Atsuta Horaiken Jingu

Our very first dinner in Nagoya was here as my local friend guide brought us here since we have a craving for unagi (eel). And we were told that the restaurant had a long history and a specialty store for the item and was very popular.

The restaurant was nice and had a lovely ambience that reflected the Japanese rich culture.

We arrived here slightly past 6pm and the restaurant had a queue formed already but we waited for about 10mins before being ushered to our table in a room. The servers were putting up in traditional kimono costumes. Indeed, traditional and rich in culture.

As we just had our late lunch about an hour plus ago, we decided to order more side dishes than main course, except for the unagi rice set, which was a must-order. We ordered chicken kaarage and tempura, cooked in various ways and sauces.

The layout and presentation of the dishes were amazing, very neat and orderly and of course nice!

And true enough, the unagi was yummy, well marinated and cooked, very fragrant too. And if you are a unagi lover, you will surely fall in love with this dish. The other dishes were nice too, except that they were a little too salty (for me). They were special sauces for each dish and love the yuzhu one most, as the rest were also a little over salty.

The green tea was thick and flavourful too!

Service was good and staff were efficient in serving the food though they speak very little English (our friend guide helped us order the food).

Although it cost more here than other restaurants, it's very worthwhile as the foods were nice and we all enjoyed and loved them!

I am totally not a fan of EEL fish, so I ordered a chicken dishes, and my husband ordered an EEL fish set. My husband asked me if I wantto try a little bit, so I did, and guess what! This is the only one I don't dislike! In fact, I like the taste! Awesome food, this is the only word I can say. Must visit! But remember to make a reservation first before visiting Atsuta Shrine.

Staff are friendly as well!

5 stars review for sure!

Hitsumabushi being a signature dish in Nagoya has made it's mark and coming to this restaurant was the highlight of our trip.

Opens at 1130 to 2pm for its first seating and we were lined up T 10AM being 3rd in line. Once we got ushered in, everything was very organized from the waiting area where we take a look at them menu to being seated and served. They were all very attentive and kept refilling our tea.

The Grilled Eel arrived fresh and warm, a wooden bowl with charred unagi strips covered on top a bed of steamed Japanese rice is heavenly! 3 ways to enjoy- basically on its own it's already tasty, add in green onions with strips of nori and you get refreshing taste and lastly with everything in then pour the soup on top for a filling meal you'd surprisingly enjoy too.

Me and my partner are not big spenders normally but for this specialty dish, it was worth it. Definitely an experience you wouldn't want to miss, make sure it's your list! :)