Isuzu

Tucked into Omoide Yokocho near the west exit of Shinjuku Station, Isuzu is an easy stop when you want to start drinking a little early. The pub opens at 15:30 on weekdays and 13:30 on weekends, making it simple to slip through the noren curtains well before evening. Seating spans the first-floor counter as well as upstairs on the second floor, offering a low-key, casual setting where you can settle in over a drink.

Charcoal-grilled skewers range from classic yakitori to pork offal and vegetables. Pork cuts include kashira (temple meat), negima, hatsu (heart), shiro (intestine), liver, and kobukuro (uterus), alongside chicken thigh, gizzard, shiitake mushrooms, and shishito peppers. Each order can be seasoned with salt or tare sauce, letting diners mix and match lightly charred skewers at their own pace. Beef skewers, shrimp, and bacon-wrapped asparagus are also on hand when you want a wider spread across the table.

Beyond the grill, the house miso stew (nikomi) is well worth ordering. Pork offal, daikon radish, carrot, and konnyaku simmer until thoroughly tender, coated in a mellow, savory miso broth that pairs naturally with alcohol. The drink list covers chilled draft beer, large beer bottles, highballs, baisu sour, and sake. It provides an atmospheric, unhurried perch in the alleyway, built around simple small plates and hot skewers.