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2017-05-17
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I really don’t get the positive reviews for this restaurant: overall I found it below mediocre… maybe “relatively edible”? I do like the vibe of the place – don’t know how to describe it exactly, but think bright, colourful, roadside seafood-grill, with not a lot spent on interior design or decoration. I think they were trying to go for those late-night seafood chains in Tokyo – similar to Hamayaki Taisho around the corner or Flame in TST. The problem starts the minute you try to eat or drink an
I do like the vibe of the place – don’t know how to describe it exactly, but think bright, colourful, roadside seafood-grill, with not a lot spent on interior design or decoration. I think they were trying to go for those late-night seafood chains in Tokyo – similar to Hamayaki Taisho around the corner or Flame in TST.
The problem starts the minute you try to eat or drink anything. The drinks list is really lacking. They serve one type of sake (which was in 330ml bottles only) and one shochu variety… in a grilled food/seafood place? They had draft beer (Asahi I think) which was cold and tasty, and some random Japanese cocktails e.g. Highballs, but really lacking overall. That’s unforgivable and not just because I’m a snob who happens to be an alcoholic… the enjoyment of places like this are built upon the interplay of oily food/sashimi and alcohol. Mixing drinks to match the courses and having enough variety for different people is key, and they have failed in this completely.
The food, gladly, is better than the drink selection. Not much better mind you, but at least there is some variety. We had:
Most of the tempura varieties – probably the best thing that night. The different fish tempura were nicely done though, flaky and cooked just right. Some of the vegetables were over-fried but most were fine. Stay away from the shiso though… no flavour at all.
Plate of sashimi – fresh enough, no real complaints for the price
Bowl of oden – Horrendous. Worst oden I’ve ever had, and that includes 7-11 oden at 3AM. Tastes like it’s been soaking in the soup for weeks – disgustingly sweet and soggy. The one dish that seems impossible to get wrong they got wrong in the most impossible way.
Random snacks and drinking food – forgettable – the one dish I do remember, soft pork cartilage in a miso sauce had barely any taste, miso or otherwise. Sad, because that’s usually a delicious combination.
Overall, Kakuuchi is simply not worth your time if you’re interested in either food or drink. For a much better restaurant with a similar style, head to Hamayaki Taisho which is just 5 min away.
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