Tanikoretani

My client put this hip izakaya on my radar and I am grateful. Shinji Mizutani was an architect in New York City and after designing restaurants for others decided to design his own place and changed careers to restaurateur at two restaurants.

After about 25 years in New York City he returned to Japan and opened Tanikoretani with his brother, Tomoji. The tani in the name is there twice, one for each brother.

The easiest is to say omakase and let them know your preferences and anything you don’t like. They will put together a menu for you.

Shinji also helped us with sake pairings, each presented in a different glass. Many shochu also on the menu. The dishes used to present the food are a colorful variety of many second hand vessels. The portion sizes are small making it a pleasure to try a wide variety.

I loved the many vegetable dishes on the menu. Mizu nasu eggplant sashimi, mountain vegetables tempura, wafu Japanese-style ratatouille, okara soy pulp with kikurage wood ear mushrooms, and other seasonal dishes.

Classics like tamagoyaki omelet, potesara potato salad, and karaage fried chicken are on the menu year-round. Be sure to order the chicken liver paté – served with crispy rice crackers.

Tanikoretani is in Kiyosumi Shirakawa (on the Hanzomon and Oedo subway lines) near the manicured Kiyosumi Gardens. Be sure to visit the gardens. Tanikoretani opens at 5 p.m., the same time the gardens close, and we loved having the counter all to ourselves at the early seating.

Fried sato imo taro root

He is a co-owner of the Brooklyn restaurant, Bozu, which is still open if you can’t make it to Tokyo. ☺️

Nasu eggplant sashimi.

Tanikoretani 谷是谷
Tokyo-to, Koto-ku, Kiyosumi 3-3-26
https://www.instagram.com/tanikoretani/?hl=en

Tender takenoko bamboo shoots

Reservations can be made via Tablecheck. The link is on the Instagram page. Tell him I sent you. First floor is for walk-ins, but the magic is on the second floor counter.