Butaya - Japanese
Ogikubo ****

Address - Tokyo-to, Suginami-ku, Amanuma 3-9-2 Opening hours - Mon to Fri: from 5:00 pm to 11:30 pm, Sat: 12:00 pm to 14:30 pm and from 5:00 pm to 11:30 pm Map - See directions Telephone -3392-2450 Menu - In Japanese CC - No.

Butaya has a site (in Japanese). It also contains a map.

Butaya is an odd restaurant, mainly because of its minimalistic approach to life and business. A spotlessly clean and almost empty room painted in white, initially it's not really welcoming in spite of the politeness of the staff, but it grows on you really fast.
Just look at their site, and you will see that these people have style. Like the restaurant, it's white, simple and in good taste. There's more: the music in the background is always jazz, it's always quiet even when full and customers behave like people who feel very much at home.

Don't be discouraged by the extreme conciseness of the menu (I bet you have never seen such a short one). It contains just two items, but both are excellent: Japanese-style fried pork (yakibuta) in a ginger sauce and the same in a spicy sauce. The drinks? Just one brand of beer: Miller's.
The meal consists of a cup of light soup, a salad and some slabs of top quality fried pork. The people of Butaya are proud of their sauces, and have reason to. They are unlike anything I have tried before.
What more can I say? For 900 yen or less (according to whether you choose a small, medium, large or extra large set) you can have a simple, but excellent meal. Give Butaya a try, and you might well end up sitting next to me.

To find Butaya: get out of Ogikubo's North exit, cross the street, and turn left on the Ome Kaido. Keep your eyes open, and you will find its sign after about four hundred meters.