Fukufuku

There is an easy-going pleasure to an evening meal gathered around okonomiyaki and monjayaki sizzling on a hot plate. In Toshima, Tokyo, Okonomiyaki Fukufuku offers plenty of savoury pancake options, including Special Tama-ten with pork, squid, noodles, cheese and corn, as well as beef tendon tama and mochi with mentaiko. The monjayaki selection includes Fukufuku, named after the restaurant, as well as hearty combinations such as Italian-style and mochi with mentaiko. Diners can cook and enjoy them at their own pace around the hot plate.

There is also a generous range of small plates to enjoy while the main dishes cook or over a drink. The appetite-whetting choices include beef tendon stir-fried with a choice of spicy miso or salt, pork with kimchi, and a kimchi platter of napa cabbage kimchi, cucumber kimchi and cubed radish kimchi. There are also butter-grilled seafood platters featuring shrimp, squid and scallops, along with hot-plate grilled meats such as kalbi and pork jowl, which each table can cook to its preferred doneness.

Drinks include Asahi Super Dry on draft or by the bottle, refreshing lemon and umeboshi sours, and chu-hi such as oolong tea or other tea-based versions. Highballs, wine by the glass and sake in a two-go serving are also available, making the drinks list suited to a full meal as well as a lighter evening drink.

To finish, a sweet such as anko-maki, a sweet bean paste roll, or vanilla ice cream makes a pleasant end to the meal. Open from 5pm to 11pm and closed on Thursdays, the restaurant accepts reservations and is an easy place to gather around the hot plate with friends or family.