Royal Izakaya is a restaurant with two parts. In the front, the walk-in only main room serves izakaya style dishes. In the back, there are 8 counter seats with two seatings nightly for their omakase with Chef Jesse Ito. When you finish your meal, you're offered a booking 3 months in advance. This creates a strong culture of regular customers but does make obtaining your initial reservation quite tough. It's easily the hardest booking in Philadelphia.
Despite 7 consecutive James Beard nominations, Jesse's approach to the omakase has changed substantially over time, specifically with the use of more plated dishes over the last year. It's really neat to see how much changes seasonally as our last meal in June was his summer menu. This fall menu was fantastic. My favorite part was three different species of mackerel in back to back to back bites, each quite different in taste.
$300 per person includes gratuity. Tax, drinks, and dessert are extra.
by steeler7588
3 Comments
Whose firstborn did you have to sacrifice to get a seat?
Happy to my see my city here, finally. So much great food but not much fine dining for sure.
My wife and I went to Philly last fall (2023) on my birthday for the sole purpose of eating here. I had been following him on Instagram for years and was always amazed at the food. It was an incredible and so worthwhile experience. Might actually be my favorite omakase I’ve ever done (I’ve only done 5, to be fair).
Were so impressed that we went back the next night to eat in the izakaya. I think it opened at 5, and we got there at 5:15 and there was already an hour wait. Wild. We went up the street and had drinks while we waited. But it was equally worth it – the ingredients were incredibly fresh and delicious. I remember the spinach Spinach Gomaae and Uni Pasta being really memorable, especially at the price point.