NY
— THE DREAM
The dream
It all began with a real yearning for the city of New York.
About
The ISLET story
Five minutes from Nakano Station's south exit. ISLET takes its name from the owner's own surname, 小島 (Kojima) — a 'small island.' He built it in the image of a Brooklyn-suburb shop that's been run since a grandfather's day — history, with something new inside it. Domestic Japanese-beef patties, handmade wherever possible, good things at a fair price, blues and soul on the speakers: a small islet of America in Nakano.
Kojima = a small island
The owner, Mr. Kojima, ran a hamburger shop on Nakano's Renga-zaka for ten years. He closed it in 2014 — then, answering regulars and fans who asked him to come back, reopened that November as ISLET (an 'islet,' after his own name) in Nakano-Chuo. He and his wife Asami — whose hometown is Nakano — run it together.
10
— 10 YEARS
Renga-zaka
For ten years he grilled burgers on Nakano's Renga-zaka.
14
— REOPENED 2014
Reopened
Answering the fans who asked, he reopened as ISLET in 2014.
— ISLET TODAY
Today
Blues and soul on the speakers — a small America, run by two.
「Eat it and you'll get it. Skip it and you lose out.」
★ Google · 4.5
What guests say
Amazing food, great music and kind staff.
The owners are super friendly and the atmosphere is unique.
Truly good hamburgers, they really feel homemade. I ordered the Sasebo burger.