A note on the words: motsu and horumon mean offal. Jimbocho is Tokyo’s book town; the Japanese headline plays on liver and being gutsy. Mino is beef tripe from the first stomach, while yan joins the second and third stomachs. Yukhoe is seasoned raw beef with egg yolk; basashi is sliced raw horse meat. Binchotan is charcoal used for grilling. Reba-nira is liver stir-fried with garlic chives, and eihire is ray fin. Kinmiya is a shochu brand; Hoppy is a beer-flavored drink often mixed with shochu.
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Nikumotsu-ya Jinbo 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’s Hangover Meal time!
This time I went along to an offal (motsu) tavern in Jimbocho.
About a minute’s walk from Exit A4 of Jimbocho Station, along Hakusan-dori, sits “Nikumotsu-ya Jinbo.” Certified by Chiyoda City as a facility for handling meat to be eaten raw, its big draw is that you can order raw meat dishes like yukhoe (seasoned raw beef) and raw meat sushi. From horse sashimi (basashi) shipped from Senko Farm in Kumamoto to offal and chicken grilled over binchotan charcoal and liver grilled on a hot stone, the meat menu is remarkably wide-ranging! They stay open straight through from 11:30, so you can even take it easy during daylight hours with a Hoppy (a beer-flavored mixer for shochu, a Tokyo drinking classic) in hand.
(I’ll go from noon next time lol)
Now then, let’s start with a beer!
Ahhhh! Delicious!
Inside, the place is lively and buzzing with chatter. Full of energy, which is great! I really like this kind of izakaya (Japanese pub).
First up, the stone-grilled liver, which I knew right away I had to order!
You place each slice onto the piping-hot stone and choose the doneness yourself. Sear just the surface quickly and the inside stays moist and tender; bite into it and it gives a plump bounce before melting smoothly away. The rich depth and sweetness peculiar to liver spread gently across the palate, and a quick dip in the accompanying tare (savory-sweet dipping sauce) layers on a roasted aroma and sweet-savory flavor — you cannot stop reaching for another slice and another drink! Since you grill it yourself, it is fun to eat while finding just the level of doneness you like!
Since it will probably be nothing but meat from here on out, I made sure to order some vegetables first thing.
The house salad bearing the shop’s name. Crisp, fresh leafy greens are generously coated in a tangy dressing, giving a refreshing acidity the moment you take a bite. Just right as a breather between the grilled dishes and the liver.
Raw wagyu yukhoe, a dish they can serve precisely because they are a certified facility for meat to be eaten raw. The lean beef coated in a sweet-savory sauce has a velvety, clinging texture on the tongue, and the more you chew, the more the savory flavor of the meat seeps out. Break the egg yolk and toss it in, and the richness turns another notch smoother. The toasted aroma of sesame and the crisp bite of scallion work nicely too — delicious!
A classic izakaya snack: seared ray fin (eihire). Bite into it and after a light, crisp snap, that familiar toasted aroma and sweetness slowly seep out the more you chew! Always a welcome dish to see on the menu!
Charcoal-grilled offal (horumon) cooked over domestic binchotan white charcoal. Feeling we had to order this too, we went with mino and yan. Mino is the first stomach of cattle; bite into it and after a pleasant, crisp crunch, a clean savory flavor slowly spreads. Yan is a rare cut joining the second and third stomachs, with sweet fat juicily seeping out from behind a springy chew. Each cut came with a different sauce: a sharp, nose-tingling mustard sauce for the mino, and a sweet-sour, mildly spicy mango chili sauce for the yan.
At a shop that apparently prides itself on morning-fresh liver, the liver and garlic chives stir-fry (reba-nira) puts the liver front and center!! Seared golden-brown on the outside and plump and tender inside, it bursts with a bold sweet-savory sauce and the deep richness of liver as you chew — so delicious! The crunch of bean sprouts and the aroma of garlic chives lighten any heaviness, so you can keep eating effortlessly to the very end. The sharp kick of black pepper hits the mark too, making for a punchy, dead-center classic flavor!
I ate my fill! Thoroughly satisfied!
From yukhoe served by this certified raw-meat facility to stone-grilled liver, binchotan-grilled chicken, and classic izakaya snacks, Jinbo has a menu that makes meat lovers want to order a bit of everything! The stone-grilled liver and the charcoal-grilled dishes were especially delicious. Right by Jimbocho Station, it is handy for a quick drink after work, and since they stay open straight through the afternoon, it works great for a lazy daytime drink too — definitely keep it in mind!
Here’s hoping we all run into something delicious today too!
Nikumotsu-ya Jinbo (Izakaya / Jimbocho Station, Kudanshita Station, Ochanomizu 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?
