I heard that someone who trained at Torishiki, the yakitori place famous for being impossible to book, had opened his own yakitori place in Kameido, so I went to check it out. It is called Torisawa, and from what I found online the yakitori there is a completely different style from Torishiki.
Pickles
It is a space with only eight counter seats, run by two young guys, and maybe because they are so in sync the service just flows. The ventilation is good too, so no worries about your clothes smelling of smoke. A true high-end yakitori place.
Draft Yebisu
It has been a while since I had a draft Yebisu this good. The foam is incredibly soft. Worth a visit just for this one glass of beer.
Chigimo: the front part is heart (hatsu) and the back part is liver (reba), apparently.
I have eaten plenty of good liver, but the liver here is not just soft, it has a springy bounce to it. No exaggeration to call it top-class.
Sabiyaki
A skewer of sasami, the chicken breast fillet, grilled with wasabi on top. It is closer to tataki than to grilled.
Shiratama, quail eggs
These tiny quail eggs are cooked soft. Bite into one and the yolk floods out.
Junmai daiginjo
A junmai daiginjo from Hiroshima called Kamokinshu. More ordinary than I expected.
Tsukune
Unlike ordinary tsukune, this one has a slightly punchy spice in it. Seems to have shiso in it too. On top of that the ingredients are well balanced, so it has a good bite. The owner’s grilling is an art, but he is also someone who understands what flavor is.
Ginnan
Plump ginkgo nuts. The proper yakitori has not even started yet and I am already blown away.
Kashiwa
This is the leg part, which they say is tasty because it gets a lot of exercise. The real yakitori starts here, and the juices just stream out.
Mugi shochu
Switched drinks to a barley shochu.
Hatsumoto
This is the aorta near the heart, they told me. Even better with a squeeze of lemon. Changing things up, I sneaked a dab of shichimi on it, and that made it even tastier.
Chochin
It is called chochin (lantern) because the egg yolk hanging off the meat looks like a paper lantern. The chicken is cooked through while the yolk stays rare. Pop it in your mouth and it bursts, and the taste is a work of art. A rare item, and I never expected to get to try it at this place.
Kinshinsai, daylily flower buds
As cute as it looks, it tastes pretty good too. The owner’s sense really shows.
Tebasaki
They use Daisen chicken, and the wings are top quality too. The meat around the bone is so good I grabbed it with my hands and tore it off.
Hakuten Hozan
The fourth drink is a sweet-potato shochu from Kagoshima. The food is so good I keep drinking faster.
Sunagimo
Chicken gizzard, with a really pleasant chew.
Seseri
The neck of the chicken. The seseri I had at Kameido Horumon a while back was fun too, but the seseri here is a bit more tender.
Shishito
I do not know how they grill it, but even the vegetables run with juice. Their grilling skills are no joke.
Bonjiri
The tail of the chicken.
The number of skewers I ate that day
I went pretty hard ^_^
The menu
Apart from the duck and the sashimi, I think I tried almost everything.
Hatsu
To finish, they serve the heart.
Only eight seats in a tiny space, but it was a truly wonderful dining experience. I doubt there are many yakitori places in Tokyo with this much character at this level.