Usagi

While the restaurant modestly bills its food as home-style cooking, the menu presents thoughtfully crafted, authentic Japanese drinking snacks. Tucked away in a residential stretch of Nishi-Gotanda, Usagi enriches an evening out with seasonal seafood and vegetables sourced from across Japan, backed by a notably deep drinks list.

Fish selections follow the day's market arrivals, with origin-labeled grilled catches such as barracuda from Susaki in Kochi, Spanish mackerel from Hagi in Yamaguchi, or chicken grunt from Amakusa. Broiled until aromatic and succulent, these fish make an ideal accompaniment for the first drink of the night. Another mainstay is the deep-fried fillet katsu. Noted for its delicate crumb and meat tender enough to pull apart with chopsticks, it arrives well-seasoned, showing best either unadorned or with a pinch of salt.

The kitchen also turns out a varied array of casual snacks suited to drinks, ranging from savory stir-fries like salt-grilled Daisen chicken and gizzard with scallions to colorful small vegetable plates.

An Impressive Cellar of Shochu, Sake, and Wine

Equal to the cooking is the thoughtful drinks list. Around 180 styles of shochu and roughly 30 regional sakes appear on the list, featuring renowned labels from across Japan like Denshu from Aomori, Hakurakusei from Miyagi, and Jikon from Mie, alongside sweet potato shochu staples such as Sato, Manzen, and Rokudaime Yuri. Domestic bottlings such as Hideki Kitajima Zweigelt wine round out the selection, giving diners plenty of room to match their drink to the meal or the mood.

Seating includes both counter spots and tables, maintaining a calm, unhurried atmosphere. For dinner plans centered on sampling food and drink at length, reserving a table in advance is the smoothest route.