Kujin

Push back the noren (half curtain) and enter a very dark room furnished with wooden tables and chairs, paper lampshades and a teppanyaki-style open kitchen with bar stools. This is izakaya territory - a name derived from 'i' (to sit or stay) and 'sakaya' (sake shop). And yes, you can stay and sample up to eight sakes, from sweet (Beautiful Boy) to dry (Man's Mountain). The menu is more extensive and some dishes larger than in a traditional izakaya, but kujin is good for a fun, casual and keenly priced outing. Start with a salad of wakame, shredded lettuce and two chunks of smooth tofu dressed with minced pickles, or a wagyu-topped okonomiyaki (pancake) straight from the hotplate, with striped ribbons of sweet mayo over the beef and shredded cabbage. A large, soupy bowl of house-made udon with tempura prawns and vegetables is highly slurpable, and green tea ice-cream a pleasant, if unsurprising, dessert. Just as pleasant and unsurprising, in fact, as the bill.