01 / ABOUT THE PLACE
About this place
Start with rice, miso soup and pickles, then choose the side dishes to make up your meal. Hisatomi’s lunch suits diners who want to sample a little of several things as well as those who have already decided on grilled fish. One diner paired tempura of sardine and yomogi with firefly squid and spinach dressed with vinegared miso. On another visit, the choices included conger eel tempura, rolled omelette and spinach and yam topped with bonito flakes. Seasonal ingredients feature among the dishes, so there is pleasure in deciding whether to make fried food the centrepiece or add a few small plates, depending on the day.
There is more than tempura to choose from. The menu also lists eggplant dengaku, salted grilled sockeye salmon and mackerel, tuna sashimi, and sea bream cured with kelp. One diner who ordered simmered dishes enjoyed small taro, hirousu, prawns and konjac, and said they would choose a grilled dish next time. Sashimi and simmered dishes can make for a more restrained set meal than one built around fried food. The rice set is part of the meal’s appeal, too: the menu says the silver rice is milled each morning, the miso soup is made with flavourful dashi, and the pickles are house-made. Diners have singled out the pickles and praised the rice and dashi-rich soup. The basic set makes a good starting point when choosing your sides.
At lunch, choose the sides that appeal; in the evening, take your time over small plates and drinks. The restaurant is described as suitable for solo dining, and reservations are recommended for dinner. It is an option for a Japanese meal eaten in, with the quantity and number of dishes left to suit your appetite.
