Nodaiwa Azabu Iigura Main Restaurant

Love this place. On my top 5 Unagi place.
This place is famous for natural Unagi. I came here lunch and dinner too. The place is so authentic Japanese and old. Spacious and you can enjoy the atmosphere for sure.
Like the Unagi taste and also soup. A little pricy and taking time but its worthwhile.

While I’d had some delicious eel in the department store basements in Japan, I had not been to a restaurant dedicated to the craft of cooking eel before — so I was quite excited to come here. One of my favorite childhood dinners was unagi over rice, even if it was the frozen kind that was oversauced. Nodaiwa seemed like a place that wasn’t too hard-​set in doing a set menu from what I had read online, so that’s why we ended up trekking out to the Tokyo Tower area for dinner here. The entrance is quite innocuous, but it definitely has more of a homey feel to it, especially when we were seated in a private room with slightly smaller chairs, tatami mats, and screen doors — a very traditional feel. English-​language menus were provided, although it was tricky at times to discern the differences between certain dishes. Nonetheless, service was pretty friendly and well-​spaced, and I really enjoyed the atmosphere overall.
As for food — they have a la carte options, as well as multiple set menu options. We ended up going with the cheapest (ergo, the one least likely to end up with us stuffed) option. At $ 45 USD equivalent, I felt it was a pretty good deal, and it ended up being just the right amount of food as well. For good measure, we also ordered the chawanmushi, and that was noted as being a house specialty and a favorite (as well as a reason why folks ended up ordering one of the lengthier tasting menus!). First up was a piece of eel served with eel-​flavored gelatin on top — at least that’s the best way of describing it. The eel itself wasn’t really flavored, but the intensity of the gelatin, once it dissolved as you bit it, was divine. I’d never had eel presented in that fashion before, but it was perhaps my favorite bite of the whole meal. Next up was a small sliver of eel presented grilled but unsauced; the options were to sprinkle it with salt or dip it in soy sauce. Both ways were delicious, but I actually liked the salt better, as it brought out more of the natural eel flavor. The chawanmushi was next, and wow — this was fantastic. Most chawanmushi is pretty straightforward and simple — a mellow egg custard with hints of miso, soy sauce, and other flavors mixed in. This was served with veggies mixed in, topped with generous slices of nori, and a couple chunks of eel as well. The menu said it also has shark fin (which is maybe what gave it an additional meaty flavor), but I’ve never had shark fin before — so really hard to qualitatively state that was the case. Nonetheless, it was fantastic. Last up was the typical eel over rice box, where the unagi was marinated but not as much as it typically is. I really liked the lighter touch, and the rice was also prepared well — and it wasn’t served with too much of it. Dessert was simple — fresh-​cut oranges and strawberries. The oranges were pretty standard, but the intensity of the strawberries suggested that they were different (in a better way) compared to the kind you would find at a regular grocery store in the U.S.
Nodaiwa really showcases the different ways in which unagi can be presented, and this was one of my favorite meals on our visit to Japan. I’d definitely come back again, and for those looking to an introduction to eel cooked in Japan — this is a place I would highly recommend!

Nodaiwa started its «Unagi» business about 200 years ago in the Edo era in Japan. Looks like it’s one of the best Unagi places in Tokyo. If you have never had eel before, you may want to come here first to know what the high quality Unagi is like. It’s meticulously char-​grilled and it’s very fluffy and moist inside. You’ll be impressed how tasty eel is for sure.
In the meantime, Unagi is pricy in general so you may feel the prices are not too reasonable. I actually agree and it’s true that Unagi in Japan seems to be overpriced quite a bit. But when you eat Unagi in Japan, avoid cheap places where imported farm-​raised Unagi” is used as some of those breeders feed their eels with something unbelievable…

decent unagi place in tokyo and the wait is not too bad… the price is very affordable and unagi is of top quality.
my only complaint is that the service could have been better … we waited for more than 15 minutes for the check and had to repeatedly call sumimasen which is unforeseen in Japan

used to hate eel when I was young because it was a hassle to eat with numerous bones and little meat. Fortunately, I grew to love it, though it is considered a prized delicacy in Japan. Nodaiwa (pronounced noda-​iwa) is a Michelin-​star restaurant that has established its presence since 1850. Currently in the 5^th generation, the flagship store in Higashi Azabu has spun outlets in Tokyo and Yokohama. Even though we went to the Yokohama restaurant, we were impressed by the wooden interior with traditional Japanese touches and excellent service by the ladies dressed in kimonos.
Like any other eel house, Nodaiwa serves two types of unagi – Kabayaki (basted with tantalizing tare and broiled till caramelized brown) or Shirayaki (lightly steamed, grilled and served with shoyu at the side). I was surprised that there are so many version unagi sets even though the main star was just unagi. The basic unagi-​ju box comes in four sizes and one can choose the style of unagi he/​she prefers. All unagi sets come with pickles and kimo-​jiru (unagi liver soup). We skipped the basic ones and picked the kasane, dual-​layer unagi box (5040 yen) because it offers a taste of both styles of unagi. It has been said that the shirayaki aka white-​grilled is for the diehard unagi purists though I find that it can get boring after a while with the shoyu.
But what appealed to a first-​timer like me for the shirayaki style was that I could finally be enlightened by the true texture and flavor of unagi, unconcealed with a delectable and aromatic surface crust. Still, I crave towards the Kabayashi style, for it was juicier, sweeter but not drenched in sauce. I never come across O-​naka-​ire (3990 yen) in Singapore. It resembles a unagi don, but is a luxurious version of 4 layers (rice-​unagi-​rice-​unagi) prepared in Kabayaki style. We love the unagi here so much that we ordered more as ala-​carte, only to be pleased further when it was served in a metallic lacquerbox that keeps the unagi warm.
While Nodaiwa has demonstrated its expertise in unagi, it seems to have a knack for chicken cuisine when it serves up a hearty bowl of oyakodon (1575 yen). One might have to wait longer than usual for the eel, because effort and care is devoted towards grilling the fish. Though it is not the season for wild-​caught eels, it did not matter much to us because the fillets of Shizuoka freshwater eels were juicy and delicious. At least they did not import them from other countries.
Eel does not come cheap nowadays so if you are thinking on splurging on some for your trip, Nodaiwa is a worthy one。詳しくはブログをご覧でください。More Details on Blog