June 2023
Dining Review: Kubota Unagi – Tokyo, Japan
After a long day, we were looking for something close to our Airbnb and found Kubota which serves up unagi… eel! I was very excited to try this dish before the trip as it is one of my favorite sushi orders.
Down a quiet alley around the corner from the Airbnb, this spot is tucked away. Across the street is their wholesaler where they sell eel but they have the strategic advantage of serving the best at their restaurant since its opening in 1897.
We walked in and were lucky enough to be seated right away at the last open table. We looked around and there was not a tourist in sight. This was most certainly a local joint and we loved every minute of it. On the opposite side of the dining room was the kitchen where you could get a peek at the eel action.
Our server was the sweetest lady who know just enough english for us to get by. We ordered eel boxes and shorty after we were served a few small dishes of miso and vegetables, and green tea.
Then the main even arrived. The most beautiful boxes were placed in front of us. When we opened them, we let out an audible ‘wow’ to which our server was very pleased. No surprised, but we were pretty pleased too!
The eel was amazing – it was fresh and well prepared, and there was plenty of rice to sop up all the sauces. We had no problems cleaning our boxes, much to our server’s delight. This is exactly why I like to stay away from the tourist area and discover other areas as there are often gems awaiting quite literally around the corner. If you find yourself in this area of Tokyo during your visit, you have to stop in and experience the best unagi at Kubota.
