Address - Tokyo-to, Shinjuku-ku, Takadanobaba 4-7-5, Takadanobaba Grand Tokyo Kaikan 4F Opening hours - Open 5 p.m. to 11.30 p.m. every day Map - See directions Telephone - 5338-1096 Menu - In Japanese CC - OK

Directions: When you come out of Takadanobaba station onto Waseda-dori, turn left. "En" (written in hiragana) is in the first building on the left, with the elevator opening right onto the street.

En" is part of a chain of 13 branches in Tokyo and the Kanto area, although you would think it is a carefully managed single entity. Distinctly upmarket when compared to most "izakaya," it offers finely prepared Japanese food and attentive but never obtrusive service in a quiet, comfortable atmosphere. The Takadanobaba branch features all "horikotatsu" seating, meaning that you sit on cushions at a low table while dangling your legs into a pit below the table. Decidedly more comfortable for the gaijin (and, I'm told, for most Japanese) than sitting on tatami.

There are several private rooms, too, apparently without an extra charge. We were a group of four non-Japanese and were shown into one of these private rooms by the young but polite and knowledgeable staff. The main menu is in Japanese, but they do provide a shorter version in English.

The food is upmarket "izakaya" fare but often with a twist. An avocado salad with distinctly Japanese looks and flavors. The grilled "tsukune" minced chicken not on the usual skewer but in a shape reminiscent of a frankfurter and not, for a change, overgrilled. Cabbage leaves with six different kinds of home-make "miso." A large variety of seasonal sashimi and grilled fish and clams. In my estimate, the menu lists over sixty or seventy items, and the one vegetarian in our group found plenty to choose from, too.

We didn't try their wines, instead stuck to beer and sake. Naturally, there's also a variety of "shochu" and "shochu sours" made with freshly squeezed juices.

After three hours of eating and drinking, the total bill for four came to not quite Yen 25,000 or a little over 6,000 per head. Perhaps slightly more than at your normal student-type izakaya, but distinctly cheap when you wish to impress foreign visitors of either sex. (The ease of "playing footsie" can be a welcome side benefit of the "horikotatsu" seating arrangement.)


Other branches of "En" are located in Ikebukuro (2), Shibuya, Shinjuku, Jiyugaoka, Ginza, Kichijoji, Kawasaki, Yokohama, Omiya and Tokorozawa.