Koikoi

Part of the fun of hamayaki, or seafood grilled at the table, is choosing what you fancy and cooking it yourself. At Koikoi, the menu includes scallops, turban shells, red prawns and Japanese flying squid. Diners who have tried the hamayaki have praised the generous portions and the amount of meat in the shellfish; one visitor also enjoyed hokke (Atka mackerel) and prawns. There is also a mixed hamayaki platter with 5 varieties (1,780 yen), a handy choice if you would like to sample several items.

For a meal built around hamayaki, the menu lists a course with 12 dishes. It includes clams, shishamo smelt, dried stingray fin and hokkigai clams, all grilled at the table, plus all-you-can-drink service for 120 minutes (last orders 90 minutes before the end). It suits a meal with friends or a group where the cooking is part of the occasion. If you would like skewers as well, options include an assorted platter of 4 kushikatsu (780 yen), cheese kushikatsu selected in sets of 1 (190 yen), and prawn kushikatsu (280 yen). The yakitori is served with a sauce that, according to the restaurant, has been continually replenished since it first opened. Tsukune meatballs come with a choice of flavours, including sauce, salt, raw egg yolk and cheese.

You could also order the cheese balls, whose crisp exterior and soft centre stood out to one visitor, alongside grilled skewers or gyoza. The same diner said the yakitori went well with the house-made sauce and enjoyed the contrast in texture of the cheese balls. If the lively dining room is a concern, one visitor mentions that there are semi-private rooms; the restaurant information also lists private rooms and describes the venue as suitable for groups.