Chigusa (Teishokuya), Shimokitazawa

"Tonsui" and "Chigusa" are two of the oldest Teishokuya (restaurant specialized in cheap set menus of Japanese fares) in Shimokitazawa. Chigusa, now a true institution in the area, probably attracts more clients as it's a stone throw from the station, but I have a preference for "Tonsui" which is smaller and more convivial.

Chigusa with its numerous celebrities autographs on the walls

Still, conviviality and hospitability is the catch-phrase in "Chigusa". A big wooden sign outside the eatery that says "Shizen-Shoku No Teishokuya" (literally Natural Food teishokuya), which I always assumed to be an allusion to the organic ingredients they use, actually refers to the cuisine you can eat here in a natural and unpretentious atmosphere, just like at your mum's. Japanese man (more than woman) put a lot of emphasis on the "Ofukuro No Aji" (the taste of mum's home cooking) and this eatery takes pride in satisfying such needs with its female staff all comprised of tired-workers-and-hungry-students understanding and cuddling mothers.

If you visit this place which has been in business for 30 years, you should probably opt for their popular Ninniku-Joyu No Age Buta (fried pork with garlic and shoyu sauce) from among their rather extended menu.
The Teishoku (affordable ¥900) consists of a big bowl of rice, a miso soup (which you can refill as many times as you want), a Hiya-Yakko (fresh cut of Tofu with grated ginger and shavings of dry bonito Katsuo-Bushi), some Takuan Daikon radish pickles and the main pork dish.

Ninniku-Joyu No Age Buta Teishoku

The pork they use here is a SPF (specific pathogen free) one from the Iwate prefecture in northern Japan, region known for its good pork farming environment. For your information, SPF pork are known for their tenderness and lack of smell.
The meat is two slices of fillet quickly deep-fried with a thin batter, then seasoned with an appetite-stimulating garlic and soy sauce glaze. It has some fatty parts, but it doesn't have the heaviness in taste and the greasiness that beef fat can have.

The topped sauce has the quality of slightly soaking the fried batter, making it even more tender to the teeth. The garlic flavor is delicate and the salty and little bit sweet soy sauce is perfect with the white rice. This dish has a definite Chinese recipe feel to it.

It doesn't look like a lot of food at first, but you will see that you actually get quite full.
It's far from haute-cuisine but if you want some good, quick, relatively filling Japanese food that's available a minute away from the station, this is an option.


Chigusa is closed on Thursdays and open the rest of the week from 11:30am to 22:00pm
03-3419-0908
Setagaya-ku, Kitazawa 2-11-4
Click here for a MAP

Ojaga (Japanese Eatery), Shimokitazawa

The other day, I went with three former colleagues to this Izakaya (food serving pub) in Shibuya I recommend to anyone with a traveller's budget, called "Butchigiri Sakaba" where we ended up having quite a decent amount of food and LOTS of drinks (all drinks at ¥280). It's definitely nothing more than average food but if you're into drinking, you can't go wrong here. So after moderately orgying, how flabbergasted was I when we got the check: ¥6,500, that is not even ¥1,700 per person... I mean, where is this deflation in Japan going to? "How low can you go?" like Chuck D was saying...

Deflation (though tough for business) is good in that it keeps my wallet healthy, and for a big eater like me who writes a daily food blog, it can actually be quite crucial.

So in that saving state of mind, I decided the next day to visit this new eatery in the neighborhood which serves a dirt-cheap ¥500 lunch. Only problem: when I looked at the pictures on the menu outside the restaurant, it just did not look that appetizing. So instead of going for it, I opted at the last minute for a "more expensive" Japanese restaurant "Ojaga", as this whole walk had gotten me into a local cuisine mood.

Ojaga is a Teishokuya (restaurant serving fixed menus, usually comprising a main dish, a bowl of rice, a soup and one or two little side dishes) for lunch and an Izakaya in the evening. The lady in her seventies standing in the kitchen has been cooking typical meals for half a century (simmered potatoes and meat "Niku-Jaga", mixed deep-fried seafood "Mikkusu Furai" or Japanese croquettes "Korokke" and so on) so if you're looking for authentic lunch plates, this is definitely an option.

By the way, Ojaga is a cute and rather original way of talking about the "Jagaimo", the most common potato in Japan. It is interesting to point out that the term "Jagaimo" is the abbreviation of Jagatara-Imo (Jagatara potato), where Jagatara designates the Indonesian capital Jakarta from where Dutch galleons imported the vegetable at the end of the 16th century. It is furthermore worth noting that what is today a regular in Japanese diet used to be initially grown for ornamental purposes.

Sorry, this post is going all over the place today...so back to the food review: once again, since the restaurant's name is an obvious reference to the tuberous crop and probably also to their popular simmered potatoes recipe "Niku-Jaga", one might want to try it, but I rather went for one of my childhood favorite, potatoes and meat croquette "Korokke".

As you can see, the Teishoku set came with a quite big bowl of rice, an excellent and very pungent Miso soup which tasted like an Akadashi soup (made of regular "Mame-Miso" fermented bean paste and "Kome-Miso" fermented rice and bean paste; you will often come across this soup in Sushi restaurants), a tiny Yakko (fresh tofu with grated ginger and leek) and a rather insipid Asazuke (quickly marinated pickled vegetables). Given the amount of rice, you should be full when done with this affordable ¥895 lunch.

You also get two cups a person of coffee at the self-service above, so it's a deal overall. The coffee is definitely not what you'll get at "Bear Pond Expresso" so beware if you can't stand the typical "jus de chaussettes" (socks juice) they serve you everywhere in Japan.

The croquette was a good 10cm wide and 3cm thick, making for a densely flavored satisfying crunchy dish. The potato puree inside was sweet and combining very well with the tiny bits of ground beef and onion, and they managed to cook it almost creamy like. Definitely add some Sosu (Japanese style Worcestershire sauce) on top of the croquette, as it's a condiment that goes unbelievably well with the deep-fried breadcrumbs, and because the puree inside is quite low on salt.

Ojaga is open everyday from 11:30am to 23:00pm.
It's easy to find: take the North exit, go down the stairs, take a right, follow the street until you hit the end and it's on your right, on the second floor of a multi-tenant building.
03-3460-4188
Setagaya-ku, Kitazawa 2-35-15 2F
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Tonsui (Tonkatsu), Shimokitazawa

After a post on a shop that's been doing business for 25 years, thought I'd go a little further back in time and decided to introduce you to the almost legendary deep-fried pork cutlet Tonkatsu restaurant "Tonsui" which is celebrating its 38th year tomorrow May 1st. I've referred to Iseya and Taisho as places that have been satisfying the hunger of generations of broken youth... Well, Tonsui is THE epitome of such precious business.

I first went to eat in this beanery about 20 years ago when a friend of mine used to live in the area, so this place definitely holds a special place in my heart. I was in college at the time and still remember having been blown away by the local atmosphere of this tiny shop (three small tables and a counter), the welcoming smiles of the couple managing the joint and the awesome food you could have for about ¥1,000.
The couple who are in their sixties now, started this pork cutlet business when the lady managing the previous restaurant had become pregnant and had to give up the location. Since then, they have not stopped!
This place is definitely not a gourmet restaurant, but everything they cook is always great. It might not be the best food you'll find in Shimokitazawa, but there's so much love in the recipe that it really doesn't matter. Can you believe that they have raised their prices only twice in almost 40 years? First, during the 1973 Oil Crisis that shocked Japan right after they started the shop, and then in 1988 when Consumption Tax was enforced. That's not a lot, and it's all because they want to keep everything affordable to everyone.

Cheese Katsu

OK, sorry for the rambling thread. As I said, this place is specialized in Tonkatsu, which you should definitely try. I used to be an adept of the less fatty "Hire-Katsu" (deep-fried pork filet cutlet) for years until I started switching to the most popular "Cheese-Katsu" (deep-fried pork cutlet filled with melted cheese) upon the couple's recommendation. It has to be a calorie-bomb but talk about "B-Kyu Gurume"! (B-Class gourmet). Add some Tare (Japanese style Worcestershire sauce) and a bit of very hot Karashi (Japanese mustard) and go nuts! It's slightly crunchy outside (depending on the amount of sauce you put on the cutlet, as the liquid will gradually soften the deep-fried breadcrumbs) but soft inside because of the melted cheese.
It goes incredibly well with the excellent rice cultivated by the manager's brother himself in countryside Gunma prefecture. Not only the rice is good, but it is steamed to perfection in an old Kamado grill, a utensil you won't come up with often now.

Cheese Katsu Teishoku

Though they are a Tonkatsu place, "Tonsui" also serves all sort of Teishoku combination meal (each Teishoku comes with a bowl of rice, a miso soup and some Tsukemono pickles), such as Tori No KaraAge (fried chicken), Saba No Shioyaki (grilled Mackerel), Nira Reba Itame (stir-fried liver with Nira chives) and Kuriimu Corokke (creamy croquettes) so you should find anything you want even if you're not into a pork mood.
They also have an array of little dishes ranging from ¥100 to ¥300 that you can add to your main course: Hiya Yakko (fresh tofu with leek and ginger), protein-rich Natto (fermented soybeans), Medama Yaki (sunny side up eggs), Yasai Itame (stir-fried mixed vegetables) among many many others.

The above is one of my favorite of these little dishes, the stir-fried eggplant Nasu-Yaki, cooked with vegetable oil, shoyu and spiced up with chili-powder. The slices are quite flavored and should help you finish your bowl of rice easily.

I could go on and on and on on this place, so I'll stop here and leave it up to you to try and explore the fantastic menu of this authentic Taishu Shokudo (local eatery) that any youngster residing in Shimokitazawa must have, at least, heard of.
You will most probably get out of there smelling like grease so if that's a turn off for you, you can always order their take-out Bento menu.

Tonsui is open everyday from 11:30 am to 23:20 pm except on Tuesdays. (They will be open during the Golden Week except on Tuesday 4th)
Setagaya-ku, Kitazawa 2-39-13
Click here for a MAP