Small dishes that are served in Izakaya (Japanese bar)

        Have you ever wondered why waiters have to serve you small dishes after you ordered your foods?

      While you are waiting for your food and beverage in Japanese bar, suddenly a waiter come to serve you small dishes that you didn’t even order. If you are in Thai restaurant, it can be assumed that a waiter serve you wrong order or come to wrong table, but in this case “Please don’t be surprised”. It is normal in Izakaya bar to serves you small dishes before your ordered main course is coming. This is a very good information to know before planning to travel in Japan. Let us introduce you more about “Otoshi”!

          These small dishes that tend to be served before your main course, in Japanese is called “Otoshi” (お通し) or “Tsukidashi” (突き出し). It can be easily called “Appetizer”.

Why does it have to be served in Japanese Bar?

     Because waiter can be able to serve alcohol beverage immediately after taking your order. And it will allow customers to enjoy an “Otoshi” (appetizer in small dish) and drinks while waiting for their delicious main courses. This can help Japanese bar to get more sales as well. Due to the fact that customers like to order more beverages while having several dishes of yummy Otoshi. What a clever idea! Serving Otoshi can be an acknowledged sign from a chef that he already has taken your food order. Moreover, you should keep in mind that each Izakaya is different, some places might charge you an extra money during billing process but some places might give you Otoshi free of charge. It can lead to a misunderstanding so this is a very necessary information for people who go to Japanese bar for the first time.

    “We will definitely tell you more about traditional Japanese ways of eating in our next articles. Please feel free to follow us for more interesting knowledge that is coming soon!”