Wild Unagi (eel) restaurant！Ginza Nodaiwa

Unagi restaurant founded more than 200 years ago

Nodaiwa is a long-established unagi restaurant that has been around for more than 200 years. Their main store is near Tokyo Tower and they have several branches in Tokyo. Especially recommended is the Ginza 4-chome branch located in a building directly connected to the Metro Ginza line Ginza station, which is convenient to stop by before or after shopping and sightseeing.

お店｜芝　麻布　飯倉　野田岩

【公式サイト】東京都港区東麻布。鰻の老舗、五代目 野田岩の公式サイトです。野田岩の創業は、およそ二百年前、江戸時代の寛政年間。江戸時代からの技術と美味しさを今日まで、変わることなく守り続けています。

www.nodaiwa.co.jp

The famous sushi restaurant “Sukiyabashi Jiro” and the well-known yakitori restaurant “Bird Land” are nearby on the same floor. You might find the building old and the basement location not very appealing but this floor is an amazing place where famous restaurants stand side by side.

Unagi at Nodaiwa

Famous unagi restaurants are all over Japan but there are regional differences in the way the dish is prepared. In Tokyo the eel is steamed first before being broiled – the texture is plump and soft. The unagi at Nodaiwa is prepared Tokyo style, of course. Furthermore, Nodaiwa only uses natural, wild eel at reasonable prices. Depending on the season, they may use farmed eel.

Our visit

We went around 18:45 on a Saturday evening without reservations. Being a Saturday, we thought it would be crowded but we were ushered in right away. The “unajyu” (broiled eel served over rice) in a lacquered box comes in five ranks. The ranks are based on the size of eel. We ordered the medium size which comes with two pieces of eel and chawanmushi (steamed egg custard) with shark fin.

You can order a big serving of rice with your “unajyu” at no extra cost. The amount of rice they serve is moderate so for people with an appetite, a big serving of rice is recommended!

Because the eel they use is wild, it is not excessively oily and this “unajyu” was light and soft with perfect sauce. It was very delicious!

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