Leslie W.
Yelp
BOTTOM LINE: Japanese-inspired beers and dishes, for a premium.
Given how subjective the taste of beer can be, I'll do my best to focus this review more on the space, service and food, before throwing in my two cents about the beer.
First off, I love the space and it takes a cue from Bellwoods in terms of converting what appears to once have been some sort of mechanic shop into a sleek dark grey interior with high ceilings. With mostly bench seating, chances are you'll be sharing the table and making new friends. Whenever I've gone, I've found the service to be good...but slow. You really need to be a bit proactive in getting your server's attention if you need something.
Second off, let's talk about the food. To no surprise, they're all either classical Japanese izakaya dishes or fusion-inspired delicacies. They do skew towards being a bit fancy, and with that, so are the prices. They're generous with chunks of KARAAGE, which were lightly fried. The MUSHROOM SALAD was a highlight, though like most salads, not that filling. The FOIE GRAS MISO PLATE was prepared with a saucy-like consistency that you can spread on lightly toasted baguettes. The NIKU MISO RICE BALLS were more like onigiris sans the seaweed wrapping and weren't particularly filling. The CABBAGE ROLLS were a pleasant surprise that are served in a bowl dashi broth - I'd recommend trying this. The KATSU-SANDO is a pretty standard pork cutlet sammie. Finally, the ATSUAGE TOFU was pretty refreshing!
And finally the beers! I think my main criticism is that they don't offer flights of 5 oz pours. Your smallest glass is 9 oz, or about 2/3 of a standard point. You largest glass is 13 oz, which is still less than a standard pint. I'm not sure the rationale for this, but it will likely limit how many you'll be able to try in a sitting - especially if you're making multiple stops at various east end breweries. As for the beer selection, and I know it's hard to generalize, but I've found that whether it's an IPA, a porter, a lager, a gose, a porter, etc., I like them, but don't love them. This is in comparison to many nearby competitors where I feel like there's always a certain beer I always need to order bc they brew it so damn well. Oh well, I'm sure YMMV. Finally, they also serve some ciders, two kinds of cocktails and some wines.
All in all, I would say come and try their beers, but stay for the food!