We went to Nogawa on a Saturday evening in September 2008.

Upon arrival the first surprise awaited us - the place was virtually empty. Not a good sign considering that Il Lido around the corner was fully booked at the same time.

The moderately friendly staff greeted us and brought the menu starting to push for drinks immediately. Having a drink straight away might not have been such a bad idea after all given that it took us a while to find anything on the menu that appealed to us. Almost all of the set meals were availibale only during lunch hours. We decided on a starter and grilled fish and orderd some sake with it.

The food was ok but not better than what you get a sushi chain shop for half the price and the portions were very small. The sake was ok (I am not a specialist so can't really tell) but it was surprising that it was served in a can instead of a bottle - so they might have served any sake and not necessarily the one we orderd.

The athmosphere was not very Japanese either as there was loud chatter in Chinese coming from the staff - apparently bored with so few guests but very un-Japanese.

Overall we were really glad to leave the place and went on to Il Lido (at the bar as the restaurant was still full) to relax a bit and grab a bite to eat as we were still hungry.