Japanese Dishes

Tanetsu

It's a kaiseki restaurant - they specialize in small dishes of traditional Japanese food.  The restaurant has mostly counter seating that allows you to watch the chefs prepare the plates.  For lunch, they offer 4 different sets: Vegetable course for 2500 JPY, Otemai course for 3000, Sushi course for 4000 and Omakase course for 7000.  All the courses include homemade yuba (tofu skin), miso soup, dessert and coffee.  The rest of the course depends on what is in season.   The Vegetable and Otemai main dish will be a large tray with many small pre-made cold/warm dishes (pickles, vegetables, tofu, etc) and will usually include at least one hot item.  The Sushi and Omakase course are made fresh when ordered.  The sushi course is generally 7 pieces of sushi and one roll.  The Omakase course is generally 7 dishes that the chef chooses.  When I ordered it, I received a very tasty aubergine with miso paste, homemade tofu done in 2 styles, sashimi, unagi (grilled eel), tempura, corn and rice in a clay pot with pickles. 

Tanetsu's Omakase course was excellent from start to finish.  Other restaurants might specialize in one or two dishes but Tanetsu excels at making a variety of tasty Japanese dishes extremely well.  

They have a menu in English and some of the waiters do speak English but not all.  Like most Japanese restaurants, payment is made at the cashier by the entrance.  The restaurant is often completely booked for lunch so a reservation is recommended  (it can be done online in English using Ikyu or Tablecheck).

 Suzunami Tokyo Midtown

Suzunami specializes in saikyoyaki which is grilled fish that has been marinated in miso paste.  The price ranges from 1650 - 2530 JPY - each set comes with a piece of saikyoyaki and the price differences depend on the type of fish or small side dishes.  I recommend the basic set for 1650 JPY or the Katsuo set for 1800 JPY which includes 3 pieces of katsuo with a citrus soy dipping sauce  You can upgrade the plain rice to a 16-grains rice bowl for an extra 50 JPY.

Note:  There is usually a queue at noon during the weekend but it generally clears up quickly.  

After you receive your food order, the staff will give you the bill.  When you finish eating, take the bill with you to the cashier which is just outside the restaurant door.  This cashier serves both the restaurant customers and the shoppers buying takeout items from the display counter.  

For my list of restaurants, check out  my new map.

Unagi - Grilled Eel

Maruya Honten Tokyo Midtown

By far the best unagi I have ever had.  The eel is well prepared and tastes great - properly deboned, soft and crispy with plenty of sauce.  The unajyu (grilled eel and rice) comes in 3 sizes:  3 portions for 3950 JPY, 4 portions for 4950 JPY, 6 portions for 7850 JPY.   The hitsumabushi (grilled eel with rice, dashi and garnishes) is 4650 for 2/3 of an eel, 5850 JPY for 1 eel and 8250 for 1.5 eel.  Since the hitsumabushi is sold by the eel, it sometimes feels like a better deal than the unajyu which is sold by the portion (which can vary a bit).  The hitsumabushi comes with a small bowl that allows you to scoop out a bit of eel and rice and try it with different garnishes.  It is recommended that you eat it the first bowl plain, the second with wasabi, and the third with green onion, seaweed and dashi (soup stock).  After that, try any combination that takes your fancy.  Please note that refills of the garnishes and dashi are free.  

The private rooms have tablets that you can use to order (even the hitsumabushi refills).  To pay, take the small wooden plaque with the table number to the front counter.  This restaurant is part of Midtown, so it is possible to collect Mitsui points (the membership is free to join) if you are planning to become a repeat customer.  

It is recommended to reserve for the weekend and holidays.

Akasaka Fukinuki

For the budget conscious, Akasaka Fukinuki offers a very good lunch deal from 11am-3pm:  unajyu is 2200 JPY for a small, 3200 for a medium while the hitsumabushi set is 2500 JPY.  They also offer larger sizes (large, extra large, 2 layers) for lunch but the interesting thing is that the sizes refer to the size of the eel which can be very subjective.  Having ordered different sizes but unable to tell the difference between my small set and my friend's large set from the size of the unagi, I would suggest just ordering 2 smalls rather than any of the larger sets. 

There is usually no need to reserve in advance and there are several locations in Minato-ku.  I do prefer the original restaurant (the eel is slightly better prepared) to the newer branch in Biz Tower but both are good.  You can collect Mitsui points (membership is free) at the Biz Tower branch.

***

Other decent unagi restaurants:

Nodaiwa Azabu Iikura Honten 

The medium unajyu is 5000 JPY, hitsumabushi is 3970 JPY.  Requires a reservation.  Don't order larger size sets - no noticeable difference in size of eel.  No photos allowed in restaurant.   

Ichinoya 

Unajyu small set (5400 JPY for 1 eel), medium set (7400 JPY for 1.5 eel).  No reservation required.  

Unagidokoro Kurocyodo

This shop has a tank of live eels in the corner.  The unajyu is 4800JPY for 1 eel, 7000 JPY for 1.5 eels, 9400 for 2 eels.  The eel is very charred (sometimes it tastes like you're only eating charcoal) and the meat is very chewy.  It's interesting to try once since the texture of the meat is completely different to other unagi shops and I would recommend it for people who like gamey meat.  You can collect Hills points (free to become a member) if you are going to shop often at the Hills Malls.

For my list of restaurants, check out  my new map.

Sushi Restaurants With Omakase Courses

 Sushi Tokyo Ten Roppongi

This restaurant offer a great walk-in omakase course for 4400 JPY for lunch that changes each day at the chef's discretion.  It's generally about 7 pieces of sushi, 3 small snack bowls, soup and dessert. 

The course last about 90-120 mins for lunch and there are 2 start times offered:  11am and 1pm.  For dinner, it's about 5pm, 7pm and 9pm.  You can generally arrive within 30 mins after the start time and still be served, though it is likely to be full if you have no reservations.  

Note:  To reserve in advance, the only course available is for 8800 JPY  (reservations can be done online in English - google the restaurant and click on the tablecheck.com link under reservations).  If there are spare seats, it is possible get the omakase course for 4400 JPY.  I have managed to get the walk-in course several times but it's generally very busy.

Kumagai Sushi

There is an omakase course for 6600 JPY.  Generally it is 12 pieces of sushi with an additional appetizer, ending dish and dessert.  Each piece of sushi was generally of a high quality and some pieces had little garnishes that went very well with the fish.  It is possible to order extra pieces a la carte afterwards.  The sushi chef speaks very good English.

It is possible to walk in without reservations but it generally gets very busy around noon.  Reservations are recommended but if you reserve in advance, the only set available is the 6600 JPY course.

Kamiyama

The omakase course is 12 pieces for 4800 JPY with a starter and miso soup.  

The sushi was ranged from great to decent and also came with garnishes.

It's not a busy restaurant, so no need to reserve in advance.  This restaurant is cash only. 

For my list of restaurants, check out  my new map.

Sushi Restaurants

 

Kaiten Sushi Ginza Onodera

This is one of the best quality sushi restaurants in Omotesando.  It's called a kaiten sushi restaurant but nothing is moved on the conveyor belt.  Each seat /table has a tablet where you can place up to 5 orders at a time and the orders are brought to your seat.  This is great and allows you to eat at a leisurely pace without waiting too long for each plate (even when it's busy!).   The tablet has English as well as Japanese. There are seats at the counter and a few tables for larger groups.  Each seat has a cup, there is a container with green tea powder and a hot water dispenser between every 2 seats.  

Some plates come with 2 pieces and some are single pieces so be sure to check when ordering.  Most of the fish comes with soy sauce already applied but there is a soy sauce container and saucer for dipping the gunkan (boat) or maki (roll) pieces.  

My recommendations:  chuu toro (medium fat tuna 620 JPY), shime saba (pickled mackeral 440 JPY - generally I'm not fond of this type but it is done very well here, the vinegar is very mild), salmon harami (salmon 400 JPY), shima aji (mackeral 650 JPY), kanpachi (amberjack 600 JPY), tuna nakaochi gunkan (minced tuna 720 JPY)

To pay, take the tab with your seat number (it's clipped to the tablet) to the cashier by the entrance; take all the tabs for your group even if you only ordered from 1 tablet.  For repeat visitors, there is a reward program where you can collect 1 point for every 3000 JPY spent.  After 10 points, you get a discount coupon of 1000 JPY.

NOTE:  No reservations are allowed.  To queue, get a ticket from the machine in front of the entrance.  For the weekend, try to get there at least 10 mins before opening at 10:30am, otherwise be prepared to wait awhile. (Last time I grabbed a ticket just as the store opened on a Sat and was 22nd in the queue. Luckily 3 groups didn't show up so we were the second last group shown in.  When we left at noon, the wait time was 2 hours).

Sushi no Midori Akasaka

The sushi is generally decent but the service setup is not as good as Kaiten Sushi Ginza Onodera.

You can order sets or a la carte.  Sets will generally save you 50-150 JPY per set (having waited in the restaurant for long durations, I have had ample time to calculate the meager savings to be had by ordering sets).  There is an English menu and you can place orders with the waitress.

My a la carte recommendations:  The broiled engawa (flounder 250 JPY) is really great and the main reason I return.  The fresh engawa, salmon and hotate (scallop) at 250 JPY are generally good.  The chutoro (medium fat tuna) at 400 JPY/piece and the ootoro at 500 JPY are hit and miss.  

I don't usually order the premium a la carte items as they are often not available, or when it is available, have not enjoyed it (tasted sour). 

The wait times can be really long when it is busy.  Having been seated at the counter, I am often amazed by the terrible setup.  Fish is placed on the plates to be made into sushi by different chefs.  Sometimes the plates progress to being made into sushi quickly and sometimes just sit there for a long time waiting for one of the 3 to 4 chefs to notice.  I have sometimes seen a chef making takeout sushi (to be placed in the refrigerator at the front entrance) rather than making the many plates of fish waiting.  I'm sure that they are trying to catch the lunch crowd who want to buy the ready-made containers but I think that serving customers who have already ordered food should be the priority.  For this reason I have started to avoid this restaurant during weekday lunch/dinner time and anytime on the weekend.

Note:  Reservations can be made in advance using their app but not for the current date.  For the current date, go to the restaurant and take a ticket from the machine at the front of the entrance.

Tenkasushi

There are several menus for 130 JPY, 190 JPY or more.  The pieces of fish are small but for the price and quality, it's a great place for those minding their budgets.

I recommend the chu toro (medium fat tuna), toro tekka maki (tuna handroll), iwashi, yaki salmon (grilled salmon), Canadian maki (salmon and avocado roll), and salmon.  The hamachi (amberjack), ika (squid) are also decent. 

For my list of restaurants, check out  my new map.