The seven best izakaya bars in London

In Japan, when 5pm rolls around, you don’t go to the pub – you head for an izakaya. These laidback drinking dens combine the merriment of a pub with tapas-style small plates. Menus are a far cry from clean-lined platters of raw fish; for an izakaya, the adjectives ‘sticky’, ‘crispy’ and ‘grilled’ come to mind.

London isn’t exactly shy of food trends, and especially not when said trend involves beers and shared small plates. So, it’s no surprise that a flurry of…