Izakaya 68 in Hunt Valley, MD: Chef Junzo Miyajima's Most Fun Izakaya, Where Robots Bring the Binchotan Yakitori

Izakaya 68 is an IVEA restaurant. We publish this story to introduce our own restaurant; it is not an independent review.

Izakaya 68 is a Japanese izakaya at 100 Shawan Road, Suite A, in Hunt Valley Towne Centre, Hunt Valley, MD, north of Baltimore. It has been open since at least December 2022, when a local columnist called it "a new Japanese restaurant that specializes in authentic yakitori, noodles, and sushi." Google rates it 4.5 stars from 364 reviews. This is the Hunt Valley Izakaya 68; IVEA also runs one in Arlington, VA.

Chef Junzo Miyajima created the menu. He is IVEA's Executive Master Chef, and Izakaya 68 is one of the izakayas that earned him the title we give him, the father of the izakaya in the DMV. An izakaya is Japan's neighborhood pub: small plates come out a few at a time, everyone shares, and the drinks keep the table going.

The most fun part: the robots. You order by QR code at the table, and cat-themed robots bring the food from the kitchen. "They don't have arms, so a staff member still sets the dishes down for you," the food blog Nomtastic Kim explains. Robots are by far the most-mentioned topic in the restaurant's Google reviews, with 139 mentions.

The grill. "Authentic kushiyaki, serving a variety of meats and vegetables then grilled over binchotan charcoal," the restaurant says. The menu lists 18 skewers, from chicken thigh, chicken heart and gizzard to squid, pork belly, bacon-wrapped mushroom and tomato, beef tenderloin and beef skirt, plus shrimp, shiitake, zucchini and okra. The Skewer Platter, $16.38 on Nomtastic Kim's August 2026 visit, is the easiest way to try several.

The most popular plate is not a skewer. "The spicy salmon inari sushi is the one thing I'd drive back to Hunt Valley for," Nomtastic Kim wrote; it was $7.38. Inari is sushi rice in a pocket of seasoned fried tofu. Also from that visit: Agedashi Tofu, Salmon Avocado Inari and Age Mochi, each $7.38. The rest of the menu covers kushiage (deep-fried skewers, including banana), ramen in tonkotsu, spicy tonkotsu and shoyu, katsu curry, a sashimi platter, Yuzu Hokkaido Scallop and a Rainbow Roll.

Drinks. The restaurant says its imported sake is "served by bottles of various sizes, in customizable flights, or by the glass," next to Japanese beer. It also says, "We make everything from scratch using the highest quality ingredients, just like you would find in the best local shops in Japan."

Why make the drive. For Montgomery County, it is a day-trip izakaya: pair it with an afternoon at the Towne Centre, where parking is free. Our best order for two: a Skewer Platter, two spicy salmon inari, agedashi tofu and one ramen, with a sake flight. No reservation system is listed, so walk in.