Ishinomaki Grill & Sake

An amazing gem of a place hidden off the busy path along Tras Street amongst the shophouse offices in the Tanjong Pagar area. The food was really, really fresh and the portions/servings were very, very generous especially for Singapore. We had the grilled kawahagi and ponzu ankimo (monkfish liver) for starters which were amazing. We then had the premium and Hokkaido sashimi don sets - they were simply loaded with so much sashimi with lots of variety to boot. The otoro (tuna belly) was so fresh and sweet. There was so much more sashimi compared to the rice - that's so different from how other Singapore places are like. We came for lunch which was a shame - they have a decent selection of sake - the izakaya food like the kawahagi and ankimo would have gone down extremely well. Totally love this place. We walked in on a Sunday + wasn't crowded at all. We are definitely coming back here again!

Good Sake Selection. Average Food.... Went on a wimp and ordered a variety- Sashimi platter - ok, the otoro (bluefin tuna belly) was not great, a little chewy (poorer cut which they blamed on supplier) Sea snails - little tough and little smelly (we suspected it is not the freshest) Obanzai (Kyoto home cooking) - the two obanzai of the day were little bland and taste the same, hardly impressed Chicken Karaage (fried chicken) - ok, just decent Grilled chicken wings with mentaiko - dried out, not juicy. In the end, didn’t enjoy the wings or the mentaiko. Usually I love juicy grilled wings and creamy mentaiko (who doesn’t!) they kinda destroyed both. Grilled peppers- ok, just decent Pickles - not house-made. But carefully sourced from a niche supplier, just ok Sake- quite amazing selection. The sommelier is a real insider, included seasonal sake, aged sake, namesake (unfiltered sake) etc. That’s the wow here.. Ok, go for the sake with small bites. But not diner place for me...! 😉

5 stars for the freshness, authenticity and the generous servings of food. The dried Kawahagi tasted so good! The "Premium Sashimi Ozen" bowl was amazing - it was filled with all kinds of fresh seafood. We had many similar seafood bowls everywhere, including Japan and this one is one of the best. The bowl was piled mountain high with a wide assortment of fish with just a bit of rice. That's one of the most generous servings of sashimi ever! You certainly get what you pay for. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 Thanks for the amazing lunch on a Sunday afternoon.