We have gone by Izakaya World Cup In Mito hundreds of times on our way to and from Mito Station. The restaurant was memorable for their excessive amount of advertisements on their building. We were curious how it was, so we decided to try one of their course meals a try. There was an all you can drink option, which we decided to add.

The restaurant was quite large with a front seating area and several larger rooms in the back. We later learned that some of the rooms had capacity for up to 40 people. Upon entering, we put our shoes inside some cubbies and walked to our table. The table was set just above the ground with our legs going below in a pit.

One thing that we noticed almost immediately was that everything felt a little sticky. For example, the cushions we sat on would not slide. Between the cushions and the ground, they would stick to each other. Another thing was the menu was a bit sticky as well. We were fine with this given the type of restaurant we were at and the fact that their typical clientele is not bothered by it.

Izakaya World Cup Food Review

One nice thing about the restaurant was the speed at which the food came out. From the time we first sat down and ordered our drinks, we were “bombarded” with a steady stream of food. The initial set up was a variety of sauce plates and a wet towel. Almost immediately after sitting down, a charcoal grill and some pickled vegetables were brought out.

We had just begun to eat our pickled vegetables when a large salad and the first of over a dozen different types of meat came. The quantity of each type of meat was quite small, but the variety of marinades and toppings was nice. The meat sizzled nicely on the charcoal grill. There was a nice cooking exhaust vent that was brought down just over the grill. The exhaust vent sucked up all the fumes from the grill. We were surprised to find that after cooking all the meat, our clothes did not smell at all.

Shortly after a Korean stew and some cheese topokki came out. The stew was hearty and had good flavor. The cheese topokki was super hot and well flavored.

Last to come out was a plate of chap chae noodles and a buchimgae fried pancake. These were two of our favorite dishes from the meal. The chap chae had a light sesame flavor with some wonderful wood ear mushrooms. The buchimgae fried pancake was extra crispy which is just how we like it. Half of it was covered in cheese, which we probably could have done without.

Drink List

The drink list at Izakaya World Cup was quite extensive. We appreciated how they had a variety of drinks with varying levels of alcohol content. They had sours and highballs all the way up to straight sake. Our favorites were the coke highball and yuzu sour. We tried some of the sake, but it was too strong for us to finish.

Final Thoughts

We were grateful that we made a reservation in advance. Izakaya World Cup in Mito filled up quickly after we sat down. The price for the food course and all you can drink option came out to a reasonable ¥3,500 per person. The food was pretty good, there was a nice variety, and the portion sizes were generous. The restaurants ability to accommodate large parties, its close proximity to Mito station, and its fair pricing make us likely to come back on other occasions.

More to Come…