ordered for that cost. Have fun!

The staff were really friendly especially when they know you ain't local. Food wise it cannot get any better plus the multiple fresh Yebisu beer! I have nothing but praises for this small outlet and I would love to keep them as a secret but that would be too selfish of me to do so! Do patronise them if you are in Tokyo regardless how far away you are staying! As for price wise, it would be unfair for me to comment as japanese food don't come cheap where I come from but I would say it is reasonable!

Amazing izakaya. Great food, great drinks, great atmosphere and amazing staff. The grilled mackerel, sashimi and carrot salad were delicious! The cold sake went down a treat too. Came here for a second night to great applause from the friendly staff. Highly recommended for anyone wanting an authentic izakaya experience.