Grilled fish, curry, and homemade croquettes make for a shockingly affordable and satisfying meal.

During a company meeting at the office, the topic came up of how all-you-can-eat restaurants are seeing a surge of popularity right now. So, when our Japanese-language reporter Masanuki Sunakoma was on his commute to our office in Shinjuku, he kept his eyes peeled for any evidence suggesting as much.

Shortly, just after leaving Shinjuku Station’s Southeast Exit, he quickly spotted a sign that read “Lunch Buffet: All You Can Eat, 850 yen” (US$5.53).

While there are certainly quite a few places that offer all-you-can-eat deals as long as you’re looking for them, 850 yen for a buffet right in front of Shinjuku Station is absurdly cheap. There was no way that Masanuki was going to pass up on this deal, so come lunch time he found himself back at the izakaya called Yottekiya, only a minute or so walk from the station exit.

For being so close to Shinjuku Station, the price is truly shocking, being cheaper than some set meals at a chain restaurant. There was even an additional offer listed on the sign saying that on Tuesdays and Thursdays, customers can enjoy “homemade croquettes”, which is not something you want to be missing out on.

According to the website, the weekday buffet lunches run from 11:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and while you can make reservations for daytime parties or drinking gatherings, you are unable to do the same for the buffet.

Upon entering, Masanuki was greeted by a cool-looking staff member who emerged from the back of the store stating that it was a “pay before eating” system. After handing over the money, the employee vanished into the depths of the store, leaving behind a sense of complete freedom to enjoy the lunch in whatever way he fancied.

Masanuki, while initially surprised at the lack of explanation of any rules, felt the simplicity of “just feel free to help yourself” was very refreshing in comparison to other places that might have limits, such as only being able to stay for 60 minutes.

Masanuki took over an empty seat before going to get food. The dishes were lined up along the counter, and you could take as much of whatever you liked.

Whenever you’ve stuffed yourself to the brim, all you need to do is just take your dishes to the return area.

▼ There’s also a selection of drinks, including coffee, Calpis (a probiotic milk drink), green tea, water, and oolong tea.

The lineup of dishes available was surprisingly varied, with grilled fish, mapo tofu, curry, twice-cooked pork, simmered chicken wings with daikon, and other delicious-looking food. There were also plenty of side dishes, like Korean seaweed, eggs, natto, and the aforementioned croquettes.

The staff only came out occasionally to restock the food, but otherwise they completely left the guests alone, making it easy for Masanuki to eat at his own pace.

Masanuki piled his plate high with whatever dish caught his eye, coming away with a collection of foods typically ordered at izakayas, all well-seasoned with a rich, umami taste that makes you want to keep eating rice to go with them.

Despite being on his lunch break, he knew he was going to end up eating a lot, and hopefully the sleep demons wouldn’t attack too aggressively in the afternoon.

The croquette was particularly delicious, being crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

There was also the mapo tofu. A sign on the counter said, “Please do not place the mapo tofu on the white trays,” so Masanuki decided to create a mapo tofu rice bowl by popping it straight on top of his rice. The spicy, rich flavor mixed beautifully with the rice, and he polished off every last bite.

Overall, being an izakaya, the flavors were very strong, but that only made it more satisfying for both Masanuki’s stomach and soul.

The level of satisfaction granted for just a mere 850 yen is astounding, especially at a time when even chain restaurants are struggling to keep their set meals under that price. The lunch buffet at Yottekiya delivers far more than what your money is worth, so if you’re ever around Shinjuku Station, you’ll definitely want to swing by for lunch.

Restaurant information
Yottekiya Shinjuku-ten / 酔ってき屋 新宿店
Address: Tokyo-to, Shinjuku-ku, Shinjuku 3-35-9 Eiwashoji Biru 1F
東京都新宿区新宿3-35-9 永和商事ビル1F
Open: 12:00 p.m.–12:00 a.m. (Sunday, Monday–Thursday, Holidays)
12:00 p.m.–2:00 a.m. (Friday, Saturday, and days before holidays)
Weekday Lunch: 11:00 a.m.–2:30 p.m. (Monday–Friday, and days before holidays)
Website

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