Torishin

Rating: OK
Meal:  Dinner
Price: 2600 yen
Payment: Credit cards accepted
Dishes: Drink, yakitori
English Menu: No
Smoking: Yes

Met a friend near Kanzawa-Hakkei station last night.  Afterwards I looked around for a new spot to eat and found Torishin.  Hadn't had yakitori in a while so decided to give it a shot.  It was ok, not bad, but not great either.

Gintora

Rating: Not great
Meal: Dinner for 2
Price: 7700 yen
Payment: Credit cards accepted
Dishes: Drinks, avocado, tamagoyaki, bacon, meat platter, roast beef don
English Menu: No
Smoking:  Yes

This is the restaurant that replaced Station Grill.  It is a barebones izakaya with dark, unadorned, black boxes in which you will be inserted.

I have no idea how the price got so insane...my son and I were not very impressed with this place.  The smoke and noise seeped in from all around.

My son's main dish, the roast beef don, took forever to arrive.  All the rest of the food was eaten for a good 10 minutes before it finally arrived.  When it did he took a couple bites and declared the meat tough and not worth eating.

The avocado was unripe.  The tamagoyaki unremarkable.  The meat dishes weren't bad.

Overall not a place we're likely to ever return to.

King Chicken and Burrito

Rating: OK
Meal:  Lunch
Price: 740 yen
Payment: Cash only
Dishes: Bulgogi burrito
English Menu: Yes
Smoking: N/A

King Chicken and Burrito is a stand restaurant, so no seating.  It's takeout only.  They have a couple of types of burritos and some fried chicken available.

I got a bulgogi burrito and took it home to eat.  It was pretty good, if a bit sweet.

It's nice to have a grab and go option in town that isn't a fast food restaurant.

Khan Pina

Rating: Very good
Meal: Lunch for 2
Price: 4460 yen
Dishes:  Tandoori meat sampler, 2 lassi, palak paneer, mutton biryani, paratha
Payment: Credit cards accepted, but only for dinner
English Menu: Yes
Smoking: No

Our church is now meeting in a new section of Ueno, and that means new options for lunch!  The parking lot we used was very close to an Indian restaurant, so I knew we had to try it out afterwards.  At first I thought perhaps this was a true Indian restaurant, until I spotted the Nepalese flag on the sign.  Still, we had to give it a shot.  We ordered off the main menu, but there was a lunch menu with very affordable lunch sets.

I'm glad we did!  On the menu were at least 3 kinds of bread, always a good sign.  I asked for a salty lassi and they waiter didn't bat an eye, another good sign.  The salty lassi was clearly made with care, including fresh spices which tasted delicious.

I ordered the tandoori meat sampler with three kinds of chicken tandoori, all of which were quite tasty.  My son's mutton biryani was chock full of whole spices and flavor, and while a bit tomato-y, it was still delicious, with the mutton being of about medium tenderness and good flavor.  My palak paneer was suitable, notably not sweet.  The paratha was made with brown flower and pretty thick, but again, not sweet!  We were unable to finish it all, but they had no problem packing the leftovers up to go.

Overall, we were quite impressed and look forward to trying it again some day with my wife.

Caspian

Rating: Very good
Meal: Dinner for 2
Price: 6400 yen
Dishes:  Soup, eggplant dip, yogurt drinks, kebab, lamb shank
Payment: Credit cards accepted
English Menu: Yes
Smoking: No (yes outside)

Caspian is the first Iranian/Persian restaurant I've found in Japan since being here 8 years.  I've known about it for a while, but it's in an odd place that we almost never find ourselves, so I haven't been able to get it yet.  But yesterday was a Friday and my son and I had to go to Costco, so I thought we should drive a bit further to try this place out.

Dough

It's very nice inside, spacious, and has a totally different feel from most restaurants in Japan.  The staff appear to be Iranian and the dishes are legit.  They even have dough, the Iranian version of laban/ayran/lassi and it's salty!  Also, they have their own parking lot, with only 3 spaces, but still that's 3 more than most places!

Soup

There were so many great looking dishes, though sadly fessenjan was not among them.  My son had the basic kebab, which wasn't terribly expensive, and I had a lamb shank which also seemed well priced.  Of course, we ended up buying a few other things that elevated the price by the end, but it was worth it.

Eggplant dip

I did order a shisha, but I removed it from the price above.  This was a serious disappointment, I do not recommend getting their shisha.

Lamb shank

The food was all good, but under spiced, especially in the salt department.  Luckily there was salt on the table so that is easily rectified.  The lamb was super tender, falling off the bone, and the sauce was delicious.  The bread was great, thin, but still chewy, freshly made.  My son's kebab was pretty good, and it looks like they have some very interesting more expensive kebab options I'd like to sample next time.

Kebab

I'll definitely be returning with my wife when she gets back from her trip.

Ryoushigoya

Rating: OK
Meal:  Dinner
Price: 3500
Payment: Credit cards accepted
Dishes: Crispy aji, meat with tofu soup, cheezy eggplant
English Menu: No
Smoking: Yes

Well I'm back and reviewing again!  I found this izakaya that I hadn't eaten at before and gave it a shot.  It was actually pretty good, but the place itself was a bit crowded and smoky, so I'm not likely to head back, otherwise I might have given it a Very Good.

Crispy aji

Meat with tofu soup

Cheezy eggplant

Tranzeet

Rating: OK
Meal:  Lunch? (travel)
Price: 65 AED
Payment: Credit cards accepted
Dishes: Omelet, side of avocado
English Menu: Yes
Smoking: No

Stuck in Dubai Airport I found this Tranzeet restaurant that had an omelet on the menu.  I ate it.  It looked good, but wasn't that great when eaten.  Overcooked eggs, flavorless cheese, avocado not fully ripe.  Sadly.  The tomatoes were good though.

Sky Restaurant

Rating: Very good
Meal: Dinner
Price: 7.600 BHD
Dishes:  Steak tenderloin
Payment: Credit cards accepted
English Menu: Yes
Smoking: No

I was hanging at the Bahrain airport waiting to fly home and decided to eat something at the Sky Restaurant.  The menu is quite extensive with lots of good stuff on it.  I decided to go for a steak with mushroom sauce.  It was quite tender and delicious.

Calexico

Rating: OK
Meal:  Dinner
Price: 10.300 BHD
Payment: Credit cards accepted
Dishes: Two tacos, chicken wings
English Menu: Yes
Smoking: No

Expensive Californian Mexican restaurant in Adliya...not very good considering the price.  The wings were overcooked and tough, the tacos made with highly processed white flour burrito shells, the flavors weren't there.

Chips and salsa

Wings

Jalapeno poppers

Two types of "tacos"

Lamb Quesadilla