Unafuji

The most impressive dish wasn’t the unagi don but the Shirayaki grilled eel. As expected, high-quality ingredients shine on their own without the need for additional seasoning—it was incredibly delicious. Their eel tamagoyaki was served in a light dashi broth, and I really enjoyed this style of preparation. The main dish that day was the three-ways unagi don. Personally, I prefer eating a large, whole piece of eel, as having it cut into many small pieces feels less satisfying. However, this is a hallmark of Nagoya-style eel dishes.

This is a tourist trap! The only thing beautiful about this place is the fish pond and garden. The meal is disappointing! The food only looks good on photos and in social media but in reality, it was very disappointing. I always eat my food immediately when it arrives (the photo was taken by my partner of her food, not mine) and the unagi and rice were cold if not lukewarm (not hot). Do you remember food that has been sitting there for 15mins waiting to be served? It is how it tasted. The rice and unagi were not hot and fluffy. Instead, it is a little hard because it is cold. I travelled so far with high expectations only to find this cold mediocre food. The service staffs are also very cold, all looked so tired serving tourists. Also, the area which we sat had so many tourists. There was this Singapore family who sat behind us and they were so loud. We had no choice but to hear their life stories. I will never recommend this to anyone. This is a tourist trap! It is only nice because of all the hype on social media. No need to waste your time and money here! You are better off going to the 備长Hitsumabushi Bincho Unagi Resturant at ESCA, the food mall at the Nagoya Station. The food they serve there is hot! Not cold!

It is expensive too in this style and not worth to wait 30-45 minutes. This is more for some young people without high expectation for quality food. Besides, this restaurant is only serving one kind of food that is boring if there are a few friends eating the same stuff.

We showed up at 5:20pm on a Sunday night. The restaurant was already full and the queue was 20 deep. Was it worth waiting an hour for a table? You bet it was. We ordered two deluxe grilled eel meals ('hitsumabushi'). The eel had a more-ish crispy caramelised crust. The flesh was oh-so-moist. But what was even better than the food were the locals. All our immediate neighbours were from Nagoya - not tourists! The lovely older couple who we shared a table with were just amazing. They offered us a portion of their eel omelette (we found out later that it was a specialty of the restaurant). It was stunning. We returned the favour by ordering a bottle of nihon-shu and pouring them drinks. While there was clearly an English/Japanese language barrier, I like to think the language of cuisine is practically universal. After the older couple left, another lovely local couple at the next table struck up a conversation with us. The man worked for a major Japanese corporate so his English was excellent. Another memorable travel experience. Is it even possible to have a bad meal in Nagoya?