Ippuku

“This place has been on my want to go list for a while, and I finally got to try it! We didn't make a reservation and walked in instead. We waited for about 30 min and the restaurant texted us once the table was ready. We ordered quite a few dishes and started with Omakase gushi, which came with chicken breast, thigh with leek, heart, cartilage, and minced chicken. We also ordered the oden set, sasami, tori tataki, gyu-tan, enoki bacon, and buta bara. Evertyhing tasted pretty good, but the most impressive dish was sasami with umeboshi, which was inner bresat with umehad was the inner breast with umeboshi. It was my first time trying raw chicken, and it tasted really good. The chicken breast was really tender, with a tuna-like texture, and without any slimy or odd flavors. Ever since then, I've been telling my friends to try it. The Tori Tataki was seared chicken breast sashimi with ponzu, which tasted a bit plain compared to the sasami. So I would highly recommended to get theeir sasami!”

“Great izakaya experience for skewers that mainly highlight chicken! Don’t recommend walking in without a reservation—we waited an hour on a Sunday night & although you can get lucky with the bar seating, the booths are part of the ambiance! Everything is charcoal grilled so it will be smokey in there. Great experience for date nights except skewers are on the pricey side (about $12 for a lacarte). The omakase set is usually pretty solid but if you want the more specialty like chicken skin, it’s better to order separately. I liked the chicken neck skewer best for the flavor and the fattiness! Didn’t like the shizo breast. The squidink fried rice is a great side as well as the agedashi tofu. Really solid place for the level of specialty and ambiance they’ve maintained throughout the years!”

“Ippuku (一服), which means to take a short break for a cigarette or tea during a busy day (literally meaning “one dose”), had a very nice vibe walking in. The entrance was unassuming, but the interior transported me back to Japan. They had seating areas which simulated traditional seating on zabutons and tatami maps, and also more western style sitting areas. You can immediately tell they take pride in Japanese tradition without becoming pretentious or trying too hard to be "unique". They gave a complimentary chunk of cabbage with kewpie mayo topped with togarashi. While pretty difficult to eat since it is just a large chunk of cabbage, it was a very nice palate cleanser throughout the whole meal. We ordered four skewers: Gyutan (beef tongue), Kurobutabara (pork belly), Negima (thigh with leek), and Kawa (skin). Additionally, we got the Ikasumi chahan (squid ink fried rice) and Kani korokke (dungeness crab creme croquettes). The squid ink fried rice, while pretty good, was the biggest disappointment. It tasted like a standard rice that can be made at home, but colored with squid ink. The squid ink felt more like a gimmick that made my tongue and lips black after eating a few bites. The crab croquettes were very solid, a nice structural integrity and creaminess one bitten in. The crab slivers were noticeable and added a nice sweetness and crabby flavor overall. The sliced cabbage under them was a good palate cleanser too. The skewers, specifically the yakitori, was their advertised specialty. Starting with the beef tongue, it was slightly thick, but cooked perfectly. It had a nice bite whilst not being too chewy, and the charred jalapeños provided a good spice that broke up the pieces of meat. It was also seasoned nicely, without need for a sauce. The chicken skin was my least favorite of the skewers. While the outside had a good crunch, which I love in chicken skin, the inside became very soggy and chewy. I would have preferred them to not be in skewer form, and to just be fried as whole skin pieces. The chicken thigh was very impressive. With a thin coating of sauce, the chicken was succulent and juicy, very flavorful, and the leeks provided a nice textural contrast as well as a freshness. This was a very impressive skewer that I would definitely get again. The pork belly was my favorite bite of the night. It was both juicy and had nicely rendered fat. It was a very meaty taste, accentuated by the simple seasoning of just salt and letting the charcoal flavor come through. The sauce they served with it was also really unique, a mix of miso paste and doubanjiang, giving a slightly fruity note and a perfect accompaniment to the pork belly. The server also gave complimentary matcha ice cream, which was really good too. The matcha flavor was deep and was a creamy ice cream. Overall, it was an obvious upgrade to the last izakaya, and no dish was bad. While only a few items truly wowed me, I enjoyed how they stuck to tradition to provide an unpretentious experience that reminded me of Japan. While pricey, this is a place I could recommend to others who want to try a very solid izakaya.”

“Appreciated the small dishes for variety, but quality differed between dishes and I also found many of them lacked flavor. My favorite dishes were the negima (thigh with leek), the shisho making, and the goma yogoshi (spinach in sesame paste) for their more unique tastes. I wouldn't recommend the Nama-Yuba nor the mochi wrapped in bacon or nori. Service is good with the plates coming out in intervals to accentuate the dining experience. Would recommend making reservations since the restaurant gets packed quite easily.”

“The food was delicious but a little inconsistent. Some of the dishes were exceptional and sometimes mind-blowing, others left something in the kitchen (no, not literally). The chicken giblet skewer, for instance, was amazing-you'd never think something so unassuming could have so much flavor. The agadashi tofu was full of deep flavors....I hadn't had this in a long while and it took me back to the first time I was blown away by it. The ethereal pork belly was perfectly paired with a smear of wasabi. The karaage redefined "fried chicken" for me forever. The service seemed a little confused but professional, unintrusively personable, and attentive. We did have to wait for I think around 20 minutes for our table. Sometimes we were served by what seemed like kitchen staff, which was fine, but they didn't seem altogether confident that they were bringing the right plates to the table. Not that we would have rejected anything placed before us.... Whoever thought up the cabbage & white miso mayo appetizer is a genius. We were skeptical but in the end it was devoured. Parking is easy: there are 2 lots down the street that are cheap and well lit. Make reservations and bring your appetite. You won't be sorry.”