Goro

Set on a street corner in Akatsuka, Itabashi Ward, Goro draws visitors to its counter and table seating for post-work drinks or a relaxed solo meal. The first thing to consider from the menu is the house-specialty Goro Gyoza. Wrapped on the larger side, the parcels are generously packed with minced meat and vegetables and seasoned thoroughly throughout, creating a natural partner for a chilled glass of draft beer or a Kakubin highball. Diners eating in can opt for a half portion, making it easy to order even when visiting alone.

Equally popular with regulars is the simmered pork kakuni, featuring pork belly cooked down slowly until tender and rich, served alongside flavorful, broth-soaked daikon radish. Another longstanding favorite created when the shop first opened is the kitsune pizza, which uses crisp-grilled abura-age deep-fried tofu pockets in place of dough for a light snack that goes hand in hand with a glass of wine or shochu. Homestyle options such as sake tsukeyaki—salmon slowly grilled while being basted with soy-based sauce—and crisp-cooked stir-fried vegetables also round out the menu, showcasing unpretentious yet careful cooking.

To finish the evening, the kitchen turns out an adult-style salt yakisoba spiced with a peppery kick that works as both a drinking snack and a meal, as well as yakimeshi, seasoned with savory sauce rather than traditional chahan seasonings. With smoking permitted throughout and doors open into the night from 17:00, it makes a calm retreat for whiling away an evening over Sapporo Akaboshi bottled beer or honkaku shochu from a kept bottle.