Only on the way out did I notice that the kaba of the restaurant name was in fact 河馬 – hippopotamus! What relation does that have to fish flown in daily from various markets around Japan? Not much? With its noisy, crowded atmosphere and long, iced ‘fish market’ counter up the front, Kaba is a casual, homey, fishy sort of place. Plenty of fish was getting eaten.
The Hippo came to enter the EOITwJ ranks through the auspices of Suika, who was mildly offended at the paucity of Daimon destinations covered herein. Never one to refuse a restaurant recommendation, especially one with no bill attached, we got ourselves verily along for some fishing.
Where’s the style of this post going?
Eaten items on the day included a decent plate of sashimi (very good hirame including some OK bits of engawa on the side; decent squid and madai; katsuo that looked OK but was a bit watery) and some fried bits (a whole fried flounder that was crisp and salty – even with spicy grated daikon and sauce, still more of an accompaniment to drinks than anything else). Skillet-fried potatoes (yamaimo though, so interestingly-textured) were peppery and pretty good at first, but after a while I realized that they tasted like canned demiglace sauce and got less excited.
Meanwhile the drinks kept coming, the people kept yelling, and Friday night among the salarymen proceded to a peaceful conclusion. Kaba was reasonably-priced and fun, the kind of place you can sink your teeth into for a Friday night. Would be great with visiting company too.
Stores in Gotanda, Shinbashi, Shinjuku, Hamamatsucho – gives you some idea what it’s like.
03-6802-3370