A note on the words: an izakaya is a Japanese pub, where you drink and order small plates as you go. Sakura, cherry blossom, is the trade word for horse meat in Japan, which is why the horse tartare here is called sakura yukke; yukke is the Japanese form of Korean yukhoe, raw meat dressed in a seasoned sauce with an egg yolk on top. Of the cuts on the platter, tategami is the fatty strip that runs along the mane and futaego is a striped cut from the belly. Takowasa is raw octopus tossed with wasabi, edamame are young soybeans boiled in the pod and salted, and a highball is whisky topped up with soda.
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Issa on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Hello, this is Hangover Meshi. Ikebukuro again tonight. I was drifting around wondering where to drink when I came across a horse-meat place, Issa. This is the jumbled patch on the west side, ha. There are a great many night places around here and it is a busy spot, but I thought I would eat horse for a change and went in. Up to the third floor in the elevator, and the room is calmer than I had expected.
Five-cut horse sashimi platter 2,980 yen
Sakura yukke 1,280 yen
For 2,500 yen you can add an all-you-can-drink option on its own! Of course I asked for the free-flow drinks.
So, with a highball in hand.
And another dish, a quick takowasa.
It had been a while since I last had takowasa, and it really is good. Octopus has been expensive lately……
A five-cut platter: lean sashimi, tategami, fillet, futaego and liver.
Horse is a lean, plain-tasting meat, clean on the palate and very easy to eat! Grated garlic and ginger come with it, but there is no gaminess at all, so I felt you would not miss them if they were not there. (Garlic does make it better, mind!
This is the sakura yukke. Lean meat in a slightly sweet sauce, with a plump egg yolk sitting on it, and that works well.
This one is very easy to eat too. To be honest, I am starting to think that yukke, good as it is with beef, may be a dish that suits horse.
So: horse to pick at and a great many highballs, and I came away very happy. It is a fine thing that you can add an all-you-can-drink option on its own. It would work for a big group as well. Next time I am stuck for where to go around Ikebukuro, I intend to remember this place.
Issa (Izakaya / Ikebukuro Station, Kanamecho Station, Higashi-Ikebukuro Station)
Tabelog dinner rating ★★★☆☆ 3.4
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
