Wagokoro

Rating: Very good
Meal: Lunch for 2
Price: 1950 yen
Payment: Cash only
Dishes:Wappa with cold soba, tempura with cold soba
English Menu: No
Smoking: No (I think)

Wappa and soba

I've been meaning to try Wagokoro for a long, long time now.  Once my wife and I tried to eat there but passed it up for something else.  Ever since then I've been trying to get back, but have failed for some reason.  Today a co-worker suggested driving out there for lunch as he lives nearby and can park easily.  Nice!

Tempura and soba

The owner speaks really good English, so it's a puzzle as to why they don't have an English menu.  But he can explain everything quite well.  The owner let me know that this restaurant is over 100 years old and he is the 4th generation to run it!  In addition to their specialty of tempura, they also have soba and an interesting savory rice dish called wappa which is rice cooked in broth with bits of vegetable in it and topped by some kind of meat, and often a type of shredded egg.

I ordered a tempura and cold soba combo, while my friend had some wappa topped with crab and some cold soba as well.  The tempura was cooked right in front of us as we sat at the bar area, so we smelled pretty strongly of fry oil afterwards.  There are also tables available.  My tempura pieces were bookended by shrimp, which were ok, but not that amazing.  The vegetables in between, however, were really good, lightly crunchy on the outside and virtually melted in your mouth.  I didn't taste my friend's dish, but it looked pretty good too.

Nice, friendly spot, I look forward to bringing my wife back here some day.