Hello all, just been in Japan for 3 weeks for work. Snuck in a visit to Inomata, every piece was amazing. Highly recommend the short trip out there. Easy to book on everyone’s favourite booking website as well.
I was just there and I agree with Wanderlusting. The rice is not the best and it sort of dies out after a few pieces, but I have to say the neta is some of the best out there. Every single piece of sushi I got was good, with plenty of highlights. His Oma maguro was some of the best tuna I've had; all the cuts were still marinated but compared to last time, the zuke was more mellow and I found the balance of the entire meal to be much better. Overall I think Inomata-san offers extremely high level sushi, with emphasis on truly top-quality ingredients (I would easily give the sushi at least 9/10). The location is not ideal but nigiri lovers should still make the pilgrimage.
The customer service was outstanding, as Mrs. Inomata is engaging and helps to initiate good conversation between diners and the chef. The price was less nice, but I feel like you get what you pay for...
@Guest - For better or worse, Inomata seems to attract a lot of tourists. It was quite easy to get a reservation around 2 months ago, but ever since Japan opened up, it's been a different story...
For those who drink sake, you can ask Sushi Inomata for their selection of hot sake which I think may be more interesting than Sushi Kimura's. They will be poured from 1.8L bottles and warmed with the right methods and served in the correct ceramic cups. A few selections may be surprising, including aged nama sake and depending on what they choose to pour, and you can let okami san know your preferences if you have them. Also for those feeling adventurous, you can ask for local Saitama prefecture sake, that way you get a great taste of locally brewed sake, some of which are quite fantastic (personally I love Shinkame / Holy Turtle, and Coedo Kagamiyama / Little Edo Mirror Mountain) depending on availability. Shinkame and Kagamiyama tend to be on the dryer side, and judging from a few tabelog photos, dry sake seems to be the way to go here for sake pairing (he has one called Makiri from Yamagata that is a Super Dry Junmai Daiginjo, that one should nicely cleanse any richness from fish). I have found that some of the regular menu sake that can be a fruity, doesn't pair as nicely with his sushi, but may be more approachable for casual sake drinkers.
I went back for my 3rd visit and its the first time I went in March. Previous times I went in October. So neta was a little different. Wasn't as mind blowingly good this time, previous visit I thought basically every morsel was magnificent. This time, about 80% were superb. Still my favourite place to visit and highly recommend to anyone visiting tokyo. The train ride isnt that bad and its a 10-15min walk from the station.
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>everyone’s favourite booking website
hahaha!
Wow...inomata is now booked out until 31st December. Not so easy to book now.
I was just there and I agree with Wanderlusting. The rice is not the best and it sort of dies out after a few pieces, but I have to say the neta is some of the best out there. Every single piece of sushi I got was good, with plenty of highlights. His Oma maguro was some of the best tuna I've had; all the cuts were still marinated but compared to last time, the zuke was more mellow and I found the balance of the entire meal to be much better. Overall I think Inomata-san offers extremely high level sushi, with emphasis on truly top-quality ingredients (I would easily give the sushi at least 9/10). The location is not ideal but nigiri lovers should still make the pilgrimage.
The customer service was outstanding, as Mrs. Inomata is engaging and helps to initiate good conversation between diners and the chef. The price was less nice, but I feel like you get what you pay for...
@Guest - For better or worse, Inomata seems to attract a lot of tourists. It was quite easy to get a reservation around 2 months ago, but ever since Japan opened up, it's been a different story...
Justin, can I ask what is the cost of your meal there? 38,500jpy?
For those who drink sake, you can ask Sushi Inomata for their selection of hot sake which I think may be more interesting than Sushi Kimura's. They will be poured from 1.8L bottles and warmed with the right methods and served in the correct ceramic cups. A few selections may be surprising, including aged nama sake and depending on what they choose to pour, and you can let okami san know your preferences if you have them. Also for those feeling adventurous, you can ask for local Saitama prefecture sake, that way you get a great taste of locally brewed sake, some of which are quite fantastic (personally I love Shinkame / Holy Turtle, and Coedo Kagamiyama / Little Edo Mirror Mountain) depending on availability. Shinkame and Kagamiyama tend to be on the dryer side, and judging from a few tabelog photos, dry sake seems to be the way to go here for sake pairing (he has one called Makiri from Yamagata that is a Super Dry Junmai Daiginjo, that one should nicely cleanse any richness from fish). I have found that some of the regular menu sake that can be a fruity, doesn't pair as nicely with his sushi, but may be more approachable for casual sake drinkers.
@Guest It was a little over 40,000 including a glass of grape juice, water, and one add-on nigiri.
Justin, thanks! But oh wow the price is just through the roof.
Wow inomata price has just increased again. 41,800 jpy on omakase.
Hardly find any restaurant that dont increase price over the new year….
I went back for my 3rd visit and its the first time I went in March. Previous times I went in October. So neta was a little different. Wasn't as mind blowingly good this time, previous visit I thought basically every morsel was magnificent. This time, about 80% were superb. Still my favourite place to visit and highly recommend to anyone visiting tokyo. The train ride isnt that bad and its a 10-15min walk from the station.