Izakaya Kikufuji – Little Tokyo, Makati

One of the famous go to spots for authentic and awesome Japanese food in Metro Manila is at… Little Tokyo in Makati City! It has had this reputation for years already and people who go here seem like they are always satisfied. In our 3rd year back here in Manila, we have not explored much of this area still. And we have friends who have been recommending this food haven to Japanese food-lovers like us. One of the most sought after, jam-packed and busiest restaurant in Little Tokyo is Izakaya Kikufuji. We have heard good feedback from friends and we have seen mouthwatering Instagram posts as well. So we finally decided to get a hold of this talk of the town Japanese restaurant. In this edition of EATSplorations, join us as we share about Izakaya Kikufuji at Little Tokyo, Makati. Enjoy!

Izakaya Kikufuji at Little Tokyo, Makati!

Little Tokyo is like a corner spot of a commercial area that is comparable to a side street food village filled with restaurants inside and outside. Exact location is at Chino Roces Ave., Legaspi Village in Makati City. And Izakaya Kikufuji is just located outside of Little Tokyo. Hence, it can be easily spotted. They serve diners for lunch (they have set menus for lunch that’s super worth it!) from 11:00am to 2:0pm and dinner from 5:30pm to 10:30pm. The place can get really packed, so better if you arrive early for lunch or dinner.

From the outside, we thought that it is only a small restaurant like one of those that we have visited when we went to Japan. And to our surprise as the sliding door opened, the place is quite huge, perfect to accommodate a lot of diners. Even though the place is huge, it still gets full and servers are on their toes to be able to attend to a battalion of hungry diners.

Time to finally EATSperience Kikufuji’s EATS!

Tuna sashimi mixed with their creamy spicy sauce and topped with tempura flakes. We loved how fresh the tuna sashimi was and that the sauce gave a really good complement to its natural flavor. Really rich and flavorful stuff without the “umay” factor. Good stuff!

Salmon sashimi has always been our cherry on top of a good Japanese meal. And the spicy shake, similar to the spicy maguro, has a sweeter flavor because of the natural sweetness from the salmon. Melt-in-your mouth salmon with crunchy tempura flakes had a good balance in terms of texture. We were also quite surprised with the serving size. This was the first dish that arrived, yet we finished this last. Munching on this in between other dishes made us think that it might be a regenerating type of dish, haha! This is a must-try by the way!

Special? Yes! It really is something special. This ain’t your ordinary california maki. Man, it has like a full mango (well except for the bone) on top of the rolls! 8 huge slices of maki rolls, topped with tuna sashimi then covered with sweet slices of mangoes. One roll with the toppings all in one bite? Let us know if you were able to do so!

Salmon! Salmon! and more salmon! We literally can’t get enough of how fresh their salmon is. And we loved how generous Izakaya Kikufji is when comes to filling and topping their maki rolls. With the price and serving size, it surely is worth it!

Time for some grilled meat! Tender and juicy buta bara that is more on the saltier side of things. Simple seasoning but very tasty!

Each bacon Enoki roll had a mouth-filling amount of Enoki mushrooms, and we loved it! Crispy and juicy bacon with a chewy texture from the Enoki mushrooms.

Gyu Kushi or their wagyu cubes gave us a melt-in-your-mouth kind of EATSperience. Grilled to perfection, these cubes were truly flavorful and such a delight to have!

We also tried their beef teppan dish. The beef slices were very tender and the vegetables remained fresh and still with that much needed crunch. This is one of those dishes that’s good for sharing but you wouldn’t really want to share, hehe!

While we were still dining, we were already thinking of when to come back. That’s how much we enjoyed and loved our first time at Izakaya Kikufuji. Affordable Japanese dishes, with a serving size that is easily good for 2-3 people. This authentic Japanese restaurant at Little Tokyo will surely give you the experience and the value for money. Before we end, we would like to thank our friends from Discover MNL, Waltz and Lucky, for showing us the Kikufuji way! That’s it for this edition of EATSplorations. If you have any other foodie must-try’s, please drop those resto names in the comments section! Thank you!

***For more EATSperiences, follow us on Facebook / Instagram / Twitter***

Izakaya Kikufuji

Little Tokyo, 2277 Chino Roces Avenue, Legaspi Village, Makati City

+632 893 7319 / +632 893 6131

Operating Hours:

11:00am to 2:0pm and 5:30pm to 10:30pm

Budget: 800 php for two during lunch and 1200 php for two during dinner

*We paid for our meal and we wrote this EATSperience based on our own biases and opinions*