Isaribi Japanese Restaurant

最近ゴキブリが出なくなったので再評価。とてもリーズナブルで良い店です！

A Japanese tavern located at cleekside in Makati.
The interior inside the store as if it is really in Japan.
It is delicious what you eat.
The variety of drinks is also abundant.
Also, I will visit when I go nearby.

The store was about to close but the staff were accomodating. Food tasted great!
Not sure if it was just closing time but what I think the store can improve on is to have a designated place for smoking customers.

I just love these quaint Japanese restaurants. Not exactly a hole-in-the-wall type, one can immediately sense an aura of authenticity once you enter. The place was nearly packed, and I was surely the only local dining here. Nice that all their menu items have English subtitles which help a lot when ordering. I was even happier that they offer dinner menu sets (apart from the usual lunch sets) which is uncommon. Though I didn't go for 2nd helpings, I believe they offer unlimited rice and miso soup with their set meals.

I had one of my favorites -- the saba shioyaki set meal which came with nice miso soup and rice. A side order of tori karaage completed the meal. The saba was great, quite fresh and plump, and perfectly grilled. The tori karaage was quite alright, though I've tasted better elsewhere. But it's not to say that theirs was unacceptable. There was really no reason for me to dislike the dish.

Place is very clean and not smelly, unlike some joints in the Little Tokyo area. Service was great and pricing was very reasonable. I was alone so I sat myself at the counter area. I noted that the bar had table-top yakiniku grillers for those dining alone (or as a pair).  I shall return!


UPDATE June 13, 2016:

Salmon sashimi -- Reasonable at P260 and one of the freshest versions I've tried.

Grilled shishamo -- Very nice but a bit expensive at P240 for 4 tiny pieces

Grilled uni -- Just OK

Saba Shioyaki -- Consistently great like the previous time

Grilled oysters -- Imported oysters, very juicy and tasty

Deep fried crunchy shrimps -- Eat everything from head to tail. Best taken with ponzu sauce

Grilled ox cheek -- Mislabeled as ox but should be pork. Meat is a bit tough. Best takern with warushoyu sauce. Same goes for the chicken skin, pork belly and chicken wings yakitori

Grilled pork belly in sweet sauce -- The sweet sauce was "off" for me. Too strong and sweet. Choose another dipping sauce like the shoyu dip