[Review] "Ichibiki",for the best eel in Nagoya

Rebecca

When you travel to Nagoya, of course you want to enjoy the local delicacies. Since you are in Nagoya, you can't miss "eel" and "Hitsumabushi".

And don't you want to eat eel at "Ichibiki", a famous "eel" restaurant in Nagoya?

In this article, we would like to introduce lunch at "Ichibiki", a famous and popular eel restaurant in Nagoya. We will also tell you if you can make reservations at the restaurant, if you need to wait in line, and what kind of menu is available.

In conclusion, if you want to have lunch at Ichibiki for sure, line up in front of the restaurant from 9 am and get a numbered ticket .

Rebecca

By the way, I love traveling, both in Japan and abroad, and have stayed in many different cities and hotels!

Among them, tasting "local delicacies" is a must .

In this article, you will learn how crowded the famous eel restaurant "Ichibiki" is and how to make sure you eat eel.

About Ichibiki

History of Ichibiki

Ichibiki is a famous eel restaurant, and it was established in 1934. The proprietress who originally started the restaurant was apprenticed to "Ichibiki Corporation," a long-established food manufacturer that makes miso and soy sauce.

The name of the restaurant is "Ichibiki" in honor of that name, which is written on the back of the menu.

Of course, eel is the main dish, but they also offer tamago donburi (egg and egg bowl) and oyakodon (chicken and egg bowl)!

This restaurant has been in business for about 90 years.

Rebecca

We were riding in a cab when we happened to see a restaurant with smoke billowing out of it, and that's how we found out about Ichibiki!

We knew we had to try it! We decided to check it out and found out that it is a famous and popular eel restaurant ! I found out that it was a famous eel restaurant and a popular one at that.

William(Rebecca boyfriend)

How to eat eel at Ichibiki?

Can I make a reservation?

I have to try it!" So I checked to see if reservations were available. I called the restaurant and was told that reservations are available only at night.

However, as expected of such a popular restaurant, it was not possible to make a reservation on the same day. Not only on the day of reservation, but they are booked up for at least a week.

Can I enter the restaurant without a reservation?

Reservations are not possible! Then...,

William(Rebecca boyfriend)

I have to give up.

You still have a chance at lunch! They are handing out numbered tickets every day! 

Rebecca

If you can get it, you can eat delicious eels.

What time are the numbered tickets distributed at noon?

Numbered tickets are distributed from 9:30 a.m. 

Yeah, 9:30 is not too early in the morning, so you can surely get up . The next day, I got up early and went to "Ichibiki"  after enjoying Nagoya Morning.

It was winter and it was hard to wait outside for a long time, so I decided to go to the front of the restaurant at 9:15am.

Rebecca

By the way, it was a weekday.

There was one person in line in front of us. After a few minutes, people started to line up!

Everyone is coming for numbered tickets, after all. It's a good idea to get there as early as possible. At 9:30, the store's shutters rattle open and they hand out numbered tickets like this.

The tickets are for "No. 2" and "11:30".

The earliest time is the store's opening time, "11:30~". It was first-come-first-served basis, so it was not possible to choose the time.

William(Rebecca boyfriend)

This ticket is an exchange ticket for the eel, so be sure not to lose it!

On weekdays, we lined up 15 minutes before the opening time and got the second ticket, but on holidays and depending on the season, people seem to line up early, so please be careful.

Even if you can't get there at 9:30 a.m., if you rattle open the door of the restaurant even before opening time, they will deal with numbered tickets.

There is a sign like this. When the numbered tickets run out, a paper with the words "No more for today" will be pasted on the top.

What to eat at Ichibiki?

Ichibiki's Menu

Ichibiki's menu includes "Unadon (Eel rice bowl)," "Teishoku (set meal)," and "Unagimabushi ( Bite-sized eel rice bowl).

In particular, the "Unadon" comes in a variety of sizes: small, medium, large, and extra large.

William(Rebecca boyfriend)

The higher you go, the more eel you get. 

We recommend the "Unagimabushi (Bite-sized eel rice bowl) Normal".

After much deliberation, we decided to have the "Unagimabushi"! Since it is not in a rice tub, it is called "Unagimabushi" instead of "Hitsumabushi" .

Rebecca

This allows you to taste it in many different ways, so you can enjoy it more than once.

This is the "Unagimabushi" medium we ordered.

We heard that the portion of "large" was quite large, so we chose "medium".

By the way, someone sitting near us ordered the "Large" and it was heaped up like a cartoon's  rice.

*Image

Even "medium" is quite a lot of food.

First, the eel.

The outside is crispy and the inside is fluffy.

William(Rebecca boyfriend)

When you put it in your mouth, the fluffiness spreads in your mouth.

At first, please try the eel alone! Even if you take one eel, there is another eel on the bottom.

Rebecca

Like "eel on eel on eel".

Then, you can add condiments (pickles, wasabi, green onion, nori) and eat,

Sansho (Japanese pepper) on it,

I also ate it with dashi (Japanese soup stock).

The soup stock was brought to us in a pot.

The "eel liver soup" also comes with the meal!

The "Unagimabushi" medium was priced at 3,900 yen.

It's such a large portion and a great dish. I think it's a pretty good deal!

As I was leaving the restaurant, I found a note in front of the cash register that the prices will be revised from January 5, 2023 due to the recent sharp rise in raw material prices. That makes sense.

Summary ([Review] For the best eel in Nagoya, you must have a numbered ticket for lunch at "Ichibiki"!)

Ichibiki's "Unagi" in Nagoya is worth the effort! It is ! Please enjoy the eel at Ichibiki when you visit Nagoya .