Irori is a great little restaurant. It's homestyle Japanese food at its best with a lively atmosphere and friendly, enthusiastic service. The restaurant itself is pretty small (with the lack of natural light making it seem even smaller) but the noise level means that you just don't notice that the tables are actually quite close together.
Completely thrown by the seriously extensive and varied menu, we ended up ordering a little bit of everything. Some of the dishes like the salmon sashimi and cod with teriyaki sauce were excellent. The mixed tempura was beautifully light and non-greasy; the soft shell crab handroll that my friend KK had was apparently delicious.
Almost as interesting as the successful dishes were the slightly odd ones we accumulated through our somewhat random ordering policy. The Japanese rice flour pizza was really tasty but wasn't going to make Italian pizza makers quake in their boots - it was almost impossible to speak for the five minutes it took to shift the sticky rice base from one side of the roof of your mouth to the other and back again. Then there were the really beautifully presented fermented soybeans. Frankly, an acquired taste and not one that any of us acquired, despite repeated attempts. Covered in quail egg yolk, they were seriously bitter with an aftertaste that made you physically squirm.
Working out at just over HK$200 a head, including sake, it was very good value for money.
2F, Bartlock Centre
3 Yiu Wa Street
Causeway Bay
Tel: 2838 5939
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