Cooking Across 4 Generations

Our second night in Tokyo found us heading for a walk around Ginza to find somewhere for dinner. One restaurant that we have walked past many times on our trips to Tokyo has been Itamae Sushi. This time we decided to try it.

A bamboo and glass front hides a deceptively large (by Japanese standards) space. The front portion consists of an entrance vestibule and cashier stand, behind which is another door leading to the two parts of the restaurant. The front part consists of a sushi bar with booths along the side and behind this area are more private ‘tatami rooms’.

We were seated at the sushi bar as the restaurant was quite busy, we didn’t mind as it gave us a chance to watch the sushi and sashimi dishes being prepared. Our beverage of choice was well iced green tea, even at 7pm it was still around 30 degrees Celsius. A delicious small salad was also bought out as our appetizer.

The first dish we had was a plate of sashimi, unfortunately we were nearly finished before we remembered to take a photo.

Next up were some tuna rolls using rice sheets (like Vietnamese rolls). Filled with salad, and tuna they were light and delicious with a tangy sauce.

Our next dish was a sushi plate. Nothing like a plate of sushi in Japan. Prawn, squid, mackerel, uni (sea urchin roe), salmon roe, tuna and salmon were some of the varieties on the plate.

And a bowl of miso soup to finish. This is one of the better miso soups we have had.

All up a good dinner. They have a menu in English which also contained photographs of most of the dishes. This made ordering a breeze. It was great to watch the chefs working and to see Japanese knife skills in action, although I think I was more interested in the knives they were using. One of the things I love about eating in Japan is the matching of plate to food. No simple white plates for every dish but a plate that reflects the food and the season.

Thanks for dropping by!