By Anna Levitan
Staff Writer
Chinese restaurants are a dime-a-dozen, and everyone is familiar with instant ramen and sushi. Unfortunately for fans of a wider (and more authentic) variety, Japanese food can be hard to find in Boston. But don’t despair—here are five cheap, delicious, and easy to get to Japanese restaurants.
One well-known location for Japanese food is a group of restaurants known as The Shops at Porter Square, commonly just referred to as Porter Square due to its close proximity to the Red Line T stop. The building housing the restaurants and other stores is at 1815 Massachusetts Ave.
Inside is Japanese Bistro Café Mami, I ♥ Sushi, Korean restaurant ChoCho’s, Sapporo Ramen, Tampopo, Ittyo (under the same management as Café Mami), Bluefin, Japonaise Bakery, and a bubble tea stand. There’s also the Japanese shop Tokai that sells a wide variety of Japanese goods, including cookbooks if you’d like to try your hand at making your own meal.
Although Sapporo Ramen, I ♥ Sushi, and Bluefin (also serving sushi) specialize, the other restaurants offer a wider variety. Tampopo serves tofu dishes, donburi, tempura, curry, agemono combos, and udon. Café Mami serves hamburg sets, donburi, and curry. Ittyo serves udon and soba (hot or cold), donburi, curry, fish, and hot pot.
Sapporo Ramen is, arguably, the most popular restaurant of the group, as evidenced by its long lines during peak hours. Ittyo is also popular for its eel donburi, a dish not easily found elsewhere. Malia Sparrock, a frequent patron of the shops, claimed Tampopo as her favorite because “they don’t skimp on portions.”
Japonaise Bakery, which also has a location on 1020 Beacon St. (currently closed due to the Commonwealth Avenue location merging in to it), sells pastries (Japanese and otherwise), bread, cake, onigiri, snacks, and mochi ice cream. Take note, though, that the different locations don’t always serve the same foods.
Bluefin is a bit on the fancier, and therefore more expensive, side, but most food at the other restaurants is less than $10. Bluefin and Japonaise are the only places that accept credit cards, though Japonaise has a minimum spending requirement of $8.
Café Mami, I ♥ Sushi, and Sapporo Ramen do not have websites. Tampopo’s is tampopocambridge.com, Ittyo’s is ittyo.com, and Bluefin’s is bluefin-cambridge.com. Japonaise’s website is currently down.
At 1 Brighton Ave. in Allston, right next to the well-known Asian supermarket Super 88 and a short walk from Packards Corner Station on the B line, is Pikaichi. When you walk in the servers welcome you with a friendly “irashaimase” and when you leave they thank you with “arigatou gozaimashite.”
They serve six different delicious homemade ramen bowls as well as a small selection of curries and donburi. Of special note is that Pikaichi serves 6 ounces of noodles instead of the 5-ounce industry standard and will make their ramen with less salt upon request. The most expensive food is their spicy miso ramen at only $8.99, and they accept Visa and MasterCard.
What’s especially nice about Pikaichi is that, although it’s small, it’s located right next to a food court, making it the perfect place for a large group of friends. If your friends don’t like Japanese food, there are three Chinese, two Korean, one Vietnamese, one Indian, and one Thai restaurant, as well as a Vietnamese bakery and a tea stand.
Pikaichi is open seven days a week from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. They can be contacted at (617) 789-4818 and can be found online at pikaichi.com.
Right across the Hynes Convention Center on 66 Hereford St. is Men-Tei. The name translates to “noodle residence” and, as you might guess, it specializes in ramen. The shop also serves donburi and curry. Pay close attention to the names of the dishes—they’re quite descriptive. For example, the omelet over rice with special sauce is literally an omelet on top of rice, surrounded by a lake of Men-Tei’s tasty special sauce.
What makes Men-Tei really stand out for some people is its red bean-stuffed taiyaki, a rare treat in Boston. The shop is quite small, with the biggest table only seating four, so take that into account when planning your outing. If you completely fall in love, you can express that love by buying one of its shirts.
The restaurant doesn’t have a website, so if you Google it, make sure you don’t get the website for a restaurant in Singapore with the same name. Men-Tei can be contacted at (617) 425-0066.
Basho on 1338 Boylston St. runs a bit more expensive than other Japanese restaurants, with many dishes over $10 and some reaching more than $20. Of course, the quality of the food corresponds to the increase in price. The website says they serve the “freshest and most high-quality ingredients and sushi (flown in daily from around the world)”, and you can taste it.
Basho focuses mainly on sushi, but they do serve several other dishes, from Kobe beef to ramen. They also have an extensive wine and cocktail menu. If you visit, you can sit with your friends at table, a private dining section, or a bar. Or you can get takeout or delivery. Basho also does catering.
The restaurant is open for lunch Monday-Friday 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Saturday-Sunday 12-3 p.m. and for dinner Sunday-Wednesday 3-10 p.m. and Thursday-Saturday 3-11 p.m. You can contact them at (617) 262-1338 or find them online at bashosushi.com.
At 1280 Beacon St. is FuGaKyu, easily the most expensive restaurant on this list. A classy, high-end restaurant, FuGaKyu does its best to make you feel like you are truly in Japan. Although the atmosphere is great, it might be a bit out of reach for college students—even a simple bowl of ramen is $16, and that’s on the cheap end at FuGaKyu.
From nabemono to sushi to yakiudon, FuGaKyu has something for everyone. They also have a wide variety of imported Japanese spirits. The restaurant offers private rooms for functions, booths with sliding doors, and traditional tatami rooms where you sit on the floor if you really want to get into the Japanese spirit.
FuGaKyu can be contacted at (617) 734-1268 or (617) 738-1268 and can be found online at fugakyu.net. It is open every day from 11:30-1:30 a.m.
