Papi Katsu

This idiosyncratic izakaya marches to the beat of its own drum.

While the flashy interiors make a bold impression, it’s the splashy snacks and raw dishes that make this subterranean fusion spot pop. Once you make your way past the neon neo-Shogun entry, you’ll find dark wood joinery and intimate banquette seating. The menu brief here is to balance well-known yakitori and sushi dishes with a less traditional approach. Plush cubes of pink tuna come on top of a melange of bitey wakame and thinly sliced mushrooms, ready to be scooped up by salt and vinegar dusted and nori-flecked rice paper crisps. It’s textural, earthy and fresh at once. A well seasoned oval of chicken mince comes surrounded by a thick soy-powered glaze, making a solid argument for ordering as many skewers as possible, for sticky, delicious good times. Snacks like these are ideal for knocking back with a chilled sake or a snazzy yuzu spritz (and the wine list is decent too). And of course, the eponymous pork katsu comes all crisp on the outer and juicy on the inside, with a warmly aromatic curry sauce. This underground izakaya offers rambunctious riffs on Japanese eats for the young and young at heart.