You can immediately sense the vintage vibe upon entering the traditional gates of this restaurant specializing in eel (unagi) dishes. Jubako has a 200 year history, and you can definitely feel it. There are only private tatami rooms in this tiny restaurant and the room we were assigned to was particularly charming with views to a lovely little garden. The tatami has a hollow space underneath the table for your feet so don’t worry about getting cramps.
The first dish as usual as in other unagi restaurants is the inner parts of the eel on a stick. I’m not a big fan of this dish but I have to say that this dish did not have the bitter aftertaste as in other restaurants.
Then came a delicious soup. It tasted very unique, unlike any other soup I’ve tried in Japan. I found out later that the fish in the soup broth was a Koi fish, the kind the Chinese keep in a pond in their garden for good luck. I’ve never tasted Koi fish before. I guess there’s a first time for everything.
Then came some grilled eel with salt. Unfortunately I can’t post a picture of it because my picture was blurry.
Then, came half an onion. Baked. I couldn’t finish this because it still had the strong onion taste on it, even though i love onions, I could only manage half.
The main dish was the grilled eel in sweet sauce served with rice and pickles. I loved this. I believe it was the best eel I ever tried. Soft and sweet.
The dessert was especially lovely. Some red bean ice cream inside deliciously crunchy waffles. You were supposed to eat it like a burger.
This restaurant is a little on the pricey side. This elaborate meal costs about 20.000 yen per person. They do speak a little english.
Price : $$$
JUBAKO. 2-17-61 Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo Prefecture 107-0052, Japan. Phone : +81 3-3583-131
