8 Best Unagi Restaurants in Tokyo

The Gourmet World of Unagi

On the Day of the Ox, a summer holiday synonymous with unagi, people around Japan splurge on expensive Japanese freshwater eels to fight summer fatigue. Unlike more affordable imported eels, coveted domestic unagi generally fetch high prices and demand masterful handling, making them ideal fine-dining ingredients.

There are two schools of unagi preparation: the Edo-mae style, which steams the meat before grilling, and the jiyaki (Kansai) style, which does not. Kabayaki is the quintessential unagi “mother” dish, consisting of skewered, roasted eel filets. These filets are then served as the famous unagi dish una-juu, where cuts of unagi drip their savory juices onto a bed of rice below. Many establishments offer other preparation styles, like shirayaki and Nagoya specialty, hitsumabushi.

Shizuoka Prefecture is the part of Japan most famous for unagi. Succulent, farmed unagi have been raised there since the Meiji period. Wild unagi from Hamana Lake in Hamamatsu, are even more prized. Though Hamamatsu and Nagoya are both great cities to try unagi, many say Tokyo is the best, thanks to its concentration of famous and Michelin-awarded restaurants. Guests can enjoy variety in the eels’ flavor as seasons change while appreciating the fine points of each chef’s signature techniques.

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The 8 Best Unagi Restaurants in Tokyo

1. Ishibashi (石ばし)

Awarded one Michelin star from 2010-2023, Ishibashi is internationally recognized as an exemplary unagi restaurant. As the eel is meticulously prepared, diners are encouraged to appreciate Ishibashi’s pre-war nostalgia, light sashimi and pickles, and seasonally renewed sake list.

Using unagi raised in Kyushu and Yoshida, Shizuoka, Ishibashi proudly serves meals that recreates the taste of eel from long ago. A top Tokyo unagi shop through 4 generations of ownership, the venue still uses the Wajima lacquerware and tare recipe from its foundation in 1910, combining rich history with rich flavor.

2. Ginza Yondaime Takahashiya Ginza branch (銀座 四代目 高橋屋 銀座店)

Ginza Yondaime Takahashiya’s executive chef is the fourth generation of a long line of restauranteurs. His Ginza operation applies the space itself towards enhancing guests’ dining experience. The supreme level of care taken has earned Takahashiya two consecutive Michelin selections and domestic architectural awards on top of its 2024 top-100 unagi accolade.

The venue’s course and a-la-carte options are marked by two defining traits. First, wild-caught eels are aged for ten days, allowing their bodies to relax. Then, each unagi is butchered to order in under an hour, preventing fluids and natural essence from escaping the meat before cooking, thus preserving a sense of terroir.

3. Nodaya Iriya-Kishimojin Tokyo (入谷鬼子母神門前のだや)

・Japanese Unagi Top 100 Selected Restaurants in 2018,19,22 (on a Japanese famous gourmet site)

Nodaya, ranked among Japan’s 100 best unagi venues on the country’s top gourmet site, is the only shop in the nation serving six distinct brands of eel – two wild and four cultivated. Its lacto-bacilli-enriched unagi is both eco-conscious and ultra-rich in nutrients.

One of the best unagi in Tokyo and the nation, Nodaya freely shares behind-the-scenes demonstrations online, confident no competitor can match its technique. The shop also proudly offers cold-weather eel and a secret menu item, unataro – a succulent bowl that combines rustic grilled eel liver and umaki (mouthwateringly soft omelet wrapped around chunks of unagi) with the premium experience of branded unagi filets.

4. Unagi Uomasa (うなぎ 魚政)

・Japan Restaurant Award, Bronze (2017 - 24)

・Japanese Unagi Top 100 Selected Restaurants in 2018,19,22 (on a Japanese famous gourmet site)

Despite the shop’s casual appearance, the level of detail behind the scenes at Uomasa is incredible. A top Tokyo unagi-ya, Uomasa displays tangible respect for the craft and the animal. The chef hand-selects eel stocks for each season, offers single-source rice and sansho, only cooks with alkaline water, and serves a focused range of sake. 

Offering edo-mae eel with Kansai style available on request, even the eels’ bones, fried to a delicious crisp, and liver are served to honor the will needed for wild eels to reach maturity.

Uomasa is a 3-year-consecutive top 100 unagi shop, a 2017-2024 bronze Japan Restaurant Award winner, and a 2018-2020 Michelin Bib Gourmand. 

5. Unotoki (鰻の刻)

Headed by a young but talented chef, kaiseki restaurant Nogizaka Shin is reborn as Unotoki, an unagi specialty shop, during lunch hour. Unotoki exclusively uses sea-water-raised eel from Miyagi prefecture. This farming method mimics the flavor and texture of wild eel while guaranteeing a quality-controlled product. 

The lunch course introduces guests to a variety of unagi preparation styles and is limited to ten servings a day. It includes Chef Yusaku Kawamura’s signature una-juu, which diners are encouraged to pair with Unatoki’s house-specialty beer. He invites guests to savor the intersection of traditional Japanese and unagi cuisine in Unotoki’s classical atmosphere.

6. Miyake Akira (三宅輝)

・MICHELIN (2024): Selected Restaurant

Miyake Akira was selected for the 2024 Michelin guide. After being appointed head chef at just 21, Chef Miyake was named an official Japanese culinary ambassador. His definitive presence and intimate, multi-sensory performance reach deep into guests’ hearts. 

Diners watch Gifu-born Chef Miyake transform his signature Kansai jiyaki unagi from filet to finished dish over a hot charcoal grill. Through practiced movement, Chef Miyake showcases the human element of gastronomy. His restaurant even exclusively uses bizen pottery thrown at Miyake’s personal pottery studio and features premium accents such as crab, caviar, and wagyu to make meals that much more special.

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7. Sangubashi Asaya (参宮橋 あさや)

Chef Akira Ogiwara follows the work of his father, the owner of Tochigi-based Asaya, in Tokyo’s Sangubashi. His experience outside of Japanese cuisine and commitment to studying ingredients directly from producers inspire him to innovate within the focused world of unagi. 

Named a top 100 unagi restaurant in 2024, Sangubashi Asaya serves wild-caught and cultivated eels, allowing guests to compare the nuances of both.

According to each eel’s individual quality, chef Ogiwara’s jiyaki is blanched to purify its flavors. This unique treatment applies Edomae-style unagi’s use of water in a way suited to Kansai jiyaki.

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8. Kabuto (かぶと)

Kabuto, established in 1948 and operated by second-generation owners Mr. and Mrs. Fujimori, smacks of Japanese tradition. The previous owner had a famously rigid attitude, but this iteration upholds his strict standards in a homey, izakaya-style environment.

Notoriously hard to reserve, Kabuto has defended its silver Japan Restaurant Award for eight years, since 2017, and has been named one of Japan’s top 100 unagi shops four times. First-time customers are always served farmed eel, but once becoming regulars, guests can enjoy wild eel when in season. Rustic Kabuto also serves eel offal, including the skin, heart, innards, and liver. 

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