Umenoyu

The "ゆ" hiragana is used to denote hotsprings

Rating: OK
Meal:  Dinner
Price:  2250 yen
Payment:  Cash only
Dishes: Wasabi raw octopus, raw ham and avocado tempura, yuzu encrusted pork
English Menu: Yes
Smoking: Not sure...but probably...it is an izakaya

Umenoyu is an izakaya quite close to where we live.  I first read about it at the Yokosuka Food Corner blog, and we took some guests there once for a local izakaya experience.  I hadn't been back in a long time so I figured I could do a review for it here.  I really appreciate that the ambience is pleasant, with a sort of 50's throwback vibe, and a dash of Japanese monster movies thrown in.  They have a very nice English menu that helps with the usual "overwhelmed by an izakaya's menu" syndrome.  Izakayas are meant to be mainly drinking establishments, and the food plays second fiddle.  I didn't include the drinks in the price above, but for a fresh grapefruit chuhi (very good) and a glass of yuzu liquor I probably paid about 900 yen on top of that.  I always feel a bit guilty about not ordering a drink at an izakaya, which is one of the downsides for me.  I'm all about the food and don't really care too much about the drinks.  If I like something, I'll find it for much cheaper at a store and have it at home thank you very much.  Speaking of which, I'd really like to find that yuzu liquor, it was also very good.

Wasabi octopus on the top

I went for crazy and got the wasabi octopus, not quite expecting it to be raw, but unsurprised when it showed up that way.  It was quite tiny, and extremely salty, so I snarfed it in one bite.  They also gave another "free" dish (it's usual at izakayas to give you a "free" dish that you kind of pay for by buying drinks) that was cream cheese with dashi flakes on top, a yummy couple of bites.  Soon the fresh ham and avocado tempura arrived.  It was decidedly not salty, but there was some to add.  It was ok, not fabulous.  I guess I prefer my avocado unfried.  Then the "main dish" arrived, the yuzu encrusted pork.  It was...a little tiny, so I asked for a small bowl of rice to go with it, which they happily provided.  Again, all of these dishes assume they are appetizers to your drinks, so it's really my own expectations/preferences that get me into trouble.  The pork was quite good, though not mindblowing.

ham and avocado tempura

So...all of that and it's a little on the expensive side, though again the ambience is nice and I'm happy taking people there to experience an izakaya.  On the whole though, I don't get excited about going back, so it's just getting an OK from me.

yuzu encrusted pork