With its old-school wooden frontage and bold white noren curtain, the chances of you missing Kurocyodo are slim. No prizes for guessing what the specialty is here: The calligraphy for unagi (freshwater eel) is unmistakable.
Kurocyodo (pronounced Kuro-Cho-Do) is an offshoot of the equally imposing Hyorokutei eel restaurant on the upper fringes of Shibuya. As at the original, you will need to budget both money ¡ª it¡¯s been years now since unagi qualified as a low-cost ¡°food of the common people¡± ¡ª and a good chunk of time.
Until you place your order, the eels are alive in their tank at one end of the open kitchen. If you¡¯re seated at the counter, you can observe as they are pinned and filleted, still writhing, and then slowly grilled over charcoal. This is not for those in a hurry ¡ª or who are squeamish.
All the classics are offered, from simple unagi donburi rice bowls (lunchtime only) to ³Ü²Ô²¹Âᨱ (served on rice in lacquerware boxes), and even cooked in donabe claypots or as shabu-shabu. These dishes are prepared using fish-farmed eels. Occasionally, Kurocyodo also has eel caught from the wild, but be prepared to splash out considerably more cash for that.
Unadon (lunch only) from ?2,300, ³Ü²Ô²¹Âᨱ from ?3,800; unagi shabu-shabu ?8,800 (reservation required). Full-course eel menu from ?12,000; Japanese menu; little English spoken
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