Azabu Muroi

We visited Azabu Muroi, a new restaurant in Azabu Juban where the apprentice of Kimoto in Kagurazaka has started his own restaurant!

Leaving the hustle and bustle of Azabu Juban, we passed through a small street in a residential area.
You will find the entrance to Azabu Muroi.

The atmosphere of the brand-new restaurant is very nice, with a counter seating nine people.

In front of the restaurant is a large kiln, which is used for both wood-fired and charcoal-grilled dishes.

Here are the dishes we were served.

Fried lobster with lobster miso, matsutake mushroom
Matsutake mushroom rice, abalone tempura with liver sauce
Red snow crab and matsutake mushroom
Sashimi Buri
Wood grilled Spanish mackerel
White shrimp rice cracker
White sea bream with yellow chive and sansho soy sauce
Steamed and deep-fried two-year old Kitaakari.
White rice and chateaubriand
Rice with Halibut and Salmon roe
Chestnut ice cream
French spring rolls with azuki beans and cream cheese

All dishes were very delicious.

The dishes were well balanced, using different types of wood and charcoal and making the most of simple ingredients.

Especially the rice with harasu and salmon roe.
The aroma of the charcoal grill softly wafted from the kettle.
Delicious rice, salmon and salmon roe.

It was a dish that made me feel the power of the charcoal grill.

If you visit Azabujuban, please visit us.

Chef is very unique

Last week, while sightseeing in Tokyo, I visited Azabu Muroi, a Japanese restaurant in Ginza that is somewhat famous on the internet. However, it was a very disappointing dining experience that I would like to share.

My husband had made a reservation for this restaurant online in advance, and the four of us visited. At the time of reservation, the budget per person was displayed as approximately 45,000 yen. When I arrived at the store, the customer service was normal, and the store was clean and comfortable. Therefore, I didn't have any doubts and paid with my credit card after finishing my meal. Fortunately, I had a receipt, so when I checked the amount on the way back to the hotel, I realized that I had been charged a total of 380,000 yen! No matter how I calculated it, I couldn't get it right, so I immediately asked an acquaintance who works in Japan to call the store to confirm. However, the restaurant didn't have a phone number, so I ended up finding the head chef's personal account on Instagram and contacting him.

When an acquaintance asked for the details, the explanation was, ``Due to the ingredients being upgraded on that day, the price per person has been changed from 45,000 yen to 70,000 yen.'' Additionally, a cup of tea costs 2,000 yen, water costs 1,600 yen (we ordered 5 cups of tea and 1 glass of water), and a bottle of white wine costs 55,000 yen (we were aware of this on the day). did. In addition to this, a 10% service charge was charged.

However, the quality of the food that was actually served did not seem to be worth the price. The main dish of the day was Matsuba crab, but the amount was very small, only two thin crab legs per person. I could barely taste the natural sweetness of the crab, and it couldn't compare to the Echizen crab I had eaten in the past. Also, the way the crab legs were cut was sloppy, and the crab legs weren't cut so easily that they could be removed like they are at other high-end restaurants.

I was told that in addition to the Matsuba crab, I was also served high-quality fugu, but to be honest, it wasn't particularly unusual, and I felt it was similar to what you would find in a typical Japanese restaurant. Vegetables were the most common part of the meal that day, perhaps because the head chef is placing an emphasis on nutritional balance...

I suspect the price was increased because we were tourists. Of course, it's understandable that prices fluctuate depending on what's in stock that day, but if you're going to raise the price by as much as 55%, you'd expect quality to match. However, this time the meal was very disappointing and not at all up to the quality I expected. I have visited many high-end restaurants, including many star-rated restaurants, but this was the first time I had visited a restaurant where prices fluctuated so much.

This experience is very different from the good impressions I have had at many restaurants in Japan. Even though I had budgeted for meals while sightseeing, this is the first time I've felt that the price and content were so out of proportion. I was very distrustful as there was no prior explanation about the price change and the drink prices were not clearly stated on the menu. I suspect that there may be different pricing for locals and tourists.

In light of this situation, I hope that you will use my experience as a reference. I have attached a photo and would love to hear your opinions. Personally, I think the upper limit for this content is 55,000 yen per person. Even if it was 50,000 yen on the day, I don't think I would visit again.

A Japanese restaurant located in a building a 1-2 minute walk from Ginza Station B3 exit.
Last year, we moved from Azabu Juban to Ginza.
I visited several times when I was in Azabujuban, but this was my first visit since they moved.
I made a reservation for the second visit on a weekday night.

The new store has 10 counter seats in a row, as well as private rooms.
The seats are comfortable and the space is quite spacious.

Omakase course 45,000 yen.
11 dishes, white rice and steak cooked in a clay pot, another rice pot, and two types of sweetness.
There will be about 16 items in total.
The content and volume are perfect.
Still, it was so delicious that everyone ended up asking for a second helping.

Unlike elegant Japanese cuisine, the sashimi is often thick and hearty, but the seasoning is delicate so you can enjoy the flavor of the ingredients.
The seasonal ingredient that day was bamboo shoots, so I enjoyed both the boiled and grilled ones, and they were very delicious.
I'm happy because there aren't many places where you can eat hot shellfish like Kitayori shellfish.

The last main meat is chateaubriand from a female cow from Hokkaido.
It's delicious as always.

The earthen pot rice was rice with bamboo shoots and scallops. Strong aroma and flavor!

Since it's a new store, the number of staff has increased, and many of them are of the same age, and Mr. Muroi seems to be having fun.
It was still fluffy.
His specialty, playing with fire, is still alive and well.

↓Reviews before relocation

A Japanese restaurant located in a residential area, a few minutes walk from Azabu Juban, across the river from Shin-Hiroo Park.
Although it opened this year, it has been difficult to make reservations from the beginning due to its history and popularity.
The general was General Muroi, who was with Mr. Ishikawa and Mr. Kimoto. I'm only 31 so I'm young.

The exterior of the restaurant looks and feels like a local high-end Japanese restaurant, and it has an aura about it.
The inside of the store is very clean as it is a new store, and there are about 9 or 10 seats at the L-shaped counter.
The seats are comfortable and you can relax.

Course is 36,000 yen excluding service.
On this day, we had the snow crab course, but it was amazing that the price remained the same.

10 dishes, rice, and dessert
The configuration.

The crab used is Taijin crab, which is famous as the highest quality snow crab.
It's a luxury to be able to compare steamed and grilled crabs.
Of course everything was delicious, but I liked the seasoning on the bowl.
In addition to crab, I was also impressed by the black-throated seaweed and shrimp sweet potato.

The chateaubriand at the end reminded me of Kimoto-san, but the way it was grilled was different and it was delicious.

The content of the course was quite satisfying.

The general had various issues, but he didn't worry about it and did his best lol
It's cool and I can hear the voice, so I think it would be good for karaoke.
I'm still young so I'm looking forward to the future.

First visit. We had a spring-filled dish that used a lot of wild vegetables and shellfish. A variety of fragrant dishes prepared using firewood and charcoal. They also have some good wine. The straight counter was clean and decorated with Japanese paintings of cherry blossoms.