Yakitori at Toriyoshi’s Nishiazabu branch in Tokyo.
That day, she asked what I felt like eating. Japanese chicken skewers suddenly came to mind, so I mentioned them, and this was where she took me. Once again, both the flavors and the presentation left me happy.
Yakitori seems simple: pieces of chicken threaded onto a skewer and grilled. Yet each cut has a different texture and fat content, and the way these are handled changes the impression of every bite. That is why skill with the fire matters as much as the ingredients.
Toriyoshi in Nishiazabu values those fundamentals. It uses carefully selected Date chicken and Kishu binchotan charcoal, with a commitment to meticulous preparation by hand, right down to the sprinkling of salt.
The way to enjoy this meal is to focus on how each skewer differs. Compare the bite of each cut, the richness of its fat, and the way salt or sauce works with the chicken. The pleasure of yakitori is discovering that ingredients from the same bird do not all taste alike.
Toriyoshi Nishiazabu is worth remembering for an evening when the combination of ingredients and charcoal appeals more than an elaborate dish name. A drink, a freshly grilled skewer, and a bite before it cools: an evening of yakitori in Tokyo can become a little scene to remember from your trip.
