Shinobu is an exceptional Japanese place if food matters to you more than the decor. I will have agree that the decor could use a little help, but then if you have been to a neighborhood restaurant in Japan, that's pretty much the kind of decor you would get.
The food was amazing! We started of with drinks: I had ume-sour, my dinner companions had lemon-sour and grapefruit-sour. All drinks were deliciously refreshing with well-balanced flavour. For our appetizer we went with torikawa (crispy, deep-fried chicken skin) and broiled eggplant with miso. Both were flavourfull and delicious; I would recommend getting beer to go with torikawa. For my main I ordered goshiki natto don; if you have never had natto, I would strongly discourage you from getting the dish. Natto is fermented soy beans covered in slime... yep. And while they are very healthy, it's an acquired taste. I happen to like it, so I loved the goshiki natto don.
Another thing I absolutely loved about the restaurant is the quality of their rice; great rice to start with, perfectly seasoned.