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