This is a story about Imaya, a restaurant where I had a great time while waiting for the excitement to die down after the biggest typhoon of the year, Trami, was rumored to hit Kanto on Sunday. It's located just a 2-minute walk from JR Ebisu Station West Exit. If you take the Hibiya Line from Ebisu Station, it's less than a minute from Exit 2. It's easy to find near Peacock. I was seated at the counter in front of the grill. We started with a toast with a draft beer. The standout dishes were the marinated Chinese cabbage and the roasted duck. Even the small appetizers showed the meticulous work put into them. We started with the premium white liver, which was incredibly smooth and flavorful. The seasoning was perfect as well. The charcoal-grilled select beef skewers used A4-ranked domestic black wagyu. That day, it was the triangular belly of Hokkaido beef. The aroma of the charcoal and the rich flavor of the meat as you chew were amazing. It wasn't overly seasoned, just enjoyed with rock salt and lemon. The Provolone cheese skewer is a must-try! This time, I paired it with a sweet potato shochu from Kagoshima. I had it with water. It had a refreshing taste that didn't overpower the food. As soon as it was served, the delicate bonito shavings tickled my nostrils. The Hime-take skewer had a fluffy texture and a fragrant aroma. With these, you can enjoy drinking! That's the privilege of adults. I couldn't forget the white liver, so I added the special salted liver, served as sashimi. The carefully cooked liver was moist. The extra-fine needle ginger was truly a work of art. When enjoyed with the fragrant hand-pressed sesame oil from Kyoto, "Henko sesame oil," an indescribable flavor overwhelms you. They also pay attention to the condiments, like using the Nanami from Zenkoji in Nagano. The hormone skewers with their homemade sauce were also excellent. And the most impressive dish of the day was the "Juicy Hinaidori Chicken Minced Cutlet." The finely chopped onions enhanced the sweetness of the meat juice overflowing with the fragrance of ginger, everything was perfect! It pairs well with the fruity Mitsuha sauce. I would want to come here all the time just for this dish! To finish, I had black bean roasted tea, which was very comforting. Thanks to the typhoon, I unexpectedly had a leisurely time, but this restaurant is usually very lively, so I recommend making a reservation before going.

I visited the restaurant around 7:00 pm on a weekday. I was glad I made a reservation because the restaurant was already full when I arrived. The restaurant had table seats on the first floor, but I was seated on the third floor after climbing steep stairs. The third floor had private tatami rooms, and we had to take off our shoes at the entrance. They had a variety of drinks on the all-you-can-drink menu, including the high-quality sake "Takashimizu." I enjoyed beer, highball, sake, and wine. The Takashimizu sake and white wine had a rich flavor and were delicious. The dishes were served with a good interval between them. We started with small appetizers like tofu and shredded chicken, which were a nice way to start the meal. After the salad, they kept bringing out yakitori. The Negima yakitori had a nice balance of sweetness from the meat and green onions, and the tsukune had a good balance of sauce, egg yolk, and meat. The yuba tofu had a nice texture and a strong soybean flavor. The simmered bamboo shoots, grilled beef, and scallop fry were all delicious and came out just when we were getting satisfied with the yakitori. We also ordered additional yakitori because the course yakitori was so delicious. The chicken breast was cooked well and had a refreshing taste with yuzu pepper and wasabi. The chicken wings had just the right amount of fat and no unpleasant smell, making them enjoyable until the last bite. The chicken bone soup rice served at the end of the course was flavorful and easy to eat. The dessert was a chocolate wrapped in a cowhide, which was also of high quality. The course was a bit pricey, but the variety of dishes left us feeling full and satisfied. The food was delicious, and considering the private room and the quality of food and drinks, I thought it was worth it. I highly recommend it!

Ebisu Station is a 2-minute walk away. Exit from the west exit, turn right next to Mizuho Bank. The lineup of sake includes Tanaka, Jikon, 14th generation, Saku, Nabeshima, Senkin, and Shinsei. The Hinai chicken at Imaiya Sohonke is delicious. It was my first time visiting. The restaurant was almost full, with 4 staff members. The atmosphere is like a casual izakaya, but it doesn't smell like grilled chicken. This time, I visited for a course meal. It was just the right amount of food for after 8 pm. It might be a little lacking for men. The male staff in the hall were very friendly and attentive, and they let us know when a table was available. There were many types of sake to enjoy! The Hinai chicken was very juicy, tender, and delicious no matter which part you ate. The tsukune had shiso mixed in, and it was delicious with the runny egg! I also tried kiritampo for the first time, and the combination of miso and kiritampo was amazing! I want to go eat there again, along with some sake! Today's course was <food only> yakitori course "Hana" - enjoy Hinai Jidori - 6,000 yen 13 items [Appetizer] 2 types of appetizers [Cold dish] Seasonal salad [Cold plate] Oyama chicken thigh raw ham [Grilled dish] 4 recommended skewers of Hinai Jidori [Chopstick break] Okra with tofu and delicious soy milk broth [Specialty] Salt-boiled edamame from Akita Prefecture [Grilled dish] Grilled Hinai Jidori breast meat [Fried dish] Fried Hinai Jidori breast meat [Finishing dish] Egg porridge [Dessert] Today's dessert

I visited a restaurant for dinner and ordered a la carte. There were rare cuts of meat that I had never heard of before, which was interesting. The order of the skewers was unbalanced, with my friend receiving 5 skewers and me receiving none, so I was left waiting (the restaurant staff didn't realize this, so it couldn't be helped). Also, the salad was heavily seasoned and too spicy... it was a bit much. (laughs)

This is a yakitori restaurant with a wide variety of sake. The yakitori and rice dishes are incredibly delicious. What's more, the cost performance is great. You can enjoy sake, delicious food, and great cost performance, so there's no reason not to go. There are also branches in Roppongi and Shinagawa, so I would like to try them as well.

It's close to Ebisu Station. The restaurant itself is not that clean, but the yakitori is delicious and it's a favorite place of mine. The staff are also friendly. This time, we had the Gaya course with all-you-can-drink for 10,000 yen, but the Hana course might be enough. There isn't much of a difference.

I visited the restaurant on a regular night and sat at the counter seat. The small size of the restaurant and attentive staff made it easy to place orders smoothly. I ordered items like white liver, negima, rolled omelette, and tsukune, all of which seemed perfect for everyday dining.

Recently, I often visit a yakitori restaurant that specializes in Hinai-jidori chicken. It is a chain restaurant, but the food and service are outstanding. My recommendations are: 3rd place - chicken wings, 2nd place - tail meat, 1st place - breast and skin "abdomen". The "abdomen" dish goes down smoothly with about 3 pieces. The crispy and juicy skin wraps around the refreshing taste of the breast meat. Delicious. I will visit again.

I went to Imaiya, a stable and delicious yakitori restaurant, to eat some tasty yakitori after a long time. It was around 8:00 pm on a weekday, and I was able to get in without a reservation. Looking at the menu, I was a bit surprised by the prices, but I decided to go for it and ordered chicken thigh, chicken skewers, chicken liver, chicken heart, and cabbage. I enjoyed the delicious Hichinai-jidori yakitori. Although I personally haven't tried it, I heard that their kiritanpo hot pot is also famous.

I went to Imaiya, a delicious Hinaijidori chicken restaurant near Ebisu Station West Exit again. It was a counter seat, but the counter was a bit narrow. You have to eat quickly to receive the next dish. I chose only my favorite dishes a la carte. I had Black Dragon yakitori as a chopstick rest with cabbage, which was surprisingly large. The selected skewers were liver, breast skin, chicken wings, neck, meatball, and shiitake mushroom. I felt happy with these choices. I had some more drinks with grilled spicy cod roe, and finished with chicken bone soup rice. I feel like I've mastered the art of eating!

Ordered the skewers and water hot pot! The kinkan, tsunagi, and premium white liver were unique and the taste matched my expectations perfectly. The water hot pot was traditional and perfect for warming up on a cold day. Surprisingly, I really enjoyed the fried ginkgo nuts and ended up getting seconds. They pair well with beer! ^_^

On weekend nights, I went to "Ebisu Imaiya Main Store". I visited their Shinjuku Higashiguchi store in early summer, and it was quite good, so I decided to try their main store. This is a chain of stores specializing in Hichinai Jidori chicken, with several locations in Tokyo. The quality of the chicken here is very good for a chain restaurant. In my opinion, Hichinai Jidori and Nagoya Cochin are the best chicken breeds for yakitori, so if the reservation is easy to get, the price is reasonable, and the food is delicious, it's definitely worth revisiting. The location is about a 2-minute walk from the station. It's right near the Kushi restaurant I visited recently. There are many skewered food restaurants in this area, is there a specific reason for that? I sat at the counter and ordered a variety of dishes a la carte. We ordered one skewer per person. This time, we had: white liver, negima (chicken and leek skewer), breast and skin wrapped in meat, moro liver sashimi, assorted lettuce salad, liver, gizzard, heart, and neck skewers, quail, asparagus, and more. We also had an extra serving of white liver and bonjiri (tail meat) skewers. We also had a cloudy chicken bone soup with rice. We started with an appetizer. It looked impressive, like a serious Japanese restaurant, but the taste was just delicious without being extraordinary. The tonburi on top of the sesame tofu is known as the "caviar of the field" in Akita, and it's highly nutritious and one of my favorite vegetables, so I was very happy to see it. The premium white liver was sold out, so we settled for the regular white liver. In one word, it was average. When it comes to liver, "Gaigai" in Nishi-Azabu is the best, in my opinion. The lettuce salad exceeded my expectations for a yakitori restaurant. I ordered it for the vegetable intake, so it was okay. But, it was a bit pricey at 1200 yen. The negima, breast and skin wrapped in meat, these classic cuts of Hichinai Jidori chicken shine. The skin was thick and the meat had a firm texture, with a touch of rich but not overwhelming fat. The liver sashimi was average. The heart skewer was like a burning heart. It had a surprising tenderness with a unique texture. The gizzard was incredibly tender with no off-putting flavors. The kinkan (kumquat) was a total disappointment. The texture of the yolk was terrible, and we were both disappointed. I think I even felt like starting a hate speech campaign at Ebisu Station. Wasn't the kinkan also bad at the Shinjuku store? Am I remembering wrong? Unfortunately, we forgot to take a photo of the best skewers of the night, the tail meat and liver skewers. The tsukune (chicken meatball) was delicious, especially the yolk. The quail was excellent, and the mayonnaise was delicious. I'm pretty sure it was 100% additive-free mayonnaise. It had a low acidity and was very tasty. I even wanted to buy some. The bonjiri skewer was larger than at other yakitori restaurants, and it had a satisfying amount of meat. We ordered an extra serving of white liver, and the second one was plump and delicious. The cloudy chicken bone soup with rice was one serving per person. It was a two-step finish with the addition of leeks. The chicken white broth was rich and gentle, and we enjoyed it as it was. But when we added the spicy leeks, the vibrant flavor provided a vivid kick and was also delicious. Both Hichinai Jidori and Nagoya Cochin chicken breeds seem to be a disastrous mismatch for oyakodon, but I feel their flavors shine in dishes that require extracting broth, such as kiritanpo-nabe or Mizutaki. After eating all of this, the bill came to just over 16,000 yen. Even though we were so full! I couldn't stop feeling disappointed about the kinkan, but overall, it's a very good restaurant. Thank you for the meal.

Today's visit was to Ebisu Imaiya Sohonten. Ebisu Imaiya Sohonten is a yakitori restaurant located in Shibuya, Tokyo. It is about a 3-minute walk from Ebisu Station and offers a variety of yakitori dishes in a casual izakaya setting. I remembered visiting a few years ago, and this was my second visit today. I sat at the counter and looked at the menu, which I found to be a bit pricey but with a good selection of rare cuts and a menu resembling that of an izakaya. This time, I ordered the following: Ginkgo nut hand-mixed tsukune, which had a nice texture and mixed well with the egg; Sasami, which was dry and not very tasty; Seseri, tebasaki, and soriresu, each with juicy fatty parts that were delicious; and Heso, which had a slight hint of odor. That concluded my order. Overall, I felt that the restaurant's quality varied depending on the cut of meat. Thank you for the meal.

This time, I was impressed by the selection of this place from the many options in Ebisu, chosen by my former colleague. There was no beef on the menu, so I added the monthly course which included hand-kneaded tsukune and thick mushrooms! I asked everyone if they wanted to drink sparkling wine, but one person doesn't drink, and two are whiskey lovers, so I ended up drinking a half bottle of Segura Viudas Brut Reserva by myself, haha!

High-quality yakitori in a calm setting! It's easy to make reservations and very user-friendly! This place is part of "Diamond Dining," which also operates over 300 izakayas like Netchuya. I didn't know this was also a Diamond Dining restaurant! Imaya has 11 locations in Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya, including Ebisu. They use the ultimate local chicken called Hinaidori from Akita prefecture, prepared by skilled chefs to create the ultimate yakitori. The yakitori ranges from 500 yen per skewer, so it's not cheap, but each skewer is satisfyingly large. We ordered the Chef's selection of 5 skewers for 2,730 yen, and the tsukune and momo were especially delicious! The momo had crispy skin and juicy meat, while the tsukune was soft and fluffy. They also offer courses starting from the 5,000 yen range, so I'd like to try that next time!

Gourmet friends chose this restaurant for us, specializing in Akita prefecture's Hinai-jidori chicken, Ebisu Imaiya main store, just a 1-minute walk from Ebisu station. We were seated on the second floor this time, in a very quaint space where we could relax in a sunken kotatsu-style private room after taking off our shoes. We started with a toast with sparkling wine. In August, we enjoyed the Hinai-jidori chicken course with 13 dishes, including appetizers, salads, grilled chicken skewers, roasted chicken, fried chicken wings, and more. The dishes were served promptly and at the perfect temperature, making the dining experience quite enjoyable. The only downside was that the walls in the private room were a bit thin, so we could hear the conversations from the neighboring tables. Overall, it was a pretty good restaurant experience.

After having afternoon tea, I felt like eating something salty, so I visited this place. It was Friday night and I didn't have a reservation, but I was able to get in at the last minute. I thought the portion of Chanja was small, but the cabbage was a lot! The squid was quite salty, more like a side dish for alcohol. The grilled chicken, including white liver, bonjiri, and tsukune, was very delicious. The meat itself was tasty. On the other hand, the salty items were too salty. I like strong flavors, but this was a bit too much. Maybe it varies depending on the day... My friend had dishes like chicken wings and harami, which were also too salty. The service and atmosphere were nothing special, so I probably won't revisit this location. I had a really good impression of the Kagurazaka branch about 5 years ago, so it's disappointing this time.

I used this day for a business dinner with a client. The private room was perfect, and the yakitori was even more elegant than I had imagined. It felt like the perfect setting for a business dinner. Personally, I prefer yakitori with sauce rather than salt, but upscale yakitori restaurants like this one usually serve it with salt. Every dish was delicious, but I couldn't help but think throughout the dinner that I wanted to enjoy yakitori with sauce and beer. The overall quality of the restaurant was high, so I definitely want to use it again for another business dinner.

Ebisu Imaiya Sohonten: A yakitori restaurant located a 2-minute walk from Ebisu Station. It's so close to my home that I can't stop talking about it. One of the best things about this place is how easy it is to get a table, even if you make a same-day reservation! The restaurant has a counter on the first floor and private rooms on the second floor, making it suitable for dates, business meetings, or hanging out with friends. The food is consistently delicious, with the chicken liver skewers being a personal favorite. I frequent this place often, and I believe it ranks among the top yakitori restaurants in Ebisu. The service is average.

Located a 3-minute walk from Ebisu Station, down a narrow street from the corner of Mizuho Bank, this place has table seating and a raised seating area, making it suitable for larger groups. This time, we sat at the counter. There are several courses available, but we opted for the smallest one and planned to add more if needed. The meal started with negima skewers, which were slightly larger and quite satisfying. I particularly enjoyed the chicken breast and skin skewers. After some tsukune, I felt like having more skewers, so I added heart and gizzard. However, we ended up with two additional dishes, and I realized I may have overestimated how much we could eat. Despite that, we managed to finish with the zosui. We started with beer and switched to highballs later. Next time, we'll go for a la carte.

It's been a while since I visited Imaiya. Is this restaurant a chain or franchise store? I feel like the quality varies depending on the location. This particular visit was not bad, but it wasn't great either. I probably won't go back again. We added white liver, asparagus, shiitake mushrooms, and shishito peppers to our course. The appetizers were okay, nothing special. I ate everything, but my friend only took a bite and left the rest. The grilled dishes were overcooked. I like Imaiya's hugging chicken, but this time it was cooked too much inside, resulting in a dry texture typical of chicken breast. The shishito peppers were burnt on one side. But if you sprinkle bonito flakes on top, it's not as noticeable (laughs). Also, the service was too rushed. Even though we were in a private room, the staff kept opening and closing the sliding doors multiple times, which was unsettling. And the skewers on the table kept piling up and getting cold. Hmm, thinking about it now, the overall rating might be a bit lower...

I visited around 7:00 PM on a regular day. The place is located a 5-minute walk from Ebisu Station. The exterior and interior have a luxurious feel like a traditional Japanese restaurant. The first floor has counter seats and table seats, while the second floor has private tatami rooms with sunken kotatsu tables. I tried the "Tsuki" course for 5000 yen. It included two appetizers, seasonal lettuce salad, negima skewers, breast and skin skewers, seseri skewers, tebasaki skewers, tekkone skewers, zaru tofu, breast meat roast, thigh meat tempura, chicken dashi egg rice porridge. The chicken meat used is all Hinai-jidori, with thick and flavorful meat. Each skewer has about three pieces, giving it a satisfying bite. The seseri skewers were especially delicious, tender with just the right amount of salt. They have a wide variety of drinks, perfect for those who enjoy alcohol. I found myself craving white rice. The finishing chicken dashi egg rice porridge was exquisite, with a strong dashi flavor and a soft texture. Despite being full, I devoured it quickly because it was so delicious. If you're looking for a slightly luxurious yakitori experience, this place comes highly recommended.