Tucked away above Place du Terrail, Fumio Ishikawa’s tiny izakaya (a windowed bar, a single blonde wood table) offers a dozen well-informed Marseille guests some authentic family cooking. The other day at lunch, the former chef of Kyo Sushi sent us soaring into the Land of the Rising Sun: divine edamame/cheese croquettes with a curried yogurt sauce; imperial meagre sushi sliced fresh; chicken salad with white beans electrified by wasabi; a masterful breaded chicken nanban covered in tartar sauce, plus pickled radish and new potatoes; before a heartening daifuku (a type of mochi) infused with mugwort, or a slice of (gluten-free) matcha cake. // N.K.
FEELING THIRSTY? Homemade sparkling lemonade (€3.50 a glass), ice-cold Kirin beer (€3.90 for 330 ml) and a tiny selection of natural wines: a Rhone white from the Domaine Chaume-Arnaud (€5.40 a glass), Soif de Plaisir, a Roussillon red from Le Clot de l’Origine (€29 a bottle).
PRICE: Prices €8.70 and €13.80, desserts €2-3.
