Shinagawa City, Tokyo, Japan｜助六酒場 青物横丁店

Actually, I hesitated to enter, because Sukeroku Sakaba was, on the outside, much brighter than other establishments along the way. In the quest for alley fare, my bias is against places that seem to call too much attention to themselves. It's also a red flag when staff step outside with the intent of luring customers in. But in this case, I used the opportunity to ask if the anago (穴子) was domestic or imported. True or not, the answer was domestic, and on impulse I decided to go in. As a solo diner, I got a counter seat with a good view of the chefs. My seat was also near the entrance, so I could see what sort of clientele Sukeroku Sakaba was attracting. It was encouraging to observe that this was not just a bar/restaurant for office workers after hours, and for couples on dates, but also, that families with children were coming in. Arrivals were greeted with a rousing combination of irasshaimase (いらっしゃいませ, a polite welcome) and otsukaresama deshita (お疲れ様でした, which is hard to translate, but I like to render it as, "You've exhausted yourself honorably." It's a common phrase where I work). The attached pictures are worth more than my 1000 words. The tempura batter was light, accenting the vegetables' natural flavors instead of burying them in salt or fat. The wasabi seemed to be freshly ground instead of coming out of a tube, and had a nice texture and taste. Sake choices included two selections from Fukushima Prefecture: Homare (ほまれ), which I sometimes have at home, and a more expensive one (second from the left on the photographed list) with a kanji that's not even in my dictionary. It was delicious, and generously poured, as shown. I was tempted to feel annoyed by only two things: (1) Even though I was ordering in Japanese, one guy always wanted to answer in English. More commonly, I'll get a profuse apology if waitstaff start in English and I answer in Japanese. But it dawned on me that he was doing exactly what I like to do: speak in a second language. Now, as a result, I believe that a guest who does not speak Japanese will do fine at Sukeroku Sakaba. (2) It seemed to take a long time to get the bill after I asked for it. But, again, it dawned on me: I was in no hurry to leave, because I was enjoying the atmosphere of both the kitchen and the dining space. I was just trying to free up a seat as traffic was picking up. But they were doing me the favor of not rushing me out. There are lots of competing places in this neighborhood, and I certainly like to try new things, but I can also imagine coming back here for drinks and nibbles.

Delicious food and very friendly staff. Nice atmosphere surrounded by local people. Menu was only available in Japanese but the staff tried their best to communicate with us and it eventually worked out very well! Would highly recommend.

The store staff are very cheerful. The manager is always smiling and makes you feel comfortable in the store. The food is also delicious.