A note on the words: a lamb rack is the whole rib section before it is cut into individual chops. Tataki is a Japanese preparation in which meat or fish is seared hard on the outside and left rare within. Iburigakko is a daikon radish pickle from Akita that is smoked over a fire, so it tastes of woodsmoke. Nanohana is rapeseed greens, a bittersweet spring vegetable. Bagna cauda is the Italian warm anchovy-and-garlic dip for raw vegetables.
Table of Contents hide
Ultra Chop Prue on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
So, this is Hangover Meshi. This time, a lamb place in Azabu-juban: “Ultra Chop Prue.” You know how you suddenly get in the mood for lamb? I had no idea there was a lamb specialist in Azabu-juban. It sits about halfway along the Azabu-juban strip.
Down from this sign to the basement! I had pictured something restaurant-like, but step inside and it is a bar, ha. There is a bar counter and two small four-seat tables. There may be more seating further back.
The atmosphere is pretty good, though! It is a small operation run by just a few people, so it is best to come with time to spare, food and drinks included.
With a sparkling wine to toast! Eight courses including charcoal-grilled lamb chops and lamb rack, plus a dessert of your choosing. 5,500 yen
A lavish 11-course special menu with premium New Zealand lamb chops, breaded lamb loin cutlet and more, plus a glass of champagne to toast. 7,500 yen
There are set courses, it seems. This time, though, we picked what we wanted a la carte.
Now, we ordered a few things to start. There is something called a lamb rack — the whole piece of meat before it is cut into chops — and since that alone takes a good while to cook, we put the order in early. Then a few lamb chops. We ordered a salad and the rest of it, and after that all that was left was to drink a highball and wait for the food.
Drinks come out fairly slowly, depending on how busy it is, so order with some time in hand!
These are the vegetables the house takes pride in. Quite a variety on the plate! Maybe ten kinds or so. The bagna cauda served alongside is an anchovy sauce made with fresh cream. Dip the chilled, crisp vegetables in and it is delicious!
A potato salad for grown-ups, with the smoky scent of iburigakko and the aroma of truffle added. Well — the fragrance really is lovely, and it is a very good potato salad. Nice.
Lamb tataki, of all things, ha. The server told us it is a popular item that sells well. It goes nicely with the petal-shaped cheese, and above all, tataki though it is, there is no gaminess at all and it is very easy to eat.
About here we switched to red wine.
The lamb chops we had ordered at the start arrived! One version seasoned with Christmas Island salt and pepper, the other given a light coat of truffle mustard. Start with the salted one, I thought — and mmm, that is good. Lamb chops grilled to a fragrant finish. Tender, with no gaminess, the good flavor of the lamb right out front on nothing but simple salt and pepper! This is delicious. The truffle mustard apparently uses Maille mustard, and there is a certain refinement to it — and it goes perfectly with lamb. Delicious!
And this is the lamb rack. Because it is cooked slowly without being cut into chops, the outside comes out more fragrant and the inside plumper and juicier, they say! We had them carve it up roughly by the number of people, and…
You can see how much juicier the inside is. One bite and — yes, delicious. The grilled lamb chops are good too, of course, but this is plump, juicy and even more tender, so perhaps better still. It may be worth ordering the lamb rack the moment you sit down!
The tart kumquat and the smoky aroma of the salmon are wonderful together!
Bite-size pieces of smoked cheese. Lovely aroma, perfect with wine…
Lamb is delicious! Maybe the closest description is a bar where you can also make a meal of lamb. Rather than lamb and nothing else, it is more a case of superb lamb as a snack to drink over. How many glasses of red wine did I get through, ha. The lamb rack in particular was excellent, so if you come here to eat lamb, I would say order it first!
Ultra Chop Prue (Bar / Azabu-juban Station, Akabanebashi Station, Roppongi Station)
Tabelog dinner rating ★★★☆☆ 3.4
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
