While I love discovering the latest hot restaurant openings in Dublin, I love when when a place that has been here for while gives me a nice surprise. A few weeks back I was meeting Miss E. for a catch up in the pub. After a few drinks we were famished, so decided to head to Izakaya for sushi and cocktails.
Izakaya is part of Yamamori on South Great Georges Street and I've been downstairs a few times for cocktails but this time I was there for the food.
We both ordered their Izakaya lychee cocktail (€9) which is made of soju, lychee liqueur, lime, sugar and even include a little lychee fruit for decoration. It's quite good if like me, you're into lychee.
We soon gave up the initial plan of having sushi when we saw their 'japas' (Japanese tapas) on the menu. I was delighted that while I was away in Ballymaloe Miss E. who had been a vegetarian for a few years decided to join me on the dark side with the carnivores. We had a choice of either five dishes for €35 or three dishes for €22, you can probably guess which option we chose.
The pork gyoza were my favourites, lovely light small bites of finely chopped pork mixed with zingy ginger and garlic chives wrapped in a thin dough. These little dumpling are wonderful dipped in their accompanying sauce and possibly addictive.
The stir fried Kimchee pork belly was also good, the vegetables were crunchy and the kimchee sauce certainly didn't lack spices and was definitely on the fiery side.
Unfortunately the squid tempura was something of a disappointment. A bit rubbery and the batter lacked a little crispiness, their dip was tasty though.
The pumpkin croquettes were super crispy in comparison and served with a BBQ sauce.
Last but not least, the deep fried tofu cubes were one of the highlights and were coated in a rich spicy teriyaki sauce served with crunchy cashew nuts.
The portions sizes were perfect so we found ourselves nice and full after enjoying this decent grub for a reasonable price. There was also a great buzz in the room, with communal tables and lively music.
It's a great mix between a bar and a restaurant and if sharing food isn't your thing you can always order a plate of sushi for yourself.
Izakaya
12-13 South Great George's Street
Dublin 2
This is an independent review, I paid for my meal.
