Uokin 魚金 @ Various locations in Tokyo

Uokin is an Izakaya chain based in Tokyo. It is very popular and famous among the local Japanese people. I was pretty fortunate to be taken by some of my Japanese friends to one their outlets over in Hamamatsucho in Tokyo. There was no English menu and I would assume there wouldn't be any in the other outlets given how this is a local favourite, so if you intend to make a trip to one of their restaurants, it'll be great if you know some basic Japanese hiragana and katakana.

Of course the obvious question now is: why is this Izakaya chain very popular? The simple answer is that it's not very expensive, it's really delicious and the portions are relatively big. Let's have a look at some pictures:

Simmered Kinki fish (Red snapper)

Ankimo ponzu (monkfish liver with ponzu sauce)

Puffer fish sperm sack (fugu shirako)

Fried Octopus suckers (tako kyuuban)

Whole horse mackerel sashimi with 3 other types of sashimi

Sakura prawn kakiage 

I'm not sure if you can tell how big the portions are simply by looking at these pictures but trust me, they're considered bigger than the average Izakaya portions. Taste-wise, I would say it's definitely above the average Izakaya standard and it definitely beats other chains like Tsukada Nojo and Amataro. If you have Japanese friends, I would highly recommend that you ask them to take you here and enjoy your night with drinks and good food.

Restaurant website:http://www.uokingroup.jp/store/
Address: (Refer to website)
Budget (Dinner): 3500 Yen +
My rating: 4.5/5