Daitan

Start with fish grilled over charcoal and finish with salmon-and-ikura clay-pot rice. At Robata to Kaisen Private-Room Izakaya Daitan, seafood is at the heart of a menu designed for ordering several dishes to share. The fresh-fish robatayaki is described as seasonal seafood selected at the market each morning and grilled until tender over binchotan charcoal. One diner who ordered grilled black rockfish praised its fragrant skin and moist, tender flesh. For a changing selection of fish, there is also an assorted sashimi platter, available in 3, 5 or 8 varieties. The menu also lists a 8-variety platter served with Kyushu-style soy sauce.

For a final dish, consider the salmon-and-ikura clay-pot rice. The restaurant takes orders for its Salmon and Ikura Parent-and-Child Clay-Pot Rice before cooking it to order. Diners have praised the texture of the salmon roe, the savoury flavour of the salmon and the crisp, toasted rice at the bottom of the pot. One review found the portion just right for two to share, making it a natural centrepiece for the end of a meal. Other dishes include dashi-rich rolled omelette and a seafood salad of sashimi and colourful vegetables with homemade fresh-seaweed dressing. For drinks and a few small plates, the snack-size toro-taku combines fatty tuna, ume suisho, flying-fish roe and pickled daikon, and is described as a good match for sake. Diners have also noted the crisp coating and creamy centre of the crab-cream croquette, as well as the soft texture of the omelette. These dishes add variety to a meal built around seafood.

Private rooms are available, and the restaurant is presented as suitable for groups. For a meal with friends in Nihonbashi, grilled fish and clay-pot rice make a good starting point, with sashimi and smaller plates to add according to the size of the group.