A note on the words: kushiage consists of meat, seafood, and vegetables skewered on bamboo sticks, coated in breadcrumbs, and deep-fried crisp. Kisu is Japanese whiting, a delicate white-fleshed fish fried folded over on a skewer rather than butterflied flat as in tempura. Uzura are boiled quail eggs skewered and fried, and korokke are potato croquettes, served here on a skewer, filled with cheese, its coating made to look like a croquette coating.
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Rokuhara on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Hello, this is Hangover Meshi. In front of Akasaka-mitsuke Station — well, station-front, I suppose? — sits the kushiage restaurant “Rokuhara”. To my shock, I heard news that their lunch service would end at the end of June 2023, and that meant I had to go one last time! I went right away. Lunch starts at 11:00, so I arrived just a little past 11:00. The inside was already packed, and I barely managed to get in. Customers kept coming in after that without pause. Word must have spread that lunch is ending at month’s end, creating a rush of last-minute demand.
Kushiage set — 1,000 yen
Joh kushiage set — 1,500 yen
Special kushiage gozen (reservation only) — 2,500 yen
And so, since it was my first and last chance after all, I went for the best option! I chose the joh kushiage set. Eleven skewers with rice and miso soup included. I was seated at a counter-like spot, so I had a clear view of the frying in progress. They were turning out huge batches of skewers at a rapid pace and looked very busy.
First, the rice set.
Salad, rice, pickles, and miso soup. The skewers are served in a style where they are placed one after another onto a plate lined with white paper!
With kushiage, once they are fried, it is somehow difficult to tell what is what from the outside, ha.
First out were chicken, eggplant, and two skewers of shrimp. Freshly fried, so they were crisp, piping hot, and delicious. The shrimp was plump and springy, and the chicken was juicy. The eggplant was scalding hot so I ate it cautiously, but it was steaming tender and delicious.
Next was kisu (whiting) kushiage. In tempura it is fried butterflied open, but with kushiage it arrives folded over on the skewer.
Quail egg and onion. Both looked intensely hot, so I ate them with care. The sweetness of the onion came through nicely! The quail egg also went great with the sauce and was delicious.
Thinly rolled pork, and squid. The squid was plump, tender, and delicious.
At this point you completely cannot tell from the outside, ha.
Croquette and scallop. Inside the croquette was a filling with cheese. The croquette skewer had a cheese filling, its coating made to look like a croquette coating!
So that was the 11-skewer set — a thoroughly satisfying kushiage meal. With a substantial amount of food, it leaves you full. It is a shame that lunch service is coming to an end, but I am glad I got to eat it one last time! Looking at the notice inside the shop, it seemed like they might still do lunch if you make a reservation… Once things settle down and the situation becomes clear, it might be worth visiting again.
Please remember that regular lunch is only until 2023/06/30, so if you are going, go soon!
Rokuhara (Kushi-age (Deep-fried skewers) / Akasaka-mitsuke Station, Nagatacho Station, Akasaka Station)
Tabelog lunch rating ★★★☆☆ 3.3
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
