Donjaca Hiromichi

No English menus? No English spoken? No problem at Donjaca!
This inexpensive izakaya epitomizes hidden. But once you actually arrive in this tiny second story, smoke-​filled (as all izakayas are) den you’re in for a treat. That’s probably more true if you read Japanese and can understand the paper signs that are plastered on the surface of every wall here but even if you can’t, you can get by and enjoy a delicious dinner. (But you’ll probably miss out on the rotating regional sake selection unless you make some fast friends.)
Since neither of us speak or read Japanese, I conjured up anything I had ever eaten in an izakaya at home and started naming names to our server: kaarage chicken, agedashi tofu, yakitori, yakisoba… And it worked like a charm! My dining companion had also read about a house special tuna tartar and somehow conveyed to our server that we wanted to try it. He quickly identified it and brought that out to us too. Getting beer was also pretty easy.
I wouldn’t recommend Donjaca for kids or for anyone who’s averse to smoke or noise. But if you want a real izakaya experience in Shinjuku without breaking the bank, this place definitely fits the bill.