Tokyo Food Page
★Keishoan/
Nishi-Shinjuku:
Yakitori
▼3349-1015
▽Data
Keishoan serves
fantastic charcoal-
grilled, free-range
chicken and choice
sake in a comfort-
able setting. What's
more, the menu in-
cludes novel
kaiseki-style prix-
fixe menus - sur-
prisingly elegant
meals built around
humble skewers of
chicken parts and
vegetables. Elegant,
but not extravagant
- the 7-course menu
starts at just
Y2800, and a la
carte skewers are
just a few hundred
yen per pair.
The prix-fixe menu
is naturally focused
on chicken; for
example the raw fish
course is replaced
by a very tender and
flavorful chicken
sashimi, served with
thinly sliced raw
onions and dipped
just like regular
sashimi in soy sauce
and pungent wasabi.
The fried dish con-
sists of bits of
semi-cooked chicken
breast wrapped in
yuba (tofu skin) and
light batter and
quickly fried
tempura-style. There
are a few more stan-
dard dishes as well
- light morsels of
stewed or dressed
foods, and a simple
but refreshing salad
of lettuce, ripe
tomatoes, and boiled
chicken.
The highlight,
though, is the yaki-
tori items - these
definitely show off
the kitchen at its
best. Tasty, smoke-
infused chicken
thigh meat, pleas-
antly crunchy (rath-
er than chewy) giz-
zard, and very rich
and tender liver,
still a tiny bit
rare at the center.
The tsukune are
simply fantastic -
rich in flavor and
nicely textured with
tiny bits of carti-
lege.
The prix-fixe menu
also includes a
"mini oyakodon", and
the version here is
mostly runny scram-
bled eggs with just
small bits of chick-
en, the whole thing
rather on the sweet
side. The pickles
are first-rate.
Opting for a la
carte, on the other
hand, gives you more
freedom of choice in
your yakitori selec-
tion; you can also
try some of the
shop's homemade tofu
dishes, including
their grilled tofu
dengaku.
The sake list con-
sists of about a
dozen brands from
all over, with popu-
lar names like Juy-
ondai and Suigei,
but a few more ob-
scure choices as
well. If you call
ahead to reserve a
table, you'll get a
Y1000-per-person
otoshi when you
arrive; this actual-
ly isn't such a bad
deal, since it's a
very nice three-part
plate of tiny deli-
cacies to go with
your first drink.
(We certainly
thought it was more
than worth it to get
a spacious, non-
smoking table at
peak time on a
crowded weeknight.)
This is the only
Tokyo branch of a
Nagoya-based shop,
located in the spif-
fy new restaurant
complex atop the
Lumine 1 department
store. (That's the
store at the very
southwest corner of
Shinjuku station,
just above the Toei
Shinjuku subway
exit.)
▼Photo (small)
▼Photo (large)
▼Map for AU phones
▼Map for DoCoMo
◎Nishi-Shinjuku 1-
1-5, Shinjuku Lumine
1, 6F. ◎Open 11am-
3, 5-11pm daily.
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