Enter a naturally lit dining room with minimalistic style and wooden furniture and accents. Add in perpetually fresh sushi and consistently delicious Japanese izakaya dishes, and you’ve got the gem that is Miso Izakaya. Set right on the boarder of Old Fourth Ward and Inman Park, Miso Izakaya has become a regular for many Emory diners for good reason. Affectionately referred to as “Miso,” this spot boasts a menu full of inventive items that you’ll learn to crave.
For appetizers, you must try the shoyu tamago. This soft-boiled soy sauce egg atop a crispy white rice cake is the definition of beautiful simplicity, and one of Miso’s most revered dishes. My personal favorite, which I never fail to order, is the shumai. These shrimp dumplings are little envelopes of delight and much more sophisticated than the shumai you’ll get at your local sushi place. I also implore you to try their “mantou” style steam buns. All three options: crispy duck, katsu (crispy pork cutlet) and soft-shell crab blt are delectable and full of flavor.
Photo by Morgan Goldberg
The entree choices are vast. You can go for a seafood dish, a meat dish, sushi or ramen, which only sometimes graces the menu. My top picks are the beef teriyaki, which comes on a steaming skillet and with a tasty shoyu glaze, and the oshi sushi, which is layers of rice, tempura and masago topped with tuna, sake and shrimp. To be honest, you really can’t go wrong with anything from this restaurant, as each of my friends has their favorite dish.
At the end of the meal, they serve a frozen grape on a stick, which is always a sweet way to end a satisfying meal. For a place that went from date night to weekly dinner real fast, I don’t see anyone getting sick of Miso anytime soon.
Location: 619 Edgewood Ave SE, Atlanta, GA 30312
Hours: Mon 5:30pm-10pm Tues-Sat 5:30-12am