Kusio

For a change from yakitori or kushikatsu, try the fish skewers at KUSIO. One diner who ordered them said they went well with drinks. The listed skewers include grilled tilefish with crisp scales, sea bream with tomato and basil sauce, and bacon-wrapped quail eggs. The seafood-focused “Fish Feast Course” includes 5 kinds of creative skewers. Its contents differ from the standard course, which also features oden and sashimi, so you can choose between a seafood-centred meal and a chance to sample a range of the restaurant’s staples.

If you prefer to order à la carte, pair oden with sashimi. Prices vary by ingredient: daikon and mochi-stuffed pouches are 150 yen each, while chikuwa fish cake and konjac are 120 yen each; beef tendon and octopus from Akashi are 300 yen each. One visitor described the oden as comforting, and enjoyed it with chopped octopus and drinks. Sashimi options include octopus from Akashi, salmon, sea bream and spear squid, as well as tuna and scallop adductor muscle. For a few more small bites, the “3-item snack platter” combines potato salad, cucumber pickles fermented in rice bran, and steamed chicken.

Groups can also book the standard course, available for parties of 2 or more. It comprises 8 dishes, from oden and sashimi to chicken nanban and octopus and scallops stir-fried in garlic butter, followed by fried rice and dessert. The course includes 150 minutes of all-you-can-drink, with last orders taken after 120 minutes. Drinks include the KUSIO Sour, made with lemon sour and shikuwasa juice, and draft beer. Whether you are planning a night of fish skewers and drinks or a meal centred on oden and small plates, this izakaya offers options to suit the occasion.