A note on the words: monjayaki (monja for short) is a Tokyo griddle dish of chopped cabbage and fillings in a runny, dashi-seasoned batter, closely tied to the Tsukishima neighborhood. Diners cook it themselves at the table: stir-fry the fillings, build a ring of cabbage called a dote (embankment), pour the batter into the center, then spread it thin so the bottom crisps into okoge, scraped up with a tiny spatula. This version adds mentaiko (spicy cod roe), mochi (chewy rice cake) and cheese. Shime is the closing dish that ends a night of drinking in Japan.
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Tsukishima Monja Sankyu Ueno No. 2 on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Fellow drinkers, thanks for waiting — it’s time for Hangover Meshi (meshi meaning meal)!
Man, did we ever drink tonight…!
We had been bar-hopping around Ueno as usual, and before we knew it the last train was gone! Even so, we were nowhere near done talking! With a cry of “On to the next place!” we ended up at a monjayaki (a Tokyo dish of runny savory batter cooked on a griddle) spot, “Tsukishima Monja Sankyu Ueno No. 2.” I had been to the main branch before.
Believe it or not, from Tuesday through Sunday they stay open straight through until 5 a.m. the next morning!
Being able to sit down for monja and a drink even after missing the last train — how good is that?
They say the ingredients are sent straight from Toyosu Market, and that the house pride is a light, fluffy batter made with plenty of dashi broth. Inside, the wood-toned room feels clean, with little of the usual greasiness around the griddles. Easy to walk right into!
First things first, I ordered a highball.
Since we were here, we figured we should order at least one monjayaki as a drinking snack!
Sankyu’s mentaiko (spicy cod roe) monja is a dish they highlight even on their course menus as a “Tsukishima classic”! Start with the mentaiko mochi monja — which comes with mochi rice cake — and add cheese as a topping, and you have the classic monja trio!
Even drunk, my hands still remembered how to cook it! You slide the solid fillings onto the griddle first, stir-fry them well while chopping the cabbage finer, and shape a ring-shaped wall — the dote — out of the cabbage. Give the dashi batter a stir, then pour it slowly into the center.
Once it starts bubbling away on the griddle, the aroma of the dashi broth wafts up. After a bit, when it comes together nicely, toss the cheese on, mix the whole thing together, spread it out thin across the griddle, wait a moment, and it’s done! Scoop some up with the little spatula and the batter is soft and gooey, with the saltiness and sharp kick of the mentaiko spreading gently across the tongue. Then the richness of the cheese layers over it, rounding out the salty heat into something mellow.
As you keep eating, the scorched crust on the bottom — the okoge — turns crisp and toasty, while the mochi stretches with a chewy pull that makes it more filling. The crunch of the cabbage is a nice accent too. Salty, spicy and rich, it makes a satisfying drinking snack even when you’re already tipsy.
After that we ordered a few more highballs, chatted away, and finally called it a night. It was delicious.
Dropping in on a whim in the middle of the night for a round of monja and some drinks — even in Ueno, places where you can do that are pretty rare, aren’t they? And this was dead in the middle of a weeknight, too. It runs a little pricey, but I was genuinely grateful for it.
Monjayaki works both as a drinking snack and as shime (the closing dish of a drinking night, usually ramen or rice)!
It’s close to the station and open until 5 a.m., making it a great late-night refuge when you’ve missed the last train. Just watch out on Mondays, though — they close at 23:00! I have a feeling I’ll be ending up here again.
Here’s hoping I run into something delicious again today!
Tsukishima Monja Sankyu Ueno No. 2 (Izakaya / Keisei Ueno Station, Naka-Okachimachi Station, Ueno-Okachimachi 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?
