A note on the words: nigiri is the hand-pressed sushi you know — a slab of fish over a small mound of vinegared rice, which is called shari. Edomae means “in front of Edo,” the old name for Tokyo Bay, and is the label for the Tokyo style of sushi. Agedashi tofu is tofu lightly fried and served in broth. Gari is the pale pickled ginger you eat between pieces. Kohada is gizzard shad, a small silver fish, and sawara is Spanish mackerel. Otoro is the fattiest cut of tuna belly; zuke maguro is tuna marinated in soy. Uni is sea urchin, amaebi is sweet shrimp, ikura is salmon roe, and tamago is the sweet layered omelet. An owan is the lidded bowl of soup that closes a meal.
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Edomae Sushi Hattori on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
So, Hangover Meshi. Lunch this time was at Edomae Sushi Hattori, a tucked-away sushi restaurant down a back lane in Nogizaka! I had a few things I wanted to talk over, so I was looking for a place where I could get a private room at lunchtime, and this looked like a good sushi restaurant, so I booked it straight away. It sits a little way in off the road that leads to the National Art Center. The lane is a dead end, which really adds to the if-you-know-you-know feeling, ha.
Select Nigiri, 5,000 yen
Nigiri Course, 10,000 yen
Lunch comes in two forms, 5,000 yen and 10,000 yen.
I figured I did not need all that many courses at lunch, so this time I asked for the 5,000-yen Select Nigiri.
For a drink I went with Perrier ^^ I really wanted to be drinking alcohol———.
Agedashi tofu, with pickles and gari.
And then the nigiri began!
Scallop and kohada, sawara and squid!
The scallop is plump and thick, and the sweetness spreads through your mouth — delicious! The kohada has just the right amount of vinegar. The flesh is on the firm side, but it has been scored with the knife so it is easy to eat. The sawara comes wrapped in kombu, which adds savor to it — nice. The squid has a lovely clinging texture and sweetness. And I am glad the shari, the rice, is quite small on all of them! (Though for a big eater it might feel like too little?)
Next, otoro along with zuke maguro and steamed uni.
Steamed uni struck me as fairly unusual, but the flesh firms up, so it has good flavor and is easy to eat.
There is no off-taste at all, of course, but if I had to choose, I might prefer the top-grade raw uni you can only get at a sushi restaurant. That stuff really is good. The otoro is properly fatty and melts away. The zuke maguro is marinated just right — delicious.
Amaebi, steamed oyster, ikura, plus maki rolls and tamago.
The amaebi is simply good, and as it happens I prefer oysters cooked, so that made me happy! Everything is on the small side overall, which is just right.
And then the owan, the soup that closes it out.
With sushi I do not want a dessert, so this format suits me rather well.
So, this was a lunch with a fair amount of talking, and being able to talk at our own pace in a private room made it extremely comfortable. They also bring the sushi out three or four pieces at a time, which means you can keep your attention on the conversation — another reason I thought this was a good lunch course! It struck me as a pretty good spot for a working lunch, so for that sort of use: recommended!
Edomae Sushi Hattori (Sushi / Nogizaka Station, Roppongi Station, Aoyama-itchome Station)
Tabelog lunch rating ★★★☆☆ 3.4
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
