Ebisudai

What a great meal! We got seats at the counter and started with a steamed bamboo container with cabbage, leeks and chicken, a tasty first bite course. We tried the Murakami beef, seared on a hot ceramic plate set in front of us, and had the charcoal- grilled perch. The Murakami beef was fantastic, ...with the highly- marbled flesh and melt- in- your- mouth texture so prized in Japanese beef. It is not well- known, and a lot less expensive than the other well- known wagyu beef products out there. The ceramic plate was kept warm by a Sterno-ish flame source beneath and was a good, hot temperature to sear the beef. There was a selection of veggies (shitake mushroom, carrot, pepper, onion) to grill as well. The fish was amazing. The skin was almost black, but the flesh inside was juicy and tender – perfect. It came off the bones easily, so eating it with chopsticks was a breeze. They really know how to do charcoal- grilled fish here, you will be hard- pressed to find better. We tried some of the local sake, a specialty of Niigata – it was great, and not expensive. The restaurant deserves its high ranking.

Visited April 2019