Thursday, May 25, 2023

AKABANE: Karaage Bancho with jumbo Famichiki otoshi! Attentive staff, friendly regulars and suuuuuper cheap alcohol. (Sony RX100)

Akabane is a neighborhood in Japan for drunks... Lots of little non-franchise restaurants service cheap drinks and food.   Its been years since I last visited and just wanted to goooo.

The least expensive whisky hi-ball is only 99 yen! Thats pretty good. 


First up 99 yen Hi-Ball with a lemon. 



The automatic appetizer (Otoshi) is pretty much a jumbo Family Mart chicken on a bed of crispy prawn cracker.  Super juicy!  Otoshi is usually a table charge and here it was 480 yen. 

Next up the least expensive item on the menu! Motsu-Nikomi.

100 yen boys... Carrots, Daikon and very tender motsu meat. 

My counter view.

Lots of signatures all over the place. 



These older guys asked me about my Sony RX100 and we got to chatting for about 15 minutes.  One was fully bilingual and the other could understand English a bit.  

They recommended this Jumbo Bancho Hi-Ball 289 yen.  It was heavy! Unfortunately by the time I finished it the ice had almost melted and became a very light whisky flavor.

90 minute dining limit. 

Interesting guideline for the staff.  Customers should have Zero stress. 1. Make eye contact and greet every customer, no goofing around. 2. First drink should arrive within 1 minute. 3. Clean tables and take away empty plates. 4. Check should be provided within 5 minutes. 



Smoking allowed I think.



The damage... 2 drinks, 1 motsu-nikomi and the table charge/otoshi fee.

Overall the staff was very attentive, spoke to the 2 older guys and later 2 girls dining together... friendly people, but most of all the alcohol is incredibly cheap.  Definitely worth a try! There is a 2nd floor for larger groups.

Located in the Ichibangai Dining and Bar district. Noticed many single ladies standing around... I think they were massage girls, some Filipino pubs and many traditional Japanese hostess/kybakura pubs.  Very red light district.

Restaurant: Karaage Bancho Akabane Branch
Restaurant J: 大衆居酒屋 からあげ番長 赤羽店
Address J: 東京都北区赤羽1-21-1
Address E: Tokyo, Kita-ku, Akabane 1-21-1
居酒屋、からあげ、ダイニングバー, 赤羽駅, Japan, Japanese, foodie, yelp, tokyobelly, cheap, lunch, dinner, izakaya, pub, bar, yakitori, sony rx100, iphone x, sake, nihonshu, shochu, 一番街, ichibangai

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