Izakaya Ittoku

"A transplant from Allston, where it had quite a following, Ittoku expanded its izakaya menu upon moving to Cambridge, offering skewers, sushi, and much more alongside sake and shochu. The restaurant occupies the largest space inside the Porter Exchange food hall. If you want to make an impromptu food crawl out of the day, head over to Japanese comfort-food favorite Cafe Mami and ramen spot Sapporo Ramen around the corner, in the same food hall." - Julian Cohen, Eater Staff

"This izakaya serves ontama tsukune, a large chicken meatball topped with a soft-boiled egg, grilled to perfection and served with a soy-based sauce and green onions." - Karen Wilber

"Ittoku is an izakaya, a casual type of Japanese bar offering snacks and alcoholic drinks. The menu has well over 100 dishes to try, and includes helpful pictures of a majority of them. To start, take a look at the appetizer and robata (short for robatayaki, which is a method of cooking over hot charcoal) sections. The various chicken yakitori skewers — thigh, heart, skin, etc. — are excellent. In the hot plate section, try the omusoba, which includes yakisoba noodles wrapped in an egg omelette, topped with Kewpie mayo and okonomiyaki sauce, which is sweet and savory. Ittoku’s bar menu offers cocktails like a mango-yuzu-peach gimlet, as well as a variety of beer, wine, and sake. Ittoku is open for indoor dining, takeout, and delivery." - Karen Wilber

"Ittoku is best enjoyed with at least four other people. Order sake cocktails, make everyone pick two-to-three dishes, and spend the next few hours having more fun inside of a windowless mall restaurant than you have any right to. This izakaya used to be in Allston, but it moved across the river and expanded its menu. It still has great noodle dishes, a selection of robata grill stuff we love and, thankfully, Allston prices. Now it’s one of our favorite places in Porter Square, which is quietly becoming one of the best food neighborhoods in the city." - Dan Secatore

"Former Allston-Brighton izakaya Ittoku has completed its planned move across the river: It will officially reopen at Porter Exchange inside the Shops at Porter (1815 Massachusetts Ave., Porter Square, Cambridge) on Monday, October 21. The restaurant will open at 5 p.m. for dinner service. It joins a vibrant array of Japanese restaurants in Porter Exchange, including Tampopo, Yume Ga Arukara, Sapporo Ramen, and more. Ittoku takes over the large space that was once home to Blue Fin and later Wafu-Ya." - Terrence Doyle