Classic proletarian Izakaya in Koyama. Since 1955. Having trusted the random internet information that Gyūtarō opens at 13:30 on Saturdays, I arrived there at 13:15. As I opened the door, alas, all of the seats were already taken and some people were even waiting on the benches placed on both sides of the entrance. Later I was told that they pushed forward the opening time to 13:00 on Saturdays to meet the regular guest’s request.

Whilst waiting on one of the benches, I used the idle time to study the interior and menu written on paper strips hung on the wall. The place looks pretty much worn-down, the paint of the ceiling is peeling off, and hopefully it would not drop into the big pan with Motsu-nikomi simmering behind the counter. About 20 people can sit at the U-shaped counter built around the kitchen where the master, his wife and another guy, all in their sixties, prepare the food. At the opening hour, there were a lot of typical Ojisan Izakaya-goers but the average age decreased notably as time ticked away. The name of the place "Gyutarō" (牛 = Beef) is actually misleading because except for the Nikomi everything else on the menu is pork offal, therefore I would take the liberty of nicknaming the place "Tontarō" (豚 = Pork). Studying the menu, the first eye-catching thing is the price range for the food: starting from 80 Yen for one skewer of もつ焼き (Motsuyaki), a bowl of 煮込み (Nikomi) is at 110 Yen, the most expensive dish available is 煮込みとうふ (Nikomi-tōfu), 280 Yen. Something strange on the drink menu: they have ブドー酒 (Budōshu / wine) (120 Yen), and also ワイン (wine) (150 Yen), whereas the Bodōshu-wine is this awful Yamanashi sweet stuff tasting like Fanta Grape, the wine-wine is drinkable. Both served on the rocks !

After about 40 min waiting time I got a seat. First thing I tried was Nikomi (beef stomach stew), pleasant taste, for 110 Yen ! Next 厚揚げ (Atsu-age /  thick deep-fried tōfu topped with bonito flakes and spring onion) (200 Yen) , which at Gyūtarō is not grilled as usually done but fried in a frying-pan and has a juicy, meaty texture. Very satisfactory. Also the Motsuyaki skewers (grilled pork innards) are recommendable. My big favorite was however the とんちゃん (Tonchan / "piggy"), fried pork offal topped with a house-made sauce made from garlic, nira garlic chives, ginger and sesame seed. This was so delicious and at 110 Yen so ridiculously cheap that I could not resist ordering another plate right away.

The rotation of customers is actually quite fast, most people leave in about an hour on average. At 4 p.m., still two hours to the official closing time, the master had already taken the Noren curtain inside because they were running short of supplies. So you ‘d better be early. I really tried hard to impress the master, downing lots of  hoppy and eating up and down the menu, but at the end my check failed to pass the 2000 Yen mark.

2 min walk from Tokyu Meguro-line Musashi-Koyama station. Very friendly service, truly enjoyable place. No heating, no aircon. Toilet outside, unisex,  Japanese stile. Probably not suited to bring a first date. But definitely a candidate for the “bang for the buck - award”. The master is a really friendly guy who also enjoys to speak a few words of English !

Beer (633ml bottle): 480 Yen

2nd Opinion...

Journey