Iku Yakitori

I first visited Iku back in 2004, and nothing has changed in the years since. (Except for the looped cd of The Cardigans; someone has banished that thank goodness) The atmosphere is excellent, but the open yakitori bar doesn’t seem to be in use anymore (?)
Make sure you insist on the lower level seating unless you have a back problem. It’s comfortable enough, you sit as you normally would on a chair and on cushions, not kneeing, cross-​legged or anything, but is a little tricky to climb into… I wouldn’t expect my mum to crawl into it. However, it does give you an authentic feeling. So much so, my partner couldn’t help bowing his head to our waitress each time she visited us. The staff are lovely and helpful too, and can offer you a fork if you cannot manage chopsticks.
We always do a banquet — not the most expensive one with the choc cake, (we are wheat free), but the next one along. I do NOT recommend Iku for gluten free dining. We risk it a bit, but everything here is in a sauce, or has some gluten present. They can only offer plain rice for coeliacs. The food is always fantastic and cooked fresh. Be careful trying to drain the last drops from your miso bowl, you will be too full by the end.
We made a fool mistake on our first banquet — eating like we were starving, the kitchen kept our dishes coming and we were done in less than 45 minutes. The next time, we ordered plenty of alcohol and ate slower and with DIGNITY! Try the beer Yebisu — at $ 100 a case it’s still comparable to the cost of Asahi when purchased in a bottle, but far more tasty.
The prices are moderate, making this a good place for a special date.

Iku Yakatori has a very conscientious Japanese feel to it. The tables are inset on a lower surface than the floor alongside it, so that it’s like you’re kneeling around a traditional Japanese dining space without actually having to kneel. The décor is relatively minimalist, with the colour red being the main decorative theme. Everything is simply and low key, including the soft traditional Japanese music that playing in the background.
Anything fried is always good to try, with the tempura and the okonomiyaki being made by the deftest of frying hands. In fact, most things I’ve tried have been both modest and delicious. Nonetheless, the servings are on the small side, so if you’re hungry you’ll have to order a few more dishes than you would expect. That said, this problem could probably be avoided by ordering a banquet. While it’s not hugely expensive, there’s also nothing remotely budget about the pricing.
The drinks menu features a range of saki and beers.

We went here for dinner last night. From the start I was impressed with the décor of this little restaurant and it provides an aesthetic that is complimentary to the food. Japanese music played softly in the background. The only thing that seemed out of place was the tatty menu folder with Winnie the Pooh on the front.
We had Set Menu 1 and I had a small bottle of the house sake. The green tea that was part of the set menu had a wonderful nutty taste. The Miso soup was ordinary. Then came a large wooden block with seaweed salad, sushi, tempora and gyoza, pork dumplings arranged on top. All of these were excellent. Next came the main courses of Teriyaki chicken, a deep-​fried whole fish in a vegetable sauce and bowls of rice. Both of these looked as good as they tasted. Trying to refresh my mind as to what I ate from the on-​line menu isn’t helping as it has changed completely. After eating all of that we were both feeling very sated. Finally there was the fruit for desert, I wasn’t expecting much from this, but again the presentation and quality surprised me.
The service was excellent, the waiter was watching to see when we had finished each course and we didn’t feel rushed by the pace set by the kitchen.