After failing many times to get reservations at Sukiyabashi Jiro (the original one) because I was a foreigner and being suspiciously glared at by the chef in sushi Mizutani, the warm welcome at the Kyubei in Ginza was a nice change. I went there today for lunch without reservations and was lucky to immediately get seats on the second floor.
There were different set menus starting from around 75oo yen. We chose the omakase menu which was about 10.000 yen and surrendered ourselves in the hands of the sushi chef.
The friendly chef who even spoke a few words of Indonesian prepared our meal starting with some toro dabbed with some sweet soya sauce and the perfect amount of wasabi.
Followed by a series of wonderful, delicious and fresh sushi dishes.
When it came to the shrimp he asked us if we wanted it fresh or slightly boiled. We asked which one was better and he decided on the slightly boiled version which was delicious.
The uni was so fresh it immediately melted in my mouth, as did the o-toro sushi.
The katsuo sushi prepared with some fresh garlic on top tasted unique. I’ve never tried anything like it before.
But the highlight for me was the an ago (freshwater eel) prepared two ways : with salt and sweet soya sauce. I liked the salted version which also tasted very unique.
Before the sushi rolls we were served some radish sandwiches which were refreshing.
After that it was time for the sushi rolls.
Before desert, we were served some tamago-yaki (egg ommelette) which were really soft.
And we had a choice of mocha or watermelon for desert.
To summon things up, I had a wonderful time at Kyubei. Not only was the service warm and welcoming, the sushi was extremely fresh and absolutely delicious. I would definitely recommend this restaurant to you.
Price : $$$
