Culinary magazine Dancyu runs this casual canteen that puts a gourmet spin on hearty Japanese comfort food – think nutritious meals consisting of rice, soup, pickles, and a fish or meat dish like karaage fried chicken, ginger pork or grilled mackerel.
The chefs never stray far from orthodoxy when it comes to cooking techniques and seasonings, instead centring quality ingredients such as juicy Aritadori heirloom chicken from Saga, Chiba’s Takumi brand pork, and mellow Takata no Yume rice from Iwate, cooked to perfection in a hagama clay pot. All teishoku lunch sets include a bowl of the restaurant’s signature miso soup, in which three types of miso paste are combined with mackerel- and sardine-based dashi for an eye-opening depth of flavour.
In the evening, the menu expands to encompass a variety of izakaya-style dishes from potato salad and shumai dumplings to booze-compatible seafood bites, making Dancyu Shokudo well worth a stop for post-work beer and nibbles. Note that since the eatery has fairly limited seating – a 17-seat counter plus a handful of small tables – you’ll often need to queue to get in.