Tokyo guidebooks are filled with ideas about where to take out-of-town friends for a taste of modern Japan in a trendy setting. We recently found the perfect spot in the unlikely area of Ikebukuro.

This neighborhood doesn’t exactly conjure up a sophisticated image, and our first sight of Tokuzo’s vibrantly lit building, situated down a Kabukicho-like alley, didn’t help. But then the elevator doors opened onto a calm space of clean, simple lines and a bamboo-lined hallway. We followed stone steps to comfortable raised chairs at a large wooden counter. The mouthwatering smell of tempura filled the air.

Even amid the hustle of a busy Tuesday night, Tokuzo’s chefs, dressed in crisp white uniforms, promptly offered us their osusume orders for the day. But first, the otoshi: a dish of stewed beef with renkon in a sweet soy sauce was the perfect starter along with aromatic jasmine tea chuhai (¥450) andyuzu umeshu (¥800).

Our series of recommendations then started off with tuna sashimi whose color and tenderness screamed “fresh-off-the-boat” (¥1,500), followed by a hotateshell piled with shrimp, scallops, mentaiko, salmon, buttered corn and shredded cheese, then baked in the oven (¥1,200).

Next came a simple yet wonderful serving of romaine lettuce with black truffle vinaigrette, sprinkled with flower petals (¥1,000). But the highlight of the meal was the tempura assortment (¥1,200): a selection of prawns and ikaserved with spicy chili dipping sauce and paired withshishito peppers and a perfectly soft-boiled egg.

Wooden signboards listed the seasonal tempura items (from ¥280), and as we called out our choices—fromanago, pumpkin, onion, green pepper and renkon to the innovative “avocado wrapped in prosciutto”—chefs battered them before our eyes, popped them into the sizzling oil and delivered them straight onto our plates. After dipping the tempura in tsuyu with grated daikon, we coaxed out the flavors with salt, which itself came seasoned with matcha or curry powder.

We followed hot with cold and slurped up handmade seiro soba (¥680) and sipped soba-cha tea. We ended our meal with chunky kinako-flavored ice cream filled with sweet black beans (¥250), an exceptional end to our A-plus dining experience.

Before long, our tokkuri of Kikuyoi sake (¥800) was empty, and after being wrapped in Tokuzo’s soothing ambiance for the evening, we were loath to slip back out under the glaring lights of Ikebukuro.