Houraiken Hontenhoraijinya

Absolutely and by far the best eel I have had in my life. The skin was crisp and the meat was succulent. They had 3 different ways of consuming the dish, w different condiments, which brought our different flavours. if tried the deep fried eel bone which went v well w beer. And we had eel liver ...3 different ways, which we also enjoyed throughly. Eat here if you are in Nagoya.

Visited November 2023

10 reasons not to eat Unagi Don in Atsuta Horaiken Honten (the right place) 1. Too far, it took 3,400 yen for taxi from Nagoya Station. As for train, it’s not convenient at all 2. Can’t be book. First come first served. 3. When arrived, you will be given a number and wait for another 25-30 minutes.... If the weather isn’t good then life sucks, since there’s no seat nor place to refuge in waiting 4. When you came inside, you have to arrange your shoes then wait for another ten minutes. If there’s a crowd then expect it to be longer 5. When you get to your table, you order and you wait for another 15 minutes before food came 6. No other option than Unagi (to be noted that Japanese eel is a different kind than Asian swamp eel) 7. There’s so much rice that you will have a full stomach after just one set. Each have equivalent to two rice bowls, yet everyone managed to finish it 8. When you get to eat, you have to finish it fast since it will get cool soon, then it will be stinking and not good at all. Furthermore, there’s always a crowd outside so you have to finish fast for other’s turn. It’s a totally different experience than eating other Japanese food. 9. Very expensive I told you. Nagoya is a mid size city yet one set cost 4-5,000 yen 10. When you show off that you eat here, people will say that you only know to follow the trend. It’s the number one restaurant in Nagoya according to tripadvisor. Then why should we eat there? Only for one reason: it’s Damn Good!

Visited July 2019

There are a few branches for this restaurant and one in Matsuzakaya shopping centre as well. As we wanted to experience the meal in the beautiful garden setting of the main branch, we made a reservation through the hotel concierge. This is required as there was a queue during the dinner service. Tho...ugh the staff could not really explain the way to enjoy the course, we love the food! From the crispy eel bone snack, to the marinated eel and grill eel rice, the meal was truly wonderful.

Visited May 2019

Best unagi rice ever. Offer 3 ways to eat it, and love the original and soup way. Large bowl is more than enough for my wife and I. When arrived before 12pm on sun, the q was line super long with many turns. Luckily the q move rather fast and the restaurant manage the q rather well.

Visited November 2018

Just had heard of its great reputation for its fantastic eel rice combo set before I got to Nagoya, and definitely it left me perfect impression. The restaurant was a traditional Japanese mansion with a Japanese-style garden and pond, where I could easily appreciate such a beautiful and tranquil gar...den view through window while enjoying my palatable meal. Its eel rice combo set was another surprise that I was advised to taste it in three different styles, which were regular, with wasabi, and by pouring green tea over the rice. Each style produced its own unique taste and enriched my vision of this classic Japanese cuisine. Like I knew about Japanese people, the staff here was always really friendly, courteous, and delighted to help, patiently introducing a foreigner like me how to perfectly taste this classic dish and to joyfully experience such Japanese culture. Everything was perfect here except that you might stay in a long queue for almost an hour during peak hours because so many people want to visit here and an advanced reservation is highly recommended.

Visited June 2018