A note on the words: motsu-nikomi is a classic tavern dish of offal slowly simmered until tender, prepared here in a rich, dark hatcho miso broth. Teishoku refers to a traditional Japanese set meal served with rice and miso soup. Chicken nanban is a fried chicken dish from Miyazaki, and katsu-nikomi is a pork cutlet simmered in broth.
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Nikomi Izakaya Tora Akasaka ten on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Hello, this is Hangover Meshi. Wandering around Akasaka, wondering where to go for lunch.
Seeing the menu of a shop near TBS (the broadcast network) that looked quite good, I decided to go in. The name of the restaurant is “Nikomi Izakaya Tora”! A “nikomi izakaya” (a pub specializing in simmered dishes) sounds great. Simmered dishes seem to be their specialty, and all the lunch items looked appetizing.
The restaurant was fairly spacious, and I was shown to a counter seat toward the back.
Chicken nanban set meal — 1,000 yen
Katsu-nikomi set meal — 1,000 yen
Motsu-nikomi set meal — 1,000 yen
Tonkatsu set meal — 1,000 yen
Fried shrimp set meal — 1,000 yen
Mixed fry set meal — 1,000 yen
Chicken katsu set meal — 1,000 yen
They have fried dishes and sashimi sets as well, but when it comes to the lunch menu at a nikomi izakaya, you simply have to pick a simmered dish! The katsu-nikomi looked delicious too, but the motsu-nikomi teishoku, said to be a signature item beloved at the original shop, looked so appealing that I opted for that!
So, I waited a while.
My initial impression was that it took longer to arrive than I had expected, but once it was served I understood why.
The motsu-nikomi served in a piping-hot bowl looked incredible!
It naturally takes time to get this thoroughly heated! The rich aroma of hatcho miso really whets the appetite!
Taking a piece of offal, it was melt-in-the-mouth tender and delicious! The deep, concentrated flavor of the hatcho miso is fantastic.
Every piece of offal is tender! This is genuinely good motsu! There was no off-putting smell whatsoever, nor was it greasy — rather, it felt surprisingly clean.
It would go great with alcohol, but eating it with rice is delicious too! This is a great find.
The egg and tofu, thoroughly soaked through with flavor, were spot on, and pouring the brothy hatcho miso sauce over the rice was unbeatable.
Rice, miso soup, and motsu-nikomi — a very simple set meal, but highly satisfying!
And at 1,000 yen for this, there are absolutely no complaints.
And so, while this was a nikomi izakaya I just happened to wander into, with lunch this good, expectations for the evening are high! The hatcho miso motsu-nikomi would definitely be an order at night too, and I’m sure there are plenty of other tasty things on the menu; I felt I’d really like to visit in the evening — a place like this must really come into its own after dark.
Nikomi Izakaya Tora Akasaka ten (Izakaya / Akasaka Station, Akasaka-Mitsuke Station, Tameike-Sanno 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?
