Tucked away down a flight of stairs on a small side street off the bustling Aoyama Dori in Tokyo's Omotesando shopping district is Kidoguchi. A small, friendly sushi restaurant offering counter service at two separate counters. This review is of a lunchtime visit, where from Monday to Friday one can enjoy a bargain basement lunch course at either 2,000 yen or 3,000 yen per person, excluding drinks. For comparison, dinner here with a few beers and a drop of sake will cost 20,000 yen and up per person, so lunch is doubtless a bargain, with no compromise on quality of ingredients.
As usual we sit at the rear counter, which is the smaller of the two, and greet our Chef Masano-san, a delightful chap whose grasp of the English language is mostly, for obvious reasons, based around the names of fish. Luckily my lunch companion is a Japanese speaker. We order the 3,000 yen omakase course (Chef's recommendation) and as we don't want to get too full we request Shari sukuname de (smaller pieces of rice under the fish).
Non Japanese speakers shouldn't be put off, as there is one staff member who speaks excellent English, who should be able to help with the reservation at least. And if you want to brush up your sushi terminology, you can memorize or print out this useful glossary.
We dive straight into the sushi, and we are served one piece each of:
Chutoro Medium fatty tuna fillet
Akami A deep red non-fatty tuna fillet
Karei Brown sole, a flatfish.
Shima Aji Stripe Jack
Ika Squid
Anago Sea eel
Kazunoko Herring roe
Kohada Gizzard shad. An oily fish marinaded in vinegar
Shinko The infant form of the kohada. Delicate, soft, rare and highly seasonal (mid Jun- mid Aug) This is an extra course at an extra charge to the fixed price. Allegedly this fish is only offered to those who know what to ask for! Luckily my companion is in the know.
Palate cleanser of yuzu (Japanese citrus) pickled daikon (radish).
Ikura and Uni Salmon roe and sea urchin; the latter is fast approaching its best quality in the summer months of the northern hemisphere.
Tamago Egg
Tekkamaki Soy marinaded red tuna rolls (3 bite-size pieces each)
Misoshiru White miso soup with clams
Kuri negitoro maki Cucumber, table onion and tuna rolls (3 bite-size pieces each)
Shima Aji Aburi More Stripe Jack, but this time very lightly sealed on the outside with a blowtorch before serving.
All washed down with lashings of green tea, this strikes me as money very well spent. The final bill for two including One-and-a-half flasks of sake and the extra course of Shinko came to 10,400 yen.
A perfect treat for the ladies who lunch, and the THE go-to lunch venue on my weekdays off.
Kidoguchi
Aoyama 5-6-3
Minato-ku
Tokyo
03-5467 3992
