A fun little restaurant in a cute little neighbourhood.

With not a cloud in the sky I took the chance to explore a new area this weekend, Shoin Jinja-mae, a little station on the Setagaya line. I fell in love with the old-school vibe of the place, combined with the amazing number of little boutique shops and cafes it had on offer. I’ll do a separate photo essay from around the area, but for now I just wanted to do a quick little post about one of the restaurants we ate a snack in.

You may not know this, but potato croquettes (korokke / コロッケ) are really, really popular in Japan. Similar to its French counterpart, korokke are made from mixing cooked chopped meat, seafood, or vegetables with mashed potato or white sauce. The resulting ball of fun is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. When I saw this restaurant, and its amazing name, I just had to go in!

I love Japanese names for restaurants. As an English speaker you’d surely never think of calling your place this. Yet, it works!

The interior is super cute and airy, with just a few tables and a small counter by the window.

The croquettes on offer! These are just display ones to show what the finished product will look like. When you order they make you them fresh.

We tried two different types… One even came with a little syringe of sauce to inject into it 🙂

Beets and Cream Cheese Croquette. Look at that colour – ahhhh! ❤ This was sweet and savory at the same time and you could really taste the beetroot.

Squid Ink & Basil Croquette. This was really unique and I loved it. The little chili sauce syringe made it even better. If you are ever in Shoin-Jinja-Mae be sure to check out this place!

IKIMASHO! on Facebook