The best Unagi Kabayaki (Unaju) in Tokyo
Also spelt unagi, unaju, unadon and kabayaki. A curated shortlist, shaped by your votes.
Editorial picks
Selected from published food guides and local reporting. How the list works
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Number 1.Ishibashi
- Open
- 11.30am-2.30pm, 6pm-9pm; shut Sun, Mon, holidays
- Where
- 2-4-29 Suido, Bunkyo-ku (東京都文京区水道2-4-29)
One of only two starred eel houses in Michelin's Tokyo book, behind a brick wall that outlived the firebombing. Take the unaju tokujo with the hundred-year nukazuke. Eel is split after you order, so allow an hour.
What to orderUnaju tokujo with the hundred-year nukazuke
0 votes
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Number 2.Nodaiwa Azabu Iikura Honten
- Open
- 11am-2.30pm, 5pm-9pm; shut Sun and some Mondays
- Where
- 1-5-4 Higashi-Azabu, Minato-ku (東京都港区東麻布1-5-4)
The eel here is steamed long and grilled pale, so order the unaju and add a shirayaki to compare. Shut on Sundays and some Mondays, and ten per cent service goes on the bill.
What to orderUnaju, with a shirayaki alongside
0 votes
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Number 3.Obana
- Open
- 11.30am-1.30pm, 4pm-7.30pm; shut Mon, Tue; sells out
- Where
- 5-33-1 Minami-Senju, Arakawa-ku (東京都荒川区南千住5-33-1)
Order the unaju, and a shirayaki before it if there are two of you. No bookings are taken, so queue at least an hour before opening, bring cash, and remember Monday and Tuesday closing.
What to orderUnaju, plus shirayaki and u-maki
0 votes
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Chikuyotei Kobikicho Honten
- Open
- 11.30am-3pm, 4.30pm-9.30pm; shut Sun and holidays
- Where
- 8-14-7 Ginza, Chuo-ku (東京都中央区銀座8-14-7)
Trading since 1866, with a tea house and garden that came through the earthquake. Order the unagi-don Ozu Yasujiro favoured; the tare here stays restrained. Sundays and holidays are shut.
What to orderUnagi-don
0 votes
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Myojinshita Kandagawa Honten
- Open
- 11.30am-2.30pm, 5pm-9pm; shut Sun, Mon, holidays
- Where
- 2-5-11 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku (東京都千代田区外神田2-5-11)
Founded in 1805 at the foot of the Kanda Myojin steps, and the tare is soy and mirin with no sugar, so the unaju tastes dry rather than sweet. Skewers stay in the fish. Sundays, Mondays and holidays are shut.
What to orderUnaju, skewers left in
0 votes
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Iriya Kishibojin Monzen Nodaya
- Open
- 11am-2.30pm, 5.30pm-8pm until sold out; shut Mon
- Where
- 2-3-1 Shitaya, Taito-ku (東京都台東区下谷2-3-1)
Ask for the Kyosui-brand unaju, or the red and white bowl that sets Kansai jiyaki against Edo-style steamed grilling. Both services run until the eel is gone, and Mondays plus scattered weekdays are shut.
What to orderKyosui-brand unaju, or the Iriya kohaku bowl
0 votes
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Izuei Honten (Ueno)
- Open
- 11am to 9pm daily; reduced menu 3pm-4.30pm weekdays
- Where
- 2-12-22 Ueno, Taito-ku (東京都台東区上野2-12-22)
A seven-floor house beside Shinobazu pond that stays open through the afternoon, which suits a museum day. Take the plain unaju rather than the bento sets. Between three and half four on weekdays the menu shrinks.
What to orderPlain unaju
0 votes
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Nihonbashi Izumoya Honten
- Open
- 11am-2pm, 5pm-9.30pm; shut Sundays and holidays
- Where
- 3-3-4 Nihonbashi-Hongokucho, Chuo-ku (東京都中央区日本橋本石町3-3-4)
A two-storey wooden house among office towers behind the Bank of Japan. Unaju is graded by the size of the eel, and the middle grade is plenty. Sundays and holidays are shut; tatami rooms carry ten per cent.
What to orderUnaju, middle grade
0 votes
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Ginza Yondaime Takahashiya
- Open
- 11.30am-4pm, 5pm-10pm; shut Mon, some Tuesdays
- Where
- Ginza 4-12-1, VORT Ginza East II 4F, Chuo-ku (東京都中央区銀座4-12-1 ＶＯＲＴ銀座イーストⅡビル4F)
The fourth generation of a Saitama house, up on the fourth floor of a block behind the Kabukiza. Order the tokujo unaju, a whole eel that hangs over the box. Expect forty minutes for the grill, and Mondays are shut.
What to orderTokujo unaju, one whole eel
0 votes
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Hanabishi
- Open
- 11.30am-3pm, 5pm-9pm; shut Sundays and holidays
- Where
- 2-16-7 Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku, Hanabishi Building 1F and B1 (東京都渋谷区道玄坂2-16-7 花菱ビル1F・B1)
The poet Saito Mokichi ate here, and the unaju runs through six weights from eighty grams up, so choose by appetite rather than by grade name. Last lunch order is at two, and Sundays and holidays are shut.
What to orderUnaju (take), sized by weight
0 votes
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Hatsuogawa
- Open
- Noon-1.30pm, 5pm-8pm; shut Wednesdays
- Where
- 2-8-4 Kaminarimon, Taito-ku (東京都台東区雷門2-8-4)
Fourteen seats behind a weathered wooden front, trading since 1907, and the unaju jo is the order. Lunch runs only from noon to half one, Wednesdays are shut, and the till takes cash alone.
What to orderUnaju (jo)
0 votes
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Tsukiji Miyagawa Honten
- Open
- 11.30am-2pm, 5pm-8pm; shut Saturdays
- Where
- 1-4-6 Tsukiji, Chuo-ku, Miyagawa Honten Building (東京都中央区築地1-4-6 宮川本店ビル)
Working since 1893 a few streets from the old market, and here the box and the bowl cost the same, so take the unadon. Saturdays are shut, which catches out anyone combining it with a Tsukiji weekend wander.
What to orderUnadon
0 votes
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Kabuto (Ikebukuro)
- Open
- Booked sittings at 3pm and 6pm; shut Thu, Sun, hols
- Where
- 2-53-2 Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Ikebukuro ES Building 1F (東京都豊島区池袋2-53-2 池袋ESビル1F)
Skewers rather than a box here, worked through liver, belly and fillet at a small counter. Booking is online only, with sittings at three and at six, and payment is cash. Thursdays, Sundays and holidays are shut.
What to orderThe eel skewer course
0 votes
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Kobayashi
- Open
- 11am-3.30pm, 5pm until sold out; shut Wednesdays
- Where
- 3-25-6 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku (東京都新宿区新宿3-25-6)
Open since 1905 among Shinjuku's drinking blocks, and cheaper than most on this list. The unaju matsu is the one to have. Evening service ends when the eel runs out, not at the stated hour, and Wednesdays are shut.
What to orderUnaju (matsu)
0 votes
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