Behind the counter is the owner-chef, who apprenticed at ryotei and ryokan. A favourite on the menu is the plump sardines simmered with ume. Every dish, down to the smoked potato salad and shumai dumplings, is prepared with care. The ceramic chopstick rests are inscribed with the characters for ‘shirafu’, meaning ‘sobriety’. Turn one over and it says ‘chidoriashi’, or ‘drunken staggering’, ‘meitei’, or ‘drunkenness’, and so on – a playful touch reminding you this is a drinking establishment.