KIZEN VILLA

Sushi items lined up inside a glass display case ooze Showa-era ambience. A sushi shop of the old school, and that’s how the chef likes it. Cutting and serving the sushi himself, the chef offers everything from omakase set menus to à la carte. Tuna is marinated in soy sauce; conger eel is coated in a thick, sweet eel sauce; and egg is served ‘kurakake’ or ‘saddle-style’: layered into a cake and split over a bite-sized mound of vinegared rice. The character for ‘sushi’ combines the characters for ‘fish’ and ‘delicious’. The pursuit of essential Edo style expresses the chef’s pride in his craft

With close cooperation with food producers as his creed, the chef devotes himself to his 100% buckwheat juwari soba. He only uses ingredients native to Japan, to convey the charm of old-school soba. Depending where his ingredients come from, his soba may be served on a wickerwork tray, and may be either coarse-ground or ground with husks included. His inquiring mind drives him to check each day’s soba, adjusting thickness and serving temperature according to its nature. His diligent application is raising soba to new levels, as his many regulars would agree.

Tonkatsu Hinata sources pork from two prestigious brands with different flavour profiles. Both are selected for the sweetness of their fat, tender meat, pleasantly firm texture, and abundant flavour. The shop buys pig carcasses whole, so it can offer a wide variety of cuts, including not only loin and tenderloin but also prime rib and rump. Order the evening prix fixe meal and you’ll enjoy the privilege of tasting rarer cuts— rump cap, pork jowl and eye-of-round— fried one after another.

Apprenticing at a bistro in Paris, the chef was captivated by its lively energy. At L'AMITIE, he has put down roots in Takadanobaba with this intimate diner where you can feel like part of the daily life of France. Offerings include meat terrine À la campagne, cassoulet and beef cheek simmered in red wine. À la carte items are prepared for two, so you can enjoy sharing. Savour Gallic culinary culture and the ambience of the French countryside.

The counter spreads like a fan, so guests surround the kitchen. Chef and apprentice serve snacks and nigiri in turn, moving in perfect harmony. The house snack is iwashi-isobemaki, bite-sized pieces of pilchard wrapped in nori. Old-school sushi craftsmanship is woven in, such as spring sea bream topped with sweetened egg yolk flakes and lean tuna paired with mustard. In mutual support between restaurateur and farmers, sushi rice comes from the chef’s native Noto Peninsula. The team keeps the sushi smoothly flowing with deft motions, serving each guest with just the right intervals. ‘Takumi’ me

Unagi are dressed, skewered and grilled over high-grade charcoal. From the counter seats, the whole series of cooking scenes can be observed. The unagi are kept alive in purifying tanks until they are dressed, then dipped three times in sauce and grilled Edo-style. Sauce is used sparingly, letting the flavour of the fish speak for itself. Rice cooked somewhat firm, and freshly ground sansho pepper deliver a distinctive touch. Skilful restraint shows in the short steaming time and sparing use of sauce.

‘Jiyusan’ is a shop on Mejiro Street. The name is a play on the street’s old name, ‘Jusanken-dori’. Delicately thin seiro soba, made purely from buckwheat served on a wicker tray, offers a pleasing finish. Inaka soba is stone-ground by hand, one grain at a time using a pestle and mortar, and delivers a rich, deep flavour. Appetisers, patiently prepared using techniques the chef learned during his apprenticeship, set the tone—such as shrimp prepared in miso and grilled, or herring fillet simmered slowly over several days.