Hyotanya 1-Chome

Ginza's Hyotanya 1-Chome branch uses plain wood in its interior to give it a particularly minimal and simple feel. The shop has mainly counter seats and offers a menu that includes four different sizes of unaju – nami (¥2,100 – served only at lunchtime), chu (¥2,500), jou (¥3,100) and tokujou (¥3,700). Other items include grilled eel livers, pickled vegetables and alcohol. After taking an order the staff busy themselves with preparing and grilling the order, which takes about ten minutes to complete. Plus, probably because they make everything to order, the eel here is slightly more tender and elastic than usual. The sauce is uncomplicated, and has a slightly spicy Kanto-style flavour. The unaju comes with a clear soup and pickled vegetables, and the kabayaki is basically made according to a recipe that only differs from that of the Kanto-style in that it isn’t steamed.