Nijyu Maru 宴会 横須賀

Nice izakaya with some really interesting dishes. Despite being near Yokosuka-chuo train station, few Americans know it exists.

Interior view from the entrance

It's fitting that just after starting to write this post I found out that Tokyo was selected to host the 2020 Olympics. One meaning of Nijyu is "20" and one meaning of Maru is "circles." Another meaning of nijyu is "double" - so "double 20." Seems like a perfect fit to me with the Olympic rings coming to Tokyo in 2020.  (See this link for further info).

After living in Yokosuka for over 3 years, and doing this food blog for over 9 months, I thought I had a pretty good idea of most of the larger restaurants in town. But I came across Nijyu Maru after a web search and it had very good reviews. The map showed it was right across the street from Yokosuka-Chuo train station.
Having been in that building many times, how could a restaurant this size be missed? I mean it can hold 150 people?? Its secret nature is likely due to an elevator that's hidden from the street. To see it you'd nearly have to enter the pachinko parlor that is the predominant feature along that stretch of the road.  Furthermore, there is also a really good Northern Japan (Hokkaido) restaurant right next door, also on the 6th floor. Check the blog map or the location link at the bottom of this post.

The Japanese certainly didn't have any problem finding it. Located on the 6th floor of Yokosuka Prime shopping center and only accessible by elevator it's not exactly an easy place to find.  But the place had three or four large parties going on and the rest of the restaurant was at least half full when we left. 

My family really liked Nijyu Maru. The food was good. Many of the dishes were also quite interesting and original. Lastly, the prices are not too high. Not super low either, but reasonable.

I have to admit that on a second visit we were less impressed. It was a busy Friday night and the restaurant was obviously understaffed. The staff did do their best, and spent the night actually running back and forth in order to serve everyone. The food seemed hastily prepared. It was also quite smoky as all the tables in the non-smoking area were taken. My advice would be to visit during the week when it is less busy. 

Keema curry pizza

One of our favorite dishes of the (first) night was the keema curry pizza. You can get one long pizza with half bacon and tomato and half keema curry, or just order the half that you like.  They really did a great job on what is a very original idea.

The thai style minced shrimp toast was excellent especially when dipped into sweet/spicy sauce. Kari kari spaghetti (also spotted at Watamin-chi) was seasoned with salt and pepper and a nice snack. Even tried to make it at home.

Chicken wings  were above average size compared to many of the izakaya around town. Not as tasty as Tori-gin's black pepper tebasaki, but still juicy and delicious. The spicy bean thread salad, Thai style, was smaller than expected and not spicy - still tasted good though. Had to try the deep fried cashews and they would be excellent as a snack with beer. You can see a pepper that was chopped up to and deep fried. The fries come in plain, cheese, or garlic flavor.

Nijyu Maru uses an touch-pad to order. This is quite easy to do even if you don't speak Japanese. There are pictures for everything so it's fairly self explanatory. But lets say you don't know how to do this - then all you have to do is call a waiter/waitress over (SUMI MASEN!!) and they can also take your order with their handheld keypad.

Nijyu Maru is a chain store with over 60 locations in Japan and in other countries.

Some notes on the company webpage show that if you arrive before 6:00 pm you'll get 20% off! And if you make your reservation online via their website you'll get 10% off. Those are pretty good deals. I would print out that page from the website and bring it with you if you intend on capitalizing on this offer. The coupon page is here:
http://www.nijyumaru.jp/coupon/disp.php?brand_coupon_no=33  Since this may be a seasonal offering and the link may disappear, you can check for coupons at this higher level link. You should print out your reservation or the coupon and present it upon arrival, as they will not honor it after the fact.

On the coupon page it currently shows the three coupons below in bold.

【( ◎の宴会割引き )】宴会コースご予約で、お一人様300円OFF (300 Yen off course menu reservations)

【( いつでも使える )】お席のご予約で、お会計10%OFF (10% off if you reserve ahead of time on the internet). Even I'm able to do this and I don't speak Japanese. Use your browser translator and figure out what they are asking on the reservation form. The reservation form is here.  If you'd like to try it here is how:

• The first pull down menu you should select 横須賀中央駅前店 which is the Yokosuka Chuo store. 
• Second entry is the date
• Third is the hour and minute for your reservation
• Fourth is the number of people
• Fifth entry is used only if you want to order a course menu. Enter the course you desire in Yen, otherwise leave blank
• Sixth line you enter your last name on the first line, then first name on the next.
• Seventh row: Just enter your name again in the two spots. This is asking Japanese people to enter the phonetic spelling of their name using Hiragana. 
• Eighth and ninth row:  Enter your email address two times
• 10th row: You can leave blank. It's asking for a company name when you come with a work group
• 11th row: Enter your telephone number and the next set of blocks is when it's convenient to call you. You can select multiple blocks. The first one is for "anytime" - don't worry about them calling you. They will only call if there is a question - and I'm sure as an American making a reservation on a Japanese website nothing can go wrong. 
• The last block (actually after the "#4") is for any comments. If you want a no smoking section paste in the following Kanji: 禁煙席
• The last "choice" on the bottom is if you accept their company's privacy policy which says they'll only use your information for making your reservation. Click the button on the left if you agree. 
• Then click the button on the bottom to make your reservation. There, you just made a reservation on a Japanese website. Easy. No risk (It's not like you gave them your credit card or anything)

【( OFF PEAK割 )】18時迄にご来店のお客様、お会計20%OFF This coupon is if you arrive before 6pm which sounds like a great deal. Once again, have the printout and show them upon arrival.

 See their menu online. 
Then click on these items along the left side to see what they have to offer:

• アジアン・サラダ salads
• 居酒屋メニュー regular menu
• 点心・ご飯・麺 rice, noodle and dumplings
• スイーツ・ドリンク desserts and drinks

More pictures and menu at the gnavi site:

So check out Nijyu Maru for a good menu selection at a decent price.