A note on the words: unaju is grilled eel laid over rice in a lacquered box. Kabayaki is the classic preparation — the eel is butterflied, skewered, and grilled with a sweet-savory soy glaze. U-maki is a thick rolled omelet with a strip of kabayaki-style eel tucked inside. Kimo is the eel’s liver, usually grilled on a skewer as an izakaya snack. Otoshi is a small appetizer you’re charged for — it’s the cover charge, not a scam. Ken Shimura, named in the opening line, was one of Japan’s best-known comedians.
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Azabu Shiki on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Hangover Meshi here. I’ve gone and come back to “Azabu Shiki Main Branch” yet again. And whenever the name “Shiki” comes up, you can’t skip the story of its connection to Ken Shimura lol. It’s an eel restaurant in Azabu-juban, and it’s perfect for the kind of night where you drink for a while and then close things out with unaju. I had a reservation and headed back in.
This place has just the right, comfortable size to it.
This time again I went with a loose a la carte order.
First, the otoshi.
Nikogori (a savory jellied broth) and salted edamame.
Tofu salad. Nothing fancy, but it has to be good for you lol.
Figured I’d be drinking plenty from here on out, so at least at the start, vegetables first.
Fried octopus, which I ordered last time too. Octopus has really gotten expensive lately, hasn’t it?
Even at the supermarket it costs a fair bit. But it’s so good I can’t give it up.
Juicy grilled shima-hokke with a nice layer of fat. Really good.
By the way, mugi shochu the whole way through. They have their own house shochu here.
You can ask for a pickled ume plum in it too (probably an extra charge), so I had them add one.
A sashimi platter of wild bluefin tuna, namerou, kinmedai, and kanpachi. The sashimi here is properly good too.
You’d think this would be pricey, right? Fair enough — it’s a whole sheet of grilled eel kabayaki rolled into a thick tamagoyaki, so the eel content is high.
A little indulgent, but perfect with a drink!
The grilled eel liver skewers are perfect with a drink too!
Well, having eaten all that, I figured I’d go with the smallest unaju — the Ume. A single fillet of eel!
The sauce is seasoned pretty firmly. The eel itself is on the smaller side and not especially thick, and the fat isn’t as heavy either, which actually makes it work well as an eel dish to eat alongside drinks. This kind of bold, straightforward eel is good too. There really is such a thing as eel that goes well with sake.
So there you have it — I’ve gotten hooked on the pattern of drinking for a long while and then closing it out with unaju. Every single side dish is good, and the eel dishes and grilled fish that pair with drinks are all delicious too, so it’s easy to drink more than you meant to. They even have their own house shochu, and they know what they’re doing — you can top it with lemon or pickled ume. I’ll be back for another round.
Azabu Shiki Main Branch (Unagi / Azabu-juban Station, Akabanebashi Station)
Tabelog dinner rating ★★★☆☆ 3.5
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
