About Daikaya
This bi-level hot spot is as suited for a quick miso-ramen fix downstairs as it is for happy hour (selected small plates are $2 to $4) in the second-floor izakaya. Up there, you can’t quite order with abandon during regular dinner hours and stay within budget—but a couple of small plates and one of the excellent cocktails can be plenty filling. The thrills are worth it, whether beautifully fried blue catfish with pickled-ginger tartar sauce or a bowl of udon done up cacio e pepe style. At lunch, you can skip the check-calculating—rice bowls topped with salmon sashimi or Filipino pork hash are boldly flavorful, generous, and all $14 or less. Also good: Tuna poke; grilled avocado with ponzu.
