Sangubashi Asaya – Unagi – Tokyo, Japan

Sangubashi Asaya – Unagi – Tokyo, Japan

Nestled on the first floor of a residential building just outside the entrance to Sangubashi Station, Sangubashi Asaya is as unassuming as restaurants come. A handwritten name plate on the mailbox at the head of the entrance to the restaurant is the only indication of what lies down a narrow pathway.

Asaya is run by a young, adventurous chef, Hagiwara-san. He hails from a small town in Tochigi prefecture and previously trained for one year at the Tabelog Silver Chinese restaurant, Wasa. He has no formal training with unagi, and his only unagi experience is at a teishoku restaurant in his hometown and eating at places like Kabuto and Shun.

You would never know his lack of formal experience by the way he runs his kitchen. He along with two assistants/waitstaff run service. Counter seating fits 6-8 persons, all with a front row view of the meal’s preparation. All unagi are dressed and prepared as the course progresses.

This day’s offering included three different varieties – Miyazaki (farmed), Shizuoka (farmed), and Okayama (natural). The course itself is more of a unagi-driven kaiseki with hints of his experience at Wasa. Highlights were the kimoyaki with sliced snap endou, and the hireyaki with tomato and junsai. You could also notice well the different taste profiles of the three types of unagi in the sampler (one Kansai the other two Kanto style). The unaryou included the two farmed unagi types and half can be prepared as a take home dish if interested.

Asaya might be my new favorite unagi restaurant in Tokyo. I really enjoyed interacting with the chef, and it’s only a matter of time before others discover this hidden gem. Reservations are booked solid until October, but he does occasionally open for lunch a few times each month on a whim where he posts the day prior on Instagram to offer seats.

Base course was I believe 25,000 JPY. The bill was 31,000 JPY per person with 4 glasses of nihonshu. Highly recommended.