A few years back I spent an insufferable summer in an insufferable apartment (in a room as big as a shoebox), which I would rather forget than remember, in Juso, which is just beside the Yodo River in Osaka. Luckily, I found La Tepparnya, an izakaya that became my surrogate home. With good timing, I returned after a long absence to find it celebrating its six-year anniversary.
There is a frenetic, Falstaffian energy to Juso that works its way into La Tepparnya. It was much like I remembered; convivial and busy, with its mix of regulars and those-in-the-know, because much on the menu was marked down for the anniversary celebration. The chefs still cycle to work, their racing bikes posing outside the window. Inside not much has changed either: Toulouse-Lautrec posters, empty wine bottles and cans of tomato adorn the shelves and walls in a manner that belies the consideration of their placement.
The menu mixes Spanish and Italian influences with izakaya favorites. The tapas you get shortly after your drinks, which comes whether you want it or not, featured eggplant, a chicken wing and tamago-yaki (sweet omelet), a nice marriage of colors and textures. Pizza dough is rolled out and made up on the giant hot plate before heading to the oven; an extra addition of fire comes by way of the blowtorch. These guys like to play around, and not just with fire. Witness the edamame: This izakaya staple was given the ajillo treatment, doused in olive oil and garlic, although a little more salt would have helped add more flavor.