A note on the words: unaju is freshwater eel glazed with a sweet-savory tare sauce, served over rice in a lacquered box; matsu, take, and ume mark three portion sizes of eel. Eshalotte is not a French shallot, but young, raw rakkyo (Chinese scallion) bulb eaten fresh, while gatsu-zashi is tender sliced pork stomach tossed with finely shredded scallions. Kimoyaki is a skewer of grilled eel liver, umaki is a rolled omelet wrapped around eel, and gindara yuan-yaki is sablefish (black cod) marinated in soy, mirin, sake, and citrus before grilling.
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Azabushiki Main branch on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Hello, this is Hangover Meshi. This time, it’s eel! I headed to “Azabushiki” in Azabu-juban! It is well known as the eel restaurant beloved by Ken Shimura (a much-loved Japanese comedian)! I had visited for lunch before, but this time my plan was to graze on appetizers through the evening and finish up with unaju (grilled eel over rice in a lacquered box).
Could anything be better!
Now, I had booked ahead just in case, but inside there was only one solo customer.
Sipping drinks and nibbling on unaju here all by yourself — how stylish is that!
Unaju: ume — 3,900 yen
Unaju: take — 5,400 yen
Unaju: matsu — 6,400 yen
For the unaju, it seems the tiers simply reflect the portion size: matsu has two fillets, take has one and a half, and ume has one!
I settled in to drink, ordering a few appetizers as I went.
A dressed dish of tarako (salted pollack roe) and simmered squid. Delicious.
Apparently a sleeper hit on the menu. Plump and meaty, the eshalotte (a young rakkyo eaten raw) is crisp and delicious!
I tend to steer clear of these because the scent lingers the next day, but they really are good. It’s hay-fever season anyway, and behind a mask no one will notice, so let’s throw caution to the wind and dive in!
They told me sashimi could be ordered individually or as an assortment, so I got yellowtail, bluefin tuna, and kinmedai (splendid alfonsino), I think?
The kinmedai, lightly seared and eaten with the tartness of lemon, is delicious!
This is apparently another popular order.
Gatsu (sliced pork stomach) and shiraga-negi (finely shredded white scallion) tossed in a rich tare glaze. It makes the ultimate drinking snack! It just keeps the alcohol flowing.
Octopus has gotten expensive too lately!
Even so, I love it, so fried octopus is something I always end up ordering.
Kimoyaki (a skewer of grilled eel liver)! Its pairing with the rich tare glaze is superb. Perfect with drinks.
Umaki, the classic combination of eel and rolled omelet. The tare is so good.
Plump and succulent gindara (sablefish, also called black cod). Thoroughly soaked with flavor and wonderfully rich in fat, it is delicious!
And finally, the unaju! What I had been waiting for!
Fragrantly grilled, the meat is tender and fluffy. I wondered if the tare might be quite heavy, but it turned out surprisingly clean with a sharp, refreshing edge. The pairing of plump eel and this secret tare, replenished and carried forward over the years, is outstanding. It was delicious.
So there you have it: an evening at Azabushiki that left me completely satisfied! The snacks are delicious with plenty of variety, so I ended up eating quite a range of dishes before even getting to the unaju. Everything was tasty, and it feels like a place you could easily use for a drinking session even without having unaju! Closing things out with kabayaki (grilled glazed eel) would be great too. I definitely want to look for an opportunity to come back.
Azabushiki 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?
