Home / Japan · Tokyo restaurants
A Tokyo yakitori favorite: the Nishiazabu branch.
That day, she asked what I wanted to eat. Japanese chicken skewers suddenly came to mind, so I mentioned them. And this is where she brought me. Once again, both the flavors and the presentation were thoroughly satisfying.
Yakitori looks like a simple dish: chicken threaded onto skewers and grilled over a fire. Yet the character of each skewer changes with the way the texture and fat of each cut are handled. That is why the skill of tending the fire matters just as much as the ingredients.
Toriyoshi (鳥よし), in Tokyo’s Nishiazabu neighborhood, places great importance on these fundamentals. The restaurant uses carefully selected Date chicken and Kishu binchotan charcoal, with a commitment to preparing everything attentively by hand—even the sprinkling of salt.
The best way to enjoy this place is to focus on how the flavors change from skewer to skewer. Take your time comparing each cut’s texture, the richness of its fat, and the way salt or sauce complements the chicken. Part of the pleasure of yakitori is discovering that ingredients from the same bird do not all taste alike.
Toriyoshi’s Nishiazabu branch is worth remembering for an evening when the combination of ingredients and charcoal appeals more than elaborate dish names. Enjoy a drink, then bite into a freshly grilled skewer before it cools. Let an evening of yakitori become one of the memorable scenes of your Tokyo journey.
View Toriyoshi Nishiazabu on Google Maps ↗