Back to Izakaya Den

Continuing with my summary of recent restaurant visits. (Note: I've been to Izakaya Den once before, in 2007 with Mom, soon after it opened)

Also on the pricey side but a better value (for us, anyway) than Colt & Gray, is Izakaya Den, especially if you get a seat at the sushi bar.

Lots of activity to watch, and a greater variety of dishes to share and enjoy. You might think $12 is a lot to spend for a cocktail (I sure do), but really, this Shochu Breeze is the equivalent of two drinks and boy, does it pack a punch!

We shared some kind of roll, maybe dragon? to start.

I had nikumaki – asparagus & burdock root salad wrapped with thinly sliced beef striploin. Super YUM. The Sergeant had duck udon soup.

We shared a panna cotta dessert. It was not particularly memorable. (In hindsight, we could have gone across the street to Pajama Baking Co. for some gelato.)

Izakaya Den is trendy and popular, and they pack a lot of people in. People watching is good there, but it can be quite noisy, so don't expect an intimate conversation (one reason I like the bar – sitting side by side makes it easier to talk). If you are driving there, you can get valet parking from the guys at Sushi Den on the opposite corner. Izakaya Den and Sushi Den are both owned by the Kizaki brothers. One of these days we'll try their revamped Ototo restaurant (formerly Den Deli) on the third corner.

Izakaya Den
1518 S Pearl St
Denver, Colorado 80210
(303) 777-0691