For a Michelin-starred restaurant, Nakajima serves possibly the cheapest lunch in town. While their kaiseki courses are priced upwards of ¥11,000 during dinner, you can enjoy the set lunches from a mere ¥990. These are substantial meals too, complete with rice, miso soup, pickles and tea.
Sardines are the star at lunch, and there are four main course options: you can have them deep-fried; simmered in shoyu stock; as sashimi marinated in sesame and ginger; and our favourite, the yanagawa nabe set (¥1,100). The latter is classic comfort food – a casserole dish of deep-fried sardines in a bubbling shoyu broth, topped with egg and onions.
Do note that the lunch queue starts even before the restaurant opens at 11.30am, and that the restaurant advises against bringing children aged under six.