This was the view from outside Izakaya Zero at about 8pm. They were very busy (except for this lonely "reserved" table) and I had high hopes for the food. There had been a flattering article in the paper about this place and it was just down the street so we went to check it out. 
These guys had a really neat contraption that keeps your beer fresh and cold. We weren't in the mood for a gallon of beer however, so we just ordered something else. I got sake - they had Dewasansan, so that was fine for me. Theo got some sort of bottled beer.
The decor was nice. Japanese-ish with a modern, sassy, cafeteria feel. I didn't love it, but it was alright.
This was one of the few dishes that was OK, but it's kind of hard to screw up sashimi. And halibut is such a scarce creature lately.... so we enjoyed this.
This was some sort of roll. Theo said it was very bland. No rice, and the cucumber just was a flavorless wrap that added nothing to the other mellow ingredients. Ahh... the food. Ick. Most of it was ick. I was not impressed at all. Maybe it's because I'm used to quality Japanese food and posers just don't "do it" for me... or, maybe it's just because this place's chef sucks. Could be either.
We had a variety of small dishes, as is typical at Japanese places. Most of it was not very good. I think they tried to be original with their food, but most of what we ordered (which was about half the menu) just wasn't exciting at all.
The sake was fine though. :)
Dessert. Choc souffle and lychee sorbet. The sorbet was very good. I'd have that
again. It was the hit of the night for me.
Now, to be fair, Theo's experience with this place was not as bad as mine. He said he'd definitely go back. I think by now you'd know if I would or not.
Here's a weird thing about this place also.... for a place that was totally packed just an hour earlier, by 10pm they were almost completely empty. (crickets)
