An Authentic Izakaya Experience at Izakaya Ittoku (Boston, MA)

If you've met me in real life, you may have heard me complain about the lack of good ethnic food in Boston (with the exception of Brazilian and Jamaican food). Well, that's not quite true, because at least there is one authentic izakaya. Izayaka Ittoku in Allston offers what is probably the only authentic izakaya experience in Boston, with a large menu, great food, and cheap beer pitchers!

On top of the already large menu, they sometimes have special dishes, like this stir fried squid with green onions. So good we ordered another helping.

Agedashi tofu ($5.75) - a classic, of course.

Cucumber sunomono, another great dish to share and a great palate cleanser in between other plates.

Chicken karaage ($6.75). They use all dark meat, just the way I like it!

Takoyaki

Omusoba ($9.50) - yes, this is yakisoba (stir fried soba) inside an omelette. I personally prefer omurice than omusoba since I think the flavor is too much, but it's still a fun dish to get.

Okonomiyaki ($8.50). There was a bit too much sauce for my liking but you can hardly go wrong this okonomiyaki.

Another one of my favorites is the ika yaki, or broiled squid ($9). I guess I just love squid. The broiled squid had a really nice texture, tender with a slight char, and just enough marinade. I'm definitely ordering this again.

Daikon and beef stew

Since winter was the best season to get daikon radish, I had to get it. The lighter flavor of the broth was a nice change from all the sweeter flavors we had above.

They also had healthier dishes if you're looking for those, like this Sashimi salad ($12.50)

Salmon ochazuke ($6.50)

I was hoping for slices of salmon instead, but it's a cheap and comforting bowl when you need it. It was probably the weaker among the dishes we had, though.

There are 2-3 items on the dessert menu. We got the Belgian waffle served with flan and green tea ice cream ($8) and a sweet potato custard ($5.75)

As usual, the flan was my favorite.

Did I mention they had a pretty nice variety of sake, and cheap pitchers of Kirin or Sapporo to boot? Because what's an izakaya without beer or sake, right?
Ittoku is becoming one of my favorite places for a group meal. The large menu makes it easy to satisfy everyone, the food is great, and the price is right!

Izakaya Ittoku
1414 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA 02134
(617) 608-3630
https://www.facebook.com/Izakaya-Ittoku-191428244355243/