Unagi Irokawa

Waited about 10 minutes on a weekday to sit at a table. FOOD: 3 Ordered the large unaju ¥5,500 per person with soup and pickles. The unaju comes in a lacquered box. The box is impressive! I was also impressed with the three cuts of unagi atop a healthy portion of rice. My first bite tasted so good. However, after eating that first bite, finishing the box became a bit of a chore. I might be wrong, but I felt that the kernels of rice were somewhat broken rather than plump, full kernels of rice, which would imply a slightly inferior grade of rice. Unagi was soft and tender. However, I prefer a slightly sweeter tare on the unagi. When the soy sauce and sugar caramelize with the seared fat and oil of the unagi to create that salty-sweet sear, it’s incredibly delicious. The tare at Irokawa is quite light and more soy-sauce forward, so you could taste the flavor of the eel, still. The tare was also mixed in with the rice, but I wish it was sweeter. It didn’t match my expectations or meet my tastebuds. I ended up putting more sansho on my unagi. Pickles are hand made. Personal preference. SERVICE: 4 Service is efficient if a bit brusque. Not outstanding, cold or warm, just ordinary. Okami-san was a bit chilly in the beginning, but she warmed up later. She came to fill our cups with hot tea several times ATMOSPHERE: 3 Atmosphere is a bit neglected inside, with some dust balls clinging to the walls etc. Seating can be tight for larger bodies. The guy sitting on the table behind me weighed about 300lbs (137kg), and our backs were touched several times until he finished his meal and left. Very narrow space! OVERALL: 3 stars. Just ordinary for me. I was not as impressed with Irokawa as I was by several other unagi shops in the immediate vicinity.

Unagi Hirokawa is a small (14 seat?) 160 year old restaurant located in the Asakusa neighborhood of Tokyo currently operated by the 3rd generation of the originating family. The restaurant operates between the hours of 1130 - 1400 or when the day's menu items are sold out and the proprietress is happy to converse in English. How can a restaurant stay afloat for 160 years on such meager hours you ask? Well, we arrived at noon to a line that was 10 deep. Was the wait worth while you ask? Emphatically yes, a thousand times YES!! The restaurant serves 3 menu items: Eel over rice (regular size, 2 filets of eel, sauced, over rice ), Large size eel over rice (one extra fillet and more rice, see photo), and eel neck (has hard bones it says). The tare used at the restaurant is light but packed with flavor and not cloyingly sweet, a perfect balance for both the eel and to be enjoyed with perfectly cooked rice. The meal is served with a light dashi and pickles, providing wonderful counter points and finish for the fantastic meal! Also, the lining up was a fantastic experience and hunger inducing... the exhaust fan for the restaurant, you see, vents right out to the street and when it kicks off, future customers are enveloped in the perfume of charcoal grilled eel and tare! A aphrodisiac to all food lovers for sure!

The white grill (without the BBQ sauce) is better because I like to taste the freshness of the eel. I wish they could grill it longer so that the skin is a bit firmer. We went there at 11:30. A long line was queuing up. We were round 2 customers. They had seatings for 4 but unfortunately the place is tiny so a lot of couples came so the entire restaurant would sit about 12 people at a time. We waited for about an hour. They only served lunch from 11:30 to 2 and closed on Sunday. But I think they did close early because they will close when the food is gone.

Would say this is a typical unagi only place. We had regular unagi on rice - the proportion of fish to rice was just right, the sauce was really well done, the skin on the unagi could've benefitted from a little crisp or char but it was very well cooked otherwise. Small restaurant, up to 14 seats, very quiet atmosphere. Waitress spoke English.

Eel with sauce over rice is great, eel without sauce is less flavor. Eel livers is just ok. Staffs are polite and can speak English.

Quite an authentic eel unagi only shop selling this in old traditional looking building. We went there early in morning and queued for 30 minutes. There were not many spaces in the restaurant and only two workers were there to clean, serve and cook. Overall the unagi tasted natural and does have a fish taste that you would remember. I love eel so this is definitely mind blowing. Although is it worth the long wait? I might say no for this if it’s like an hour long queue.

I went here for lunch. I ordered 1. Unagi Set (4/5) The restaurant is quite small. The taste was okay. During weekend expect a long queue. I was lucky there is no line when i visit there because they almost closed for lunch. Staffs were friendly. Services were good. CONCLUSION = RECOMMENDED!!!

Queued for 1h on a Monday afternoon - we reached around 1230pm and we’re seated about 130pm. The restaurant has pretty few seats hence the long wait. The waitress was very friendly and welcoming though! I tried the regular unagi bowl while my husband had the large one. We both enjoyed the meal including the really delicious soup! However, we agreed that we expected a little more given the long wait. I’d probably say it’s worth queuing for up to half an hour but I’m not sure we’d be in line again for an hour in the future

I liked the Large Unagi Set We saw a line forming and had time to kill so we got in as well. Turns out this is a 162 year old legendary charcoal unagi restaurant I must say after it's all said and done, it's #goodeats but I wouldn't recommend to come here. This place fits 13 people and is only open from 11am-2pm. We waited an hour before we were seated and the line was equally long the entire time we waited. I will say this place does lose points for their tea. I can tell it's pretty low quality and wasn't steeped for very long. It's also not the best unagi I've ever had, even tho it is good, I think it's a bit too pricy for the wait and flavor.

A century-old place that serves everything unagi (fresh water eel) related, this place has a permanent line when they are open, even when they are on a side street with little foot traffic. They do sell out, as I witnessed them turning away an old lady, so don't take your chances and come early if you want your unajyu. When they are about to run out, they also don't let anyone order the large size, which is nice of them. They do have a simple English menu, and you will be able to study that while you are waiting in the back room, after you are no longer in the line outside. The space is really small, about 10 seats in total, and it is filled with the aroma of roast eel. They use the age-old method of roasting eel over charcoal, which gives the eel a little bit of crispyness and a little charcoal aroma. I only managed to get the unajyu (5th last person in line!!). The unagi was a bit more fishy than I'd like, but the grilling method was really superb. The texture was nice and non-slimey, which indicated a good amount of time on the grill. The meal also came with pickled veggies and clear soup, and there was sansho (ground pepper) on each table. The sansho was definitely a must (sprinkle it on!!!!), and it brought out the best in the unagi. To be honest, this is not the best unajyu I've had. However, it is definitely worth a visit if you have only had unajyu from crappy Japanese restaurants or from a vacuum-sealed package. There are so few places that dedicate solely to this under-appreciated fish.

my yelp japan review writing juices continue to flow............ this place is off the beaten path in asakusa, requiring a little navigational ability. do look out for the sign saying 色川 as their name irokawa does not feature anywhere at the shopfront. again, a queue outside would be a tell tale sign that you have found the right place. this is a tiny joint, so be prepared for a little squeeze. you might also need to sit cross legged on tatami mats if they so sit you at the low tables. for the non-japanese speaking customer, a simple english menu card will be presented to you with a choice of unaju large, 3500yen or unaju small, 2500yen. however, if you are accomplished enough in ordering in japanese, they do have other unagi related dishes. the ventilation here is minimal, so you will be intoxicated by the charcoal grilled unagi way before you even set eyes on the beauty that it becomes. a complex brown hue yet not overly basted. a nice natural texture giving way to a tantricly tender flesh beneath. sweet dreams are made of this................ for a century they have passed the charcoal and your patronage will ensure this tradition lives on.