Opening on Wednesday and Thursday evenings , Koji Izakaya is a restaurant within a restaurant — occupying the ground floor of Root Bath in Shires Yard for two nights a week. The menu applies Japanese technique and philosophy to British ingredients: chalk-stream trout becomes nigiri; Brunel mushrooms from Bristol hit the grill, standing in for Japanese varieties that can’t yet be grown on English soil. The result is a menu that could only exist here, and combines Root’s provenance with Japanese flavours; skewers, sushi, pickles and gyoza-stuffed chicken wings, followed by a Japanese souffle cheesecake.
The concept has been years in the making. Head chef Joe Fowler, who grew up by the sea in Devon and trained classically under Andy Witheridge at The Salty Monk in Somerset, came to Japanese food through his partner, whose Japanese heritage brought them both to Japan repeatedly. It was in the izakayas — the drinking dens where food and drink arrive in equal measure, where there are no set formats and everyone ends up talking to a stranger — that Fowler found the format he wanted to bring home.
During lockdown, that obsession became Bushi Sushi, a delivery operation that grew steadily week on week. Bushi Sushi drew to a close when Joe was appointed head chef of Root Bristol. Now it’s metamorphosing into Koji: the same love of Japanese food, but now with a permanent home and a chance to extend the menu.
“The fusion’s just gonna come from the fact that the ingredients will be mainly English”, says Joe. “And I think that’s enough fusion, basically.”
“Every izakaya I went into in Japan, I ended up talking to someone,” he continued. “That’s the atmosphere we’re trying to recreate — casual, sociable, unhurried.”
The drinks list is designed to match the food in ambition. House sakes, Japanese whisky from Nikka and Yamazaki, highballs, and cocktails made with Japanese spirits make Koji as much a drinking destination as a dining one. The two sides of the menu are, Fowler will tell you, equal.
Koji is the realisation of a long-held conversation between Fowler and Josh Eggleton, whose Pony Restaurant Group operates some of the South West’s most celebrated restaurants. Root Bristol and Root Wells both hold Michelin Bib Gourmands. Root Bath, which opened in October 2025, is home to the new izakaya.
Josh Eggleton said: “Koji is a representation of the longstanding relationships that we have at The Pony Group with our staff. We want to encourage and support their passions wherever possible, and Japanese food is Joe’s passion, so it’s a dream to be able to offer him the opportunity to make that a reality.”
Koji Izakaya opened on the 24th of June and is open on Wednesday and Thursday nights. Bookings via kojiizakaya.co.uk and you can follow them on Instagram. Walk-ins always welcome.
