A note on the words: an izakaya is a place built for drinking, with food ordered a plate at a time; a red paper lantern outside is the old sign for one. Showa is the era from 1926 to 1989, and stands here for a particular worn, cheerful style of drinking house. Basashi is raw sliced horse, eaten much as beef tartare is. Yamaimo is a mountain yam that turns slippery when cut, motsu-ni is offal stewed in broth, and otoshi is the small dish that arrives unasked at the start.
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Benkei on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Drinkers, thank you for waiting. It is Hangover Meshi time.
This time, the west exit of Ikebukuro. Wandering around the Rosa building wondering where to drink — and there is an izakaya with a very fine atmosphere about it. It is called Benkei. Handsomely worn.
Slide the door open and you are in the Showa era.
A cheerful din, a good sort of noise, and a counter running around a glass case of the kind you see holding sushi toppings. Somehow nostalgic (though I have never actually been to a Showa-era drinking house) — a very good feeling to the place.
Right, let us drink.
A place where you need not stand on ceremony is a comfortable place. First, beeeer.
A cold small dish of finely chopped okra tossed with diced yamaimo. The tuna in it is a welcome touch. The more you mix it, the more the stickiness of the okra and the slipperiness of the yam tangle together, and it looks good for it. The crisp bite of the yam comes first, then the smooth feel of the okra, and the little pop of its seeds mixed through. The wasabi at the finish going sharply up the nose is good too.
The food here is good.
A carpaccio bearing the shop’s own name.
Thin slices of salmon and sea bream laid out red and white over broccoli, lettuce and mizuna — a cold carpaccio with plenty of vegetables. Black pepper is ground firmly over the whole thing, and the sheen of the oil and the yellow of the lemon add colour. The salmon has a deep savour, the bream is lean and good. The prickle and fragrance of the coarse pepper tighten up the sweetness of both fish. The sharp dressing suits it very well; a simple plate, but very good.
Next, basashi. Bright red slices of horse laid out on a plate over thinly sliced onion and spring onion. The moist sheen of the lean meat looks good. Eating it, the feel in the mouth is lighter than it looks: a chewy springiness, and then the savour of the lean meat seeping slowly out. No off-smell, and a clean finish. Working in a little of the grated garlic and ginger alongside makes the fragrance leap up. Good.
A few crisp white stems, served with a reddish miso. Eat too many and the smell stays with you, but that raw sharpness is exactly what suits a drink.
When you come to an izakaya like this, nothing begins until you have had the house motsu-ni. In a reddish miso broth, offal, daikon, carrot and konnyaku come into view in big pieces. Fat glitters on the surface and there is plenty of chopped green onion. Lift the offal with chopsticks and it falls apart softly; it has been stewed well. The daikon has drunk up the miso broth and is thoroughly steeped in it. Very good.
At the end, when they told me it was last orders, I asked for barley shochu with soda — and they said, “Actually we have a mega size, would you like that instead?” Did we? They might have told me earlier — though had they, I might have got drunk, so perhaps it is just as well. For some reason they gave me four pieces of lemon. A closing-time service, perhaps.
So — I stayed rather a long time, but it was a very comfortable izakaya. The red-lantern atmosphere is intact, and both outside and in you can enjoy that Showa feeling. It is a good drinking house. The food was all quite good, and the fish dishes especially were spot on. I did not have any skewers, so next time I might drink with the skewers as the main event. That sounds good.
May you meet something good to eat today too.
Benkei (izakaya / Ikebukuro Station, Higashi-Ikebukuro Station)
Tabelog evening rating ★★★☆☆ 3.5
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
