snack or dish served with alcohol; drinking accompaniment
Refers to food eaten while drinking, ranging from simple snacks to elaborate dishes. The phrase is a set expression; 肴 is read さかな and means 'side dish for drinks'.
I ordered edamame as a snack with my drink.
This place has a great variety of drinking snacks, which makes the sake go down well.
Standard kanji spelling. 肴 (さかな) here means 'side dish' or 'snack to accompany alcohol', not 'fish'.
Kana spelling for 肴, used when the kanji is considered difficult or for clarity.
Compound of 酒 (sake, 'alcohol') + の (possessive particle) + 肴 (sakana, 'side dish for drinks'). The reading さかな for 肴 is an old specialized meaning distinct from the more common 魚 (sakana, 'fish').