Torinabe-tei Teradacho

A meal here centres on gathering around a hot pot. The signature chicken hot pot can be ordered from one serving, and the menu lists the Japanese-style broth version at 1,628 yen. One visitor found the portions so generous that ordering roughly half as many servings as there are diners might be enough. Consider the quantity first, then add yakitori or small plates. Alongside chicken hot pot, the menu includes beef offal hot pot, chicken kimchi hot pot and pork shabu-shabu hot pot. Homemade ponzu is available with the mizutaki, a chicken hot pot served with dipping sauce. Additions include vegetables, tofu, mochi and meat, while udon, ramen and soba are options for finishing the meal. One diner recommended the ramen; another said the hot pot was so filling they could not manage a final course. There is something to be said for deciding on that last bowl once you know how much room you have.

Alternatively, choose charcoal-grilled yakitori one skewer at a time. The menu lists gizzards, chicken hearts, negima (chicken and spring onion), chicken neck and tsukune (chicken meatballs), among other choices, from 187 yen each. One diner recalled watching skewers cook at the counter and said the sight made the beer go down easily. Small plates such as chicken-skin gyoza and agedashi tofu offer more options, including for an evening built around skewers rather than hot pot. For dessert, there is vanilla ice cream, fondant chocolate cake and sweet-potato fries with ice cream. After a hearty hot pot and yakitori, a little something sweet makes a fitting finish.