I haven't been to Izakaya Ittoku since the renovation, and it's great. The interior is great, and they share a space with Yume Ga Arukara (I also highly recommend). Everything we got was delicious, from the okonomyaki, addicting cabbage, crab croquette and skewers. I will definitely be coming back soon. The lemon sour was ok, a little too lemony and didn't taste like the ones in Japan. Our waitress was great, and very attentive. The entrance is outside the building, off Mass Ave. They also offer a parking discount. read more

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My wife and I always have such wonderful experiences at Ittoku. Chiki is an expert in his craft, and his dishes are both delicious and aesthetically pleasing. The selection is expansive, but not too expensive, and the servers provide great insight. This is BY FAR the best Japanese establishment in the Greater Boston area. read more

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Great food, lots of selections in the menu, great ambiance, recommend to go there early as they are always busy.

Since my last review, Ittoku has now moved to its third location located in Lesley college and it is attached to Yume Ga Arukara (but they are still separate restaurants). There is limited street parking outside plus paid parking in the Lesley College parking lot. There are two sushi bar areas and a medium sized dining room. Luckily, the food is still good! For an appetizer, the thinny cut fried lotus root was a good start as it was very crispy. I also got the cod roe pasta which was as delicious as always. Of note, it is now an off menu item but they still have it. For the main course, the Makanai Mapo Tofu was savory and saucy and was served with a cup of rice. The tofu was soft and I liked the strong flavor of the Mapo Tofu sauce. The service was average and our food came out in a reasonable time. The decor is a bit plain, there are some Japanese decorations including a TV featuring Japanese food, but not a lot. read more

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Drinks and vibes are amazing here! We were able to walk in and get a seat by the sushi station at 6 on a Friday easily but it started to get really busy around 7. Servers were very friendly and the sashimi we got was delicious too. read more

Izakaya Ittoku - Matcha Mami - Ramen Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

What a lovely Japanese tapas spot in Porter square! We came here on a Friday night and got seated at the bar with no wait. Every single dish we got was delicious and different from each other in flavors. The Omusoba was our favorite dish. It was a pretty large portion of noodles and pork wrapped in an omelette and covered with delicious sauces. The grilled squid and kurobata sausage were also delicious. They were cooked to a perfect tenderness and had a lovely grilled flavor to them. The service was fast and excellent, with our bartender frequently refilling our waters and making sure our dishes came out in a timely manner. I'd definitely come back to try more of their menu items! read more

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Food was amazing, super fun and lively Izakaya in Cambridge. Felt very authentic. I had the Yakatori

The wait staff were so friendly. The outdoor seating is very cozy as well. Would definitely go back again! Good value for what they offer. 5/24/23 - the staff never miss. I will always recommend this spot to people! 9/17/25 - Honestly I've never had a bad meal from ittoku. I've always been happy with everything I order. The staff are friendly and are very attentive. I always come back satisfied. I've been coming here since 2020 and have always enjoyed it. read more

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Izakaya Ittoku is a Japanese Izakaya in the Lesley University food court which used to be one of the small stalls and moved to the new area by Yume. I was excited to try it because everything looks amazing and very authentic. I came for the Omusoba which is pork belly yaki soba in an egg omelette. It 100% lived up to my expectations and was so flavorful (but heavy!). The only thing is there were like 2 pieces of pork but still amazing! Steak don was also incredibly and was covered in garlic butter. Extremely heavy but worth it. Salmon sushi was good nothing special, and I liked the steak dish we got but also nothing special. My favorite drink was the matcha strawberry drink with matcha foam but the yuzu cutie was also very good. I forget what the other drinks were but I believe one was an iced tea and the other was yuzu. This place is really good except mostly everything on the menu is extremely heavy. I definitely recommend this place and now there is a lot more seating for people and the service is relatively fast. read more

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The new location not only looks and feels great but the food was all phenomenal! This was a rare occasion when every item was a definite reorder! Food: Everything we ordered was so comforting and flavorful. Our favorite dish and a must try recommendation is the Omusoba. The noodles were a perfect balance of savory and sweet while remaining light so you can easily eat the whole thing. The takoyaki, salmon mushroom, and soft tofu were all great as well! Lastly the 5 Type Sashimi was super fresh tasting and great for satisfying a sushi craving but it's not something I'd order every visit. The izakaya food just happens to outshine the good quality sashimi in this setting. Service: Staff were very attentive and pleasant so nothing particular to note there. Atmosphere: The new location is well lit with cozy overhead lights that sets a pleasant mood. This place is great for a date or casual drinks. read more

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Food: food was fantastic. The ramen tastes good not the craziest I've had but it had a nice flavor and good umami. The mapo tofu was BOMB. Crazy. It was good. Some of the best I've had with a slight Szechuan numbing pepper type of flavor. Comes with rice. Drinks: the lemon sour and other drinks here are more potent than their Japan versions, which makes sense given the price. Made me feel nostalgic about chugging down Strong Zeros outside a FamilyMart, and a little drunk faster. Service: good service. We were seated fast at the bar when there were no tables left, which was perfectly fine. Drinks were served speedily, same with the food. Ambiance: vibes. They have tvsles, long tables and benches, and a bar. Nice lighting. Vibes. Parking: go to the nearby Star market. Notes: entrance is outside of the building. It is NOT Yume Ga Arukara, whose entrance is indoors and usually has a long line. read more

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Amazing izakaya! Best in Boston so far (making all the other ones ashamed) Great service and amazing food. read more

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Honestly, the place was just okay. I'm not sure why it's always so packed when I pass by. The menu and service were subpar, and it took me a while to decide what to order. I finally settled on the Katsu Don, which is fried pork with rice, cabbage, seafood, a cold poached egg, and a special sauce that was admittedly delicious. While the meal satisfied my appetite, it wasn't enough to justify the price, so I won't be coming back, unless my friends insist on eating there. read more

Izakaya Ittoku - Hire-Katsu Don - Ramen Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

I've had the pleasure of following Izakaya Ittoku's journey from their original location in Brookline to their new spot in Porter Square, Cambridge, and most recently, their renovated location in the same plaza. While I missed the full menu offerings from their Brookline location when they first moved into the plaza, I was thrilled to see that the recent renovation not stepped up the ambiance to a more high-end experience but also restored part of their original menu. The newest location strikes a sleek, modern vibe that enhances the dining experience for a date night. The updated atmosphere complements their fantastic food and drink offerings beautifully. For dinner, we couldn't decide what to order but we ordered a variety of dishes, including their sparkling sake jelly drink (I unfortunately can't remember the name), omusabu teppanyaki, torched saba/mackerel, wasabi raw octopus, and their new "corazan loco" which was fried chicken hearts wrapped in a tortilla. Every single dish was outstanding. The drink selection is equally impressive, rounding out a truly enjoyable meal. Izakaya Ittoku's menu continues to impress, service has always been the best, and I'm excited to return to try even more of their robust offerings. It's definitely go to celebrate any occasion. read more

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This is one of my fav places! The food is so good, staff is really friendly;) Good ambiance! read more

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Got their winter special ramen with sesame, sichuan, and ground meat. Deliciously rich and satisfyingly tingly. The noodles were nice and bouncy. Service was great! They were kind and made good recommendations. I would definitely go here again! Gotta try the hojicha panna cotta. Goes crazy. read more

A really fun place to eat, with lots of different options. The takoyaki was nice, though perhaps I would have liked it with less of a stuffed filling and more small bits of octopus. The potato salad was essentially French fries on top of a salad, which at times was overdressed, but overall tasty. The ramen was quite nice, with a decent broth, properly cooked egg that's soft on the inside, and nice soft pork slices. The mackerel with shaved radish was somewhat less successful; much too sour or salty, and too much juice at the bottom. The salted cabbage was a bit plain conceptually, but effective given the richness of the other items on the menu. The eggplant with crispy garlic looked like a banana! I didn't quite get this dish, and perhaps the garlic was too crispy if there is such a thing. The kanpyo and yamagobo root maki were really refreshing, though I prefer the rice to be less sticky or even less sweet. Finally, the scallop nigiri was quite delicious. Service very quick and attentive at the bar. The environs are a bit loud, but otherwise a fun time and vibe. read more

You absolutely cannot find another gem like Izakya Ittoku. My girlfriend and I originally stumbled upon this place when we first moved to Boston and was hanging out in a group. We went in to get some drinks/snacks hoping it was a pretty low-key place. Once I took a look at the menu I knew I was in a legit place. They had Asahi on draft along with takowasa - which is the greatest combination to munch on and carry on conversations with friends. Ever since then we generally go at least once every two weeks or so just to get our izakaya fix in. We have not had a single bad food item, but just to highlight a few special ones: chicken nanban, buta kimchi, their yakitori selections and of course - the takowasa. We were very sad when they closed for couple months for renovating/moving to the new space, but very much worth the wait. The space is much bigger and wait isn't as long. Food is still phenomenal still and same with the service. Definitely top notch in the Boston area for food and service. If I could give it a 10 stars instead of 5 I definitely would. It is probably the number 1 place I will miss if I move out of the Boston area. read more

Time and time I've come here, and time and time it never disappoints! I always love sampling different foods wherever I go, and so it's nice they have it tapas style so our table gets to order a bunch of different items. I like that it's never very hard to get a table, and food comes out quick so you're usually munching on one tapa plate before the next one comes out. The location itself is such a blessing since you're surrounded by such great food options alone in this food court area within Lesley University. I've loved every item we've gotten, but I'll list some of my favorites below! The menu is also massive and it helps that they have pictures on the menu. The ambiance is also laid back and gets slightly louder sometimes with crowds on the weekends. Such a fan favorite, such authentic Japanese food, I love coming here! Some of my favorites: - takoyaki - chicken thigh skewer! - cod roe pasta (heavenly) - any of the okonomiyaki dishes (a must every time we come) read more

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Entrance smells AMAZING. The staff is friendly. We were even asked if we needed parking validation on the way out. All the skewers were delicious! Loved the short rib one, highly recommend. I also really enjoyed the Calpico Ringo and ended up getting another one. Both of the okonomiyakis were great! I highly recommend the sukiyaki one. Will definitely come back for more! read more

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Good was decent but a bit overpriced. Alcohol selection is great but they ran out of a certain beer that's supposed to be on tap read more

Great ambience and food esp the yakitori & small plates. Definitely worth 4 Yelp stars. Its a large restaurant so service can be a bit slow when u want to order more yakitori during meal. read more

I haven't been to this area in a while so I was surprised to see that they have a whole restaurant instead of the small food stalls. This place is big and connected with Yume Ga Arukara which I want to try one day after its upgrade. It has a cozy and clean environment. We ordered the steak don which I liked because of the tender meat and soft rice. We also ordered the Okonomiyaki but it felt like we were mostly eating cabbage. We thought it came with noodles but it didn't. We ordered 2 drinks which were both good and aesthetic. read more

Izakaya Ittoku - Mushroom Bacon Skewer, Okonomiyaki, Steak Don, Matcha Mami, Hokusai Sour - Ramen Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

Didn't even realize this was inside the Lesley U building! Right around the corner from Yume, we came here on a Friday night and there was a 1 hour wait but ended up being more like 25 minutes as people left the waitlist pretty quickly. We ordered a bunch of stuff to try, but our favorites were the karaage (super juicy and piping hot!) and the chefs choice skewers. We also got the chicken kimchi udon--interesting flavor and I really enjoyed the noodles too, they're flatter than normal udon but good chew. Service was a little bit slow given how busy they were and there was a bit of confusion, it seemed, with the orders as there were some duplicate dishes sent out/brought to the wrong table but all the servers were very sweet. read more

Izakaya Ittoku - Ramen Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

The takoyaki was absolutely amazing (crispy on the outside with large octopus chunks inside). The eel roll, karaage, and seafood okonomiyaki were delicious as well. Our party of 3 was seated upon arrival at 6PM on a Wednesday. Great environment for catching up. read more

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Hands down my favourite place in the Cambridge/Boston area!! I love the freshness, consistency, flavor this restaurant provides in Japanese cuisines. Most importantly, and everything is reasonably priced! It is a little packed inside and gets crowded really quick for dinner so make sure you arrive early!! They do not take reservations. The service is quick and employees are very friendly and helpful. One thing I realized is that they tend to not have certain items listed on the menu like the whelk clams which I love. Nonetheless, I'd still give it 5 stars because everything else makes up for it! Food: 9.5/10 Service: 8/10 Experience: 9/10 Value: 8.5/10 read more

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food: extraordinary selection of small plates. we ordered a variety of different things with our favorite being the omusoba! i also enjoyed the spicy tuna roll & katsu don. i didn't love the whiskey high ball though service: super friendly! lovely staff, food came out super quick ambiance: nice spot right on mass ave, not to be confused with yume ga arukara who they share the space with read more

Izakaya Ittoku - Omusoba, katsu don, Renkon Chips, Corn, mapo tofu - Ramen Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

We tried to grab dinner at yume but they stopped taking people so we had to find a plan B, thankfully we went to Izakaya ittoku and had a great meal. We got the chefs choose skewers, the cold dan dan noodle special, and the beef and pork okonomiyaki. We enjoyed everything but the Dan Dan noodles were delicious although we added the egg which didn't do much for the dish. The okonomiyaki was good but it came out late, I think it's because they forgot the dish. The skewers were good, wifeys favorite was the chicken skin. She didn't know what it was until I searched the menu and deduced it from process of elimination. When I told her it was chicken skin, she was shook but then said I'd get it again. read more

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I really like those traditional Japanese dishes served by Ittoku such as Ankimo, Onigiri, and mentaiko-flavor squid. These are rarely served in most Japanese restaurants in MA. Hence, I would like to say Ittoku is one of the best japanese restaurants serving the real japanese cuisine in the greater Boston area. Because Ittoku is always popular, the servants usually reminder their customers that it will take more than 45mins to prepare a dish (especially Sushi and Sashimi). But it usually takes 20-30mins for a dish. Overall, service is fair. The restaurant is located in a mall near Lesley University. It really took me some time to find the place for the first time. The place is a bit old, but still neat. I will suggest people to make a reservation for a serious dining in because this place is really popular and full of people all the time. Otherwise, you can only sit at the bar area and it will turn out to be a bit crowded sitting there if you order a bunch of dishes. read more

Izakaya Ittoku - Ankimo - Ramen Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

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Walked in with no line on for Thursday night dinner! The staff were quite helpful and the restaurant wasn't really smoky at all despite the grilling. We tried several dishes and quite enjoyed them: Takoyaki: 4 pieces which came out fresh with perfect texture and flavors Takowasa: raw octopus with wasabi - pretty refreshing but strongly flavored and it ended up being a lot of pieces Soft shell crab: crispy, meaty, and a bit oily but goes well with the lemon and side salad Garlic yakitori: bittersweet with some char, not all the big pieces were fully cooked Tsukune: pretty hefty and meaty with delicious char flavor Okonomiyaki: quite tasty with pork belly and vegetables, would def like to try the other varieties! Chicken skin yakitori: fatty and crisp in the best way, highly recommend Chicken thigh yakitori: juicy and flavorful, can't go wrong with this! read more

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Quick and causal spot in the Porter sq area for small eats. The chicken thigh skewers were our favorite. So juicy and tender. The karage was also great, didn't have that flour aftertaste some places have. The tofu was also quite flavorful. The waitstaff is friendly and service is quick. It's a great spot to chill with friends and get a drink with snacks. The bathroom is shared with the Lesley spaces so you need to go outside of the restaurant. Oh it also opens late each day and is not a spot for lunch. I would definitely recommend checking this out if you're in the area. read more

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Quite a few of the menu items were not available - either it was crossed out on the menu or they were out of it - this past Sunday dinner. I really wanted to try the GYUTAN (BEEF TONGUE STEAK) but they were out of it! Fortunately, they were able to seat us immediately when we arrived at 6 PM. Overall, service was helpful and fast. We were able to get our food pretty quickly and had the ability to order a couple times throughout dinner. SUKIYAKI OKONOMIYAKI - 17 I shared this among three other friends and it was delicious. One of my friends thought it was a bit bland, but I thought it was fine the way it was. The egg that came on top of it was perfect. The marinated beef was delicious, and the noodles went well with the cabbage, onions, and green onions. I ate my portion incredibly fast and would recommend this! HARAMI (BEEF SKIRT) - 12 The server recommended this to me since they were out of the GYUTAN. Overall, it was pretty good with lots of scallions for garnish, sitting in a thin sauce. Beef could have a bit more seasoning and flavor, but I was also OK with how it was. It was a bit tough to chew on so I had to be careful. I'm sad I wasn't able to try the beef tongue, though. Not sure if this was a good substitution. SALMON SASHIMI - 7 It comes with 5 thick pieces of salmon sashimi. Unfortunately, you can't request for it to be seared. Pretty worth it for the price! The salmon quality was also pretty good with a lot of fat. YELLOWTAIL SASHIMI - 10 Similar to the salmon sashimi, it comes with 5 thick pieces of yellowtail. It was OK and I'm not sure if I'd get this again since I liked the salmon more. Overall, Izakaya Ittoku is quite good. The food we got were delicious for the most part. However, it's hard for me to give it a 5/5 because they were out of quite a few menu items we wanted to order. Hopefully, we are able to try some of those items if we come back in the future. read more

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The food was a bit expensive for the portion size but it was overall a good experience. I ordered sushi and random items off the grill. The tiger shrimp were excellent but it was a lot of peeling and you had to devien it so I probably wouldn't order that again for the price and you only get 2 shrimp. The chicken thighs w/green onion were great. The kimchi was solid, the skirt steak was very good, and the sausages were excellent. The sushi was average. The service was not good, understaffed and our server was very strange as he put in the wrong order, he got it reversed, amd admited he put it in wrong then asked us if I could live with and not say anything. Obviously, I spoke to the Manager and he made everything right and that's why I will be back. read more

OMG what a fun find in a college food hall? We had an AMAZING meal here - totally worth the wait! We sampled a few different dishes - definitely east to share read more

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We tried Izakaya Ittoku for the first time after wanting to go for a while. The interior is interesting -- it has bright fluorescent overhead lighting that I wouldn't expect from an izakaya type of restaurant. Overall the food came out pretty quickly and we got to try a variety of dishes. The niku udon stood out with irregular wide noodles, comforting broth, and tender sliced beef. We liked it so much that we ordered it again. The chicken thigh yakitori was tender and flavorful -- definitely a highlight. The tako wasa was quite good and reasonably priced. The ringo mocktail was also really delicious. The shishito peppers with savory dashi broth were a unique and tasty experience, though a bit pricey. The butter mushroom dish had a nice flavor with sliced king oyster mushrooms. The squid and chicken karaage were both pretty good but not the best I've had of either. The seafood okonomiyaki looked beautiful, especially the plump and delicious shrimp, but overall it was okay, not my favorite. The takoyaki wasn't special, and the grilled chicken wings were not great--seemed slightly undercooked inside and lacked crispiness. I'd definitely reorder the niku udon, tako wasa, and chicken thigh yakitori. I prefer the niku udon over the hot niku udon at Yume around the corner due to better noodles and broth. We were lucky to get seats quickly, but I recommend coming early, especially on busy evenings. read more

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New chef or new owners? Definitely disappointed with the recent change in certain menu items, most notably the mentai pasta. I've been coming here for years and unfortunately it's not as good as it used to be. The waitress said there was no change but I pulled up my old photos and review, sure enough you could see the glaring difference in how the pasta used to be served compared to now. The roe used to be pre mixed with a creamier pink sauce, now it's a white sauce with a dollop of roe on top. Huge difference in taste and texture. The seaweed used is also different and just doesn't stand up. read more

Izakaya Ittoku - Original old style, used to be the best for Mentai - Ramen Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

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Came for dinner with a group of 5 around 7pm on Saturday - they were quite busy, but we were able to get seated at the last remaining hightop table. The menu is quite expansive, so it took us a while to decide what to order, but fortunately our attentive server and the speedy kitchen made up for it, and we got our food really quickly! Overall, food was pretty good - definitely a good variety of different Japanese izakaya style dishes - takoyaki, tofus, yakitori/beef skewers, noodle bowls, and even a wide selection of sushi. I particularly liked the niku udon - well-cooked noodles and juicy beef slices (unfortunately in an overly-salty broth). Other things to note were the kaarage chicken, which was well-cooked, tender, and came with a delicious side salad, and the katsu-don, which came with a healthy portion of tasty, juicy pork. The okonomiyaki was a bit disappointing unfortunately - it was quite bland and much too soggy to keep its classic pancake-y texture. I was also very pleasantly surprised at the overall cost, and given its convenient location near the Porter T stop, I think I will be back here soon. They also had a nice cocktail menu, but none of us ordered any - definitely something to keep in mind for next time :) read more

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My favorite izakaya in the US. This place has made me obsessed with trying different izakayas when I travel and nothing can compare to the quality and price of ittoku. I take all my friends here. They used to be located in Allston before they moved to this location in porter square under Lesley University(although I do miss the OG location). Street parking was pretty difficult to find on a Friday night at ~8PM. They revamped the menu with new items like Hiroshima style okonomiyaki and stir fry intestines. I was visiting from CA so I was really excited to order all my faves! I ordered the omusoba, cod roe pasta, nigiri(three types?), sweet shrimp, chicken tail and skin skewers and white rice. Omusoba: the omelette wasn't not as custard-y as usual but the taste of this dish is ON POINT The cod roe pasta was tender and flavorful per usual. I appreciate the fact that they put extra fresh cod roe on top The nigiri + intestines were good but nothing special Chicken tail wasn't as flavorful as it used to be. It tasted as if they forgot to marinade the meat. Chicken skin was just like how I remembered. Crispy, tender and savory Honestly, we were so excited for ittoku that we were in and out within 30 minutes. 10/10 read more

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Controversial i guess... Izakaya ittoku is GOOD. But why im giving a 3/5 is because some items are above and beyond and some are just... bleh. I loved the yakitori and id say its the BEST in Boston! It took me back to eating at yakitori alley in Japan :,) this is the closest I can get. The squid appetizer was also amazing. These two dishes alone blew me away. The drinks are also unique and creative, i really liked the matcha cocktail! However, the cod roe udon was just mid... like It was creamy but i felt like it could've been a bit more flavorful? The okonomiyaki was also decent, there wasnt anything spectacular about it. The only bad things I had were the karage and the takoyaki. The karage didnt have a light batter and was just popcorn chicken? The takoyaki also just didnt really taste like takoyaki and didnt have all the traditional toppings like bonito. Im not sure how to describe it but you can see in the pic... read more

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4.5/5 stars I love everything about the izakaya experience-- the company, the sharing of plates, the bustling and warm environment of the restaurant itself, and most definitely the food. In terms of izakaya experiences, this place definitely does not disappoint! My friends and I came here on a Friday night close to their opening time and were immediately seated. Their menu is quite expansive, so it took us some time to peruse and decide on what to get. We were feeling quite ambitious and ordered a whole array of dishes, most of which are not pictured because I couldn't take one fast enough before the food was all gone (as you can probably tell by my photo). My favorites of the night were the geso karaage, the house okonomiyaki, the chicken skin skewers, and the pork belly skewers. I was a little disappointed by the sushi rolls we got (eel avocado and spicy salmon) since the outside rice felt a little too mushy. Also, the cod roe in some of dishes (such as the tamago yaki and the mentai pasta) was definitely below average in terms of quality. But despite that, the overall eating experience was so fun, and the quality of the really good food outweighed some of the flaws in our other dishes! The cocktails were phenomenal! I got a Hokusai Sour and an Oo-long Day and loved both. Although both did have a lot of ice, I did not mind since I could feel the kick from them regardless. Dessert was by far my favorite course of the meal. We got both desserts available that day, the souffle cheesecake and the matcha pudding. The cheesecake was closer to an American cheesecake in terms of consistency but still felt quite light in terms of taste. The matcha pudding was SO GOOD! My friends and I could not stop putting our spoons into the pudding we shared. It was so creamy and not too sweet, but just sweet enough to make you keep coming back. The wait staff was so lovely and attentive. We ordered multiple rounds and they were quite accommodating with us. Ittoku has definitely become one of my personal favorite eats! read more

Izakaya Ittoku - Ramen Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts