I had long heard that there was a great yakitori place in Kitasenju. It is right in front of Ohashi, so I had actually been there before. This time, with a friend in town, I made a reservation and went.

The kitchen

There is a certain aura about it.

Wine

They had a decent Burgundy, so I ordered it by the decanter. I recall it was a 2012 Bourgogne from Meo-Camuzet.

Shamo soup

Maybe they are going for flavors that pair with wine, because even the soup is rich.

Liver and matsutake

The jelly made from set stock was especially good.

Chicken liver pate

The rich pate goes great with the bread. This really does seem to be a menu built with wine in mind.

Wasabi-yaki

The yakitori here is not the kind that boasts hefty portions or drips with fat. Clean, restrained flavor is the baseline. Kitasenju is not really that kind of neighborhood.. but well, it is delicious, so who cares..

Liver

They use salt just right here. It looks like it was simply grilled, but the seasoning is spot on.

Gizzard

Bite-sized and easy to eat. I imagine women would like it.

Skin

Even at a famous place, skin is hard to get right, but here even the skin tasted clean.

Baby leaf

This came out as a palate cleanser. I was starting to lose track of whether this was French or yakitori.

Ginkgo nuts

A few ginkgo nuts as well.

Tsukune

It comes with an egg..

Tsukune

This is how you eat it.

Tomato

They slip in a palate cleanser now and then.

Negima

This is the last one.

Nukazuke eggplant

And this was the final palate cleanser..

That was the end of the course; after this it moves on to omakase, but we had already eaten well at our first stop, so we called it there. I would like to try the other dishes, especially the sashimi and the smoked items, so hopefully there will be another chance someday.

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