Izakaya Den is “quite nice really”. Or is it?

What do you say to a celebrity when you meet them? It’s a question raised by the Freakanomics guys and what that I often face. When Rachael Griffiths pats my gimpy dog, or my grumpy dog tries to savage one of Guy Pearce’s Basenji, I just make polite conversation and try and treat them normally (although if I see Hughsy jogging down my street I’ll shout “maaaaaaate”).

But more to the point what should a celebrity say to you should they come to talk to somebody on your table at, say, Izakaya Den which since opening has been pitched as one of the hottest joints in town with the Australian media seeming to loose all critical ability when it comes to owner Simon Denton, the son of a famous Melbourne architect.

In Fred Scepisi’s case ignore the other three on the table and don’t even say “hello”. Ditto his son, whose name eludes me, who does a pretty accurate impression of a knob.

It’s not that I particularly want to talk to the director or his son. But there is something called manners. And I put common courtesy in the same bracket as keeping your g-string tucked away rather than riding half way up your back, not scratching your balls in front of the new Prime Minister Julia Gillard, and correctly using a knife and fork. (Wearing tracky pants and scratching your arse in public is obviously okay)

Anyway, in addition to famous directors, their tossing sons, and cheffy cokeheads, Izakaya Den is the kind of place that also attracts the hip, the wannabees and the well-off squares.

The difficult thing is to find the place (down the stairs to Chiodo and left; enter despite it looking closed) and then get in, as there is a no booking policy apart from at lunchtimes or groups of five to 20. You probably want to arrive before 7pm or after 9pm to find on table. This Thursday night, sometime after 8pm we are promised a table in 35, which ended up taking nearly an hour.

It wasn’t a bad wait, but the holding area, where you can also eat and drink, is loud, and in winter cold.

Izakaya Den is a narrow subterranean corridor of a room flaked on the left by an open kitchen and chunky high Japanese-style tables and stools.

The menus come as attractively wrapped scrolls. Drinks encompass a classy and reasonably but small priced selection of wines, beers and cocktails. But if I were you I’d concentrate on Saki, some of which are exclusive to Izakaya Den. You’ll be paying about $30 for 300ml or $75 plus for something the size of a wine bottle.

And the food? The verdict was a damning “quite nice really”. But not quite as good as when it opened from those who’d been here after it first opened.

And it was pleasant. A steamed sole was lovely and delicate. No more or less than you’d expect.

The pictured, a special of tuna sandwiched in corn chips and the others wrapped in radish, was marred by the texture of cat food but the tasted good.

I liked the barbequed tongue, although one of the party found the texture too much like, um, tongue. There’s a lovely eggplant dish, salads…all sorts of Japanese stuff, of which sliced, barbequed octopus, with lovely charred suckers seemed to be the most popular.

For any criticisms I make, you should know I gorged myself. I ate as much as I could and enjoyed it. As I said everything at “Izakaya Den” was perfectly nice, a good meal that has been overhyped.

Unlike Simon Denton’s other restaurant Verge which is tired, try-hard, pretentious and probably in need of a long overdue overhaul, I like this place.

It’s a great place to drop into. But to secure a table time your visit carefully. Or book for a larger group.

And this is the point where I should make a few announcements:

First, I’ve decided to cut loose from producing the video blog for St Ali as it threatened my independence as a reviewer for the Melbourne Coffee Guide book and to my journalism. I shouldn’t have taken it on at all given my position and I’d like to assure all cafes my reviews will be fair and unbiaised. You wouldn’t believe the rigour of this year’s process with all the judges receiving taste calibration and training.

Second, although I mainly write here so does my girlfriend Adriane on stuff like tomatoes and olives now so it’s worth checking the byline of the writer nowadays.

Third, yes I am fucking back and when I get a new generation iPhone, the photography should improve.

Tagged as: Izakaya Den