A note on the words: jingisukan is the Hokkaido way of grilling lamb and mutton on a convex domed skillet over coals, surrounded by onions. Lamb comes from young sheep, while mutton is from mature sheep with a more pronounced, savory depth. Motsu-nikomi is the traditional pub dish of slow-simmered offal, while ramu-nikomi is a playful variation using tender simmered lamb. In this article, a seven-meat feast covers both lamb and mutton cuts, alongside fried lamb gyoza and savory lamb stew.
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Azabu no Hitsuji on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Hello, this is Hangover Meshi. Having arranged to meet an old friend in Azabu-juban, the spot I found when looking for where to go was “Azabu no Hitsuji.” I had just been feeling like eating jingisukan (the Hokkaido way of grilling lamb and mutton on a domed skillet). Azabu-juban has a famous jingisukan place, but it tends to be quite crowded, so that will have to wait for another time. As for the location, it’s very close to Azabu-juban Station, in the same block as Grill Manten Boshi and others. The glass facade makes it look very stylish as you approach the entrance, so you should spot it right away.
Step inside and you’re greeted by the mouthwatering aroma unique to jingisukan!
They hand you a plastic trash bag so you can stash your coat and bag inside to protect against the smell!
Well, though I can’t help feeling it doesn’t make much difference in the end, when you’re eating jingisukan you can’t be worrying about things like that!
Assortment of 5 cuts of lamb and mutton — 1,980 yen
Assortment of 7 cuts of lamb and mutton — 3,280 yen
Charcoal-grilled plate of 3 cuts of lamb — 1,780 yen
Jingisukan is the main event here. Whether you go with the 5 cuts or the 7 cuts, you can always order individual items a la carte later, so you don’t need to stress over it!
Right, let’s eat!
We started off with the 7-cut assortment.
The jingisukan skillet was brought out, with onions placed around the perimeter first and fat in the center.
The jingisukan here is cooked over charcoal! The heat is impressively strong, so it’s great that you can grill away at a good pace. Weak heat is always a disappointment.
Five kinds of meat arranged on a large platter: lamb rump, mutton leg, lamb leg, lamb shoulder loin, and lamb arm.
With a mixture of lamb and mutton, comparing them side by side reveals distinct differences that make it fascinating.
By the way, the other two cuts were said to be served separately later, so we started in on these first.
High heat really makes all the difference!
Among the vegetables, there was a single carrot cut into the shape of a sheep, ha. Utterly adorable! I set it right on the top peak.
A bit later, the lamb chop and lamb sausage made their delayed entrance.
The lamb chop was tender and delicious. Sheep meat has that distinct aroma, but it is truly delicious.
With the drinks flowing nicely, we ordered a few extra appetizers too.
This isn’t motsu-nikomi (the usual simmered offal) — it’s ramu-nikomi, simmered lamb, ha. It turns out to be surprisingly delicious. Thoroughly soaked through with flavor and great with drinks!
And one more dish: lamb gyoza.
Because they’re deep-fried, the outside is crisp while the inside is juicy lamb, ha.
Lamb dumplings pop up from time to time, but I feel like heavy spicing is usually the norm.
And since we still had a little room left, we ordered a bit more meat to finish!
Man, we ate quite a lot, but the bill turned out to be quite reasonable. Highly satisfied!
Every cut of meat is delicious, and above all, grilling over charcoal is fantastic. In hindsight, maybe we could have ordered a few more vegetables, but other than the gyoza wrappers I feel like we barely had any carbs, making it quite a healthy gathering. Recommended.
Azabu no Hitsuji (Bar / Azabu-juban Station, Akabanebashi Station, Roppongi 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?
