Yokocho Izakaya restaurant: Foodie Friday

Yokocho Izakaya restaurant serves what it calls “Japanese & Asian comfort food.” It opened earlier this year in northeast Bend, Oregon. The restaurant was created by Kwanchanok Singhakahm (Chef Kwan) and Phanpat Namsr (Chef Nong), both originally from Thailand. A recent article notes that they enjoy serving Tokyo street food-style dishes here because it’s their “passion”, not to make money.

The interior is a work of art. Colorful posters, lanterns, and flags fill the space. Repurposed milk crates serve as seats at some of the tables.

In fact, I thought the interior was so interesting, I used a picture of it in the One to Three Photo Processing Challenge. In that challenge, participants show a single picture processed three ways.

Lines of customers waiting to get in can get long here. Near the entrance, there’s a yellow wall-mounted Pac-Man arcade game to pass the time.

There’s a small outdoor seating area by the front door.

Yokocho Izakaya restaurant food options

Their menu includes skewers, salads, small plates, noodle dishes, rice dishes, and several sides. There are a few dessert choices as well. Yokocho Izakaya restaurant has a large selection of sake, served hot or cold. Drinks include cocktails and mocktails with interesting names as well as beer, wine, tea, soft drinks, and Thai tea.

Bento

On my first visit, I had a bento box and the house sake. As you can see, it doesn’t look like a traditional bento box. This one included miso soup, seaweed salad, gyoza dumplings, karaage fried chicken with lemon aioli, and a yaki onigri (grilled Japanese rice ball glazed with sweet sauce). I especially liked the gyoza and chicken. Though I’m no expert on sake, I really liked the flavor of the sake I ordered.

Side dishes

On my next visit, I ordered several dishes. My first picture shows sides of Edamame and Agedashi Tofu. The steamed edamame beans were nice and salty on the outside and moist inside. The deep-fried tofu had a crunchy thin layer on the outside and silky and soft inside. The tofu is served with a dashi sauce and a topping of scallions and bonito flakes. Both were very good.

My next picture shows a serving of Okonomiyaki. This seafood pancake is covered with okonomiyaki sauce and mayonnaise. The garnish includes bonito flakes and seaweed. I thought it was good, but craved a stronger seafood taste.

Main dishes

The next photo is of the Teriyaki Don main dish. The grilled chicken is served with teriyaki sauce , and veggies, garnished with scallions and sesame seeds. The chicken was moist and tender and I really liked the flavor of the sauce. I preferred this chicken in this dish over the karaage chicken I had on my previous visit.

My dining companion ordered the Karaage Curry main dish. The chicken is deep-fried and served with a Japanese curry sauce. The sauce was tasty and the dish was beautifully presented.

Menu

I’m including two photos of the menu.

Hours and location

Yokocho Izakaya is open six days a week from 12:00 to 3:00 pm and 5:00 to 9:00 pm. It is closed on Wednesdays. This restaurant is located off the beaten path at 1900 NE Division St., Suite 110 in Bend, Oregon.

I’ve liked Yokocho Izakaya so far. However, several people noted how uncomfortable the milk crate seats at some of the tables are in their comments. Perhaps they can address this issue in a creative way.

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Foodie Friday