Unatetsu - Grilled eel

The eel at Unatetsu is fresh. How fresh? As soon as we ordered the staff pulled an eel out of a tank, spiked it with a nail and broke it down in front of us.

After this, they skewered the filets and began marinating them in tare. In keeping with the “grilled meat on sticks” trend, we ordered a 9-piece set of eel skewers.

Unatetsu, Shinjuku - Kimoyaki

Eel liver and guts - 肝焼き (Kimoyaki)

Pieces of liver and other connective parts from ~ 5 eels with a ton of tare. Bittersweet.

Unatetsu, Shinjuku - Kabuto

Eel head - かぶと (Kabuto)

Simmered for hours until completely soft.

Unatetsu, Shinjuku - Reba

Eel liver - レバー (Reba)

Unatetsu, Shinjuku - Kurikara

Eel backside - くりから (Kurikara)

Unatetsu, Shinjuku - Kushimaki

Eel belly - 串巻き (Kushimaki)

Unatetsu, Shinjuku - Shiro-bara

White meat - 白ばら (Shiro-bara)

Most of the “white” meat skewers tasted pretty similar.

Unatetsu, Shinjuku - Bara

Eel ribs - ばら (Bara)

10-15 eel’s worth of ribs. Lots of nooks and crannies for tare to caramelize.

Unatetsu, Shinjuku - Hire

Dorsal fins and tail fins - ひれ (Hire)

Fins and chives are wrapped around the skewer to make the outside crispy and inside juicy. One of our favorites.

Unatetsu, Shinjuku - Tan-jaku

Mini kabayaki - 短尺 (Tan-jaku)

Tan-jaku is a bite-sized version of the main course. After we’d eaten every other part of the eel, they gave us a lacquered jūbako filled with rice and topped with unagi kabayaki. While we were eating the skewers they were continually dipping, grilling, resting, and re-dipping the eel before sliding it into the box.

Unatetsu, Shinjuku - Tokujou

Grilled eel over rice

  • Eel liver and guts - 肝焼き (Kimoyaki)
  • Eel head - かぶと (Kabuto)
  • Eel liver - レバー (Reba)
  • Eel backside - くりから (Kurikara)
  • Eel belly - 串巻き (Kushimaki)
  • Eel ribs - ばら (Bara)
  • White meat - 白ばら (Shiro-bara)
  • Dorsal fins and tail fins - ひれ (Hire)
  • Mini kabayaki - 短尺 (Tan-jaku)