A note on the words: kappo is a refined Japanese restaurant built around seasonal cooking, and omakase means leaving the meal to the chef. The course follows traditional headings: sakizuke (opening appetizer), otsukuri (sashimi, including tenshi no ebi, “Angel shrimp,” a brand shrimp said to come from New Caledonia), yakimono (grilled dish, here sanma, or Pacific saury, with sudachi citrus), nimono (a dish simmered in dashi broth), shiizakana (a substantial middle dish), agemono (fried dishes) and shokuji, the closing rice: donabe rice cooked in an earthenware pot, topped here with salmon, ikura (salmon roe) and uni (sea urchin).
Ginza Nakaji on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Fellow drinkers, thank you for waiting! It is time for Hangover Meshi!
This time I stretched myself a little and headed out to Higashi-Ginza!
About a three-minute walk from Higashi-Ginza Station, up the stairs on the second floor of a building on a side street, you will find “Ginza Nakaji.” It is a kappo (refined Japanese counter-style restaurant) that opened in October 2021, with 7 counter seats and 18 table seats, plus private rooms on the third floor for groups of 4 or more.
To tell the truth, I had had my eye on the third-floor private room here for a while, thinking, “This is definitely right for business dinners — I am definitely going to use it someday!!” At lunch, it is a popular spot where many guests come for the steamed seiro (wooden steamer) rice with salmon, salmon roe and sea urchin, limited to 10 servings. At night, it offers omakase (chef’s choice) courses built around seasonal seafood that the owner personally selects at the market. Just from that alone, how could my expectations be anything but high?
Since I had booked the guaranteed private room plan this time, they showed us up to the third floor. The private room was fairly spacious and comfortable! Maybe it fits about 8 people, I wonder? I wonder if it is limited to just one group. It really is well suited for business dinners. Having a plan that guarantees a private room makes it so easy to use!
First, let us toast with bottled beer!
With bottled beer, sipping it bit by bit out of these small glasses is just the best, isn’t it!
Bouncy, springy octopus paired with crisp, finely shredded white leek (shiraga-negi).
The sashimi is an assortment of three kinds: sea bream, bluefin tuna, and tenshi no ebi (Angel shrimp)!
Starting with the sea bream: after a firm, crisp bite, a refined sweetness slowly spreads the more you chew. The lean bluefin tuna (akami) has a cool feel on the tongue with just the right acidity and umami — superb! Next is the tenshi no ebi (Angel shrimp), which could easily steal the show. It has a rich, sticky sweetness that clings to the tongue, and dabbing a touch of wasabi on top pulls that sweetness nicely into focus! Apparently it is a brand shrimp from New Caledonia; usually you see it cooked and red, so seeing it raw with a dark color like a black tiger shrimp is quite something. Running into it as sashimi makes you feel like you got a little bonus, though it might startle you a little at first, lol.
The fatty Pacific saury (sanma) has crisp, fragrant skin and plump flesh. The salting is right on the mark, and each bite sends savory fat welling up in your mouth. Squeeze some sudachi citrus over it and the heaviness of the fat melts right away, leaving a clean finish. Eating it together with the grated daikon radish on the side is great too!
Looking closely, wait — there is matsutake mushroom in here!
As the aroma of matsutake wafts through your nose, it is instantly autumn. The mellow, gentle dashi broth sinks warmly into a stomach that has been busy drinking. It is packed with ingredients, and the sweetness of the vegetables has thoroughly melted into the dashi, making you want to drink it down to the very last drop.
The tenderly cooked meat brims with lean-meat umami every time you chew, and the fat is light rather than heavy. Coated in a rich sauce, it has a flavor that makes you reach for your drink.
A fried dish makes an appearance at this point in the course, of all places!
The red one was a crab cream croquette, I think? And next to it is a menchi-katsu (fried minced-meat cutlet). With the crab cream croquette, the moment the crisp coating gives way, molten cream spills out from inside and fills your mouth with the flavor of crab. The menchi-katsu is full of meat juices and has a hearty bite. The sauces topped on each of them change up the flavors, which makes it fun to eat.
Quite a hefty course!!
Yes, THIS is what I came to eat!!!
Closing out the course is what you could call Nakaji’s signature dish: donabe (earthenware pot) rice with salmon, salmon roe (ikura), and sea urchin (uni). Apparently many people come specifically for this! (Me included, lol.)
In the freshly cooked rice, every grain stands firm, chewy and sweet. On top of that, the saltiness of the salmon, the popping umami of the salmon roe, and the melting sweetness of the sea urchin layer one after another — a full gathering of seafood in your mouth, lol. The fresh aroma of mitsuba (Japanese trefoil herb) ties the whole bowl together, so it slips down easily even when you are already full. Ahhh, so good.
It was delicious.
From the appetizer through the sashimi, grilled dish, soup bowl, meat, fried dish, and donabe rice, it is a course that takes you on a full tour of the best parts of Japanese cuisine built around seasonal seafood. The sashimi calls for drinks, the soup rests your stomach, the fried dish brings the energy back up again, and the donabe rice finishes things off properly. Since the course is quite filling, it seems likely to leave all sorts of people satisfied. The private room is comfortable, too, and with all-you-can-drink included you do not have to worry about the bill. I think it is just right for business dinners. It is well worth keeping in mind as one of your options!
May you run into something delicious today too!
Ginza Nakaji (Japanese / Higashi-Ginza Station, Shintomicho Station, Tsukiji Station)
Tabelog dinner rating ★★★☆☆ 3.4
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
