Etsu Izakaya

Hey hey!

So Mum and I decided to go out for a nice dinner at Etsu Izakaya, it's my second time there - and it's delicious but a bit too pricey so we keep it for special occasions! It was Mum's first time eating here, so I decided to shout her - and we took some photos at Etsu of us and the food. Hope you guys enjoy!

Their menu is super cute, it's nice and simple - origami style portraying the Japanese culture. You fold it out and they have a wide range of menu items  

The drink was really nice, berry flavoured mocktail to share as we both had to drive. They do two different types of mocktails - this one and another citrus flavoured one!

Ordered the Tofu and Greens to start with as our salad, the portion was so big considering it's price - super worth it if you're a salad fan!

We also ordered my favourite Wagyu Carpaccio which was a lightly seared wagyu sirloin 9+ with garlic chips, chives and ponzu sauce. Absolutely love this dish, as I love rare food and the flavouring is completely my style.

Moving on to a dish that I tried for the first time, but it has most definitely made it to my "must order" list. Will definitely order this again whenever I go, it's the Salmon Tartare with eshallots, chives, pickled jalapeno which was served with ciabatta bread (it was even semi-buttered) ahhhh amazing and appetising dish!

Definitely ordered some oysters to share, forgot the exact name - but they were oysters served with dry seaweed and caviar and a wedge of lime to compliment.

So, even there bathrooms were super cute - decorated with Japanese newspaper and manga cut outs!

Next, we ordered the Nasu Dengaku which is Eggplant in Den miso, kizami nori ( shredded seaweed) and negi (welsh onion). I personally didn't enjoy this dish very much as the den miso was way too salty and sweet for me especially without pairing this with rice it was actually kind of hard to finish (even though we did) will probably not order this again, though this might be very suitable for western taste buds.

We also ordered the Soft Shell Crab paired with wasabi aioli and greens, unfortunately I made the same mistake twice in a row of ordering this because of my love for soft shell crab... The first time I ordered this I completely regretted it and sigh the second time I went I completely forgot, but honestly wasn't a fan of this because it always takes them so long to make it - not sure why but when it arrives at the table it's usually no longer hot therefore the oil tastes pretty bad (cause it's all cold). That is the main reason but the sauce and greens it's paired with is really nice if the frying of the soft shell crab could be improved other wise I'm not a fan.

Lastly, to end this meal off on very good note. I obviously ordered dessert! - I ordered the Pumpkin Creme Brulee with Black Sesame Ice-cream which was amazing. Absolutely loved it, you have to ask for the dessert menu and the waiter/waitress will usually tell you verbally since it often changes and the dessert is not part of their menus. Do definitely ask if you go!

Hope you enjoyed this post and got a clear insight on Etsu if you were ever wondering if it's worth going to! Which it is for sure :) Talk to you guys again next time!

- Miss Ting Chen