Unagi Anzai

Eel in Japan is the best. I always recommend that people try it when visiting Japan for a new food experience (as it is not that common a food in many countries). To make it a good experience you need to go to a shop that has good quality eel and a skilled chef. Unagi Anzai has both
I had unaju (eel with rice in a laquer box) with the additional order of grilled eel liver. The eel is steamed and then charcoal grilled. It has a delicious soft texture. The sauce/tare is not too sweet and the sansho (Japanese pepper) was amazing: top quality with a nice bite and aroma. The eel liver is also charcoal grilled with a slightly sweeter sauce. Eel liver is not as strong as other types of liver so it is worth giving it a go even if you are not a liver fan. The broth with the meal is delicate and refreshing which is a great way to cut the richness of the eel and liver. The small tofu appetiser at the beginning is deliciously fresh, and the salty pickles with the meal are flavoursome and also provide a nice balance of overall flavours to the meal.
The actual restaurant is small with one table for 4 downstairs and seating for up to 12 upstairs. The owners are a young couple that bring the seriousness of traditional eel restaurant , but are friendly with good service.
Booking in advance is highly recommended

Michelin recommended

One operation.

I made a reservation on LINE and visited the store for the first time.

When I made the reservation, I was reminded that the table was for one hour only.

It takes 30 minutes for the eel to come out after you arrive.
It became a restless meal, with the remaining 30 minutes rushing through.

While handling reservation customers who come to the store at different times.
It seemed like a lot of work for one person to prepare and serve the eel.

White fried rice set
Unaju

I received it.

It was a white grilled dish that had a slightly warm feel and didn't feel like it was freshly made.

I understand that it is difficult to go back and forth to the second floor by yourself.

For a quick meal
lukewarm eel...
The rice was also lukewarm.

The rice was normal and quite large.
There were three livers in the liver soup.
I was surprised.

Even if it is a one-off operation, I would like to be more conscious of the condition of the food at the time of provision.

I don't eat eel
The shirayaki was lukewarm, but so juicy and delicious that you couldn't hold it with chopsticks due to the fat.

This time I made a reservation for eel bowl and fillet roll, but the shirayaki is also delicious. For Shirayaki, this restaurant is happy to serve freshly grated wasabi.
The powdered sansho pepper has no aroma and is spicy. This may seem obvious, but I think there are a surprising number of shops, both independent and chain stores, that fail to do this.
The sauce is light. I really like this flavor, and if I want to eat eel, I want to go to Anzai-san as much as possible. This time it was also very delicious. Thank you for the meal.

This is a popular eel restaurant in Ogikubo. If you register as a friend on LINE, you can make an online reservation, so I made a reservation on LINE.
The store is located right next to Tomato, a very popular curry restaurant.

I entered the restaurant, gave my name, and sat down at a table on the first floor. The second floor seems to be a tatami room, but there seem to be no customers on this day. I ordered unagiju online, so I ordered a beer and waited.

There is one type of eel. Although it was early winter, the eel taste was surprisingly light. I guess it's just the right amount of fat and flavor. The surface is fragrant and the inside is soft and fluffy. The skin is soft, but it's more chewy than chewable.

The sauce is light and goes well with the eel. I got a large serving of rice for free, so I ordered a large serving, but the sauce didn't really soak into the rice, which was a bit disappointing.

It's probably the style of using plain-looking eel like this, but it was a little off to my liking.