Hailed by some as one of the most beautiful restaurants in Tokyo, Kamachiku Nezu is a eatery specializing in handmade udon (the thick Japanese noodles) located in a redbrick building that used to be a merchant’s storehouse. The restaurant is originally from Osaka.
The visit
The restaurant is located in a quiet residential street in Nezu, one of the neighborhoods that make up shitamachi, Tokyo’s old downtown. It is an interesting area that is also known as YANESEN (Yanaka, Nezu, Sendagi) and used to be a place for writers and artists during the Meiji era.
I reached the restaurant on a weekday for lunch. It was busy but they were able to accommodate me in the large communal table in the main dining room inside a glass-enclosed extension between the redbrick building and the garden. I was handed a wooden stick with a number to be later presented to get my check.
From the table I could see the entrance to the storehouse proper that now hosts another dining room with Japanese low seating.
Behind me, a large glass window let me peek inside the beautifully curated garden. The rest of the structure should be a residence for senior citizens.
I ordered their specialty: handmade kamaage-udon and two side dishes. The menu was in English and they also had zaru udon (cold noodles). First they handed me the condiments: spring onion, spices in the characteristic wooden container, radish, and age-dama (fried tempura batter, looks like popped rice).
Then the udon came in their hot cooking water and they poured dashi tsuyu (the udon dipping sauce) in another bowl.
I took the hint from the other customers, and I would transfer a portion of noodles from the big bowl into the small bowl with the sauce. Then eat. I am not a fan of udon, but be it the right temperature (on an end of December day) or the chewy texture they were fully satisfying.
The list of side dishes was amazing. I ended up choosing their signature handmade satsuma-age, a Japanese deep-fried fishcake served with soy sauce. It was indeed tasty and with a nice texture.
A second side dish was a bit disappointing. It was their Patagonian toothfish marinated in miso and grilled (ginmutsu saikyo misoyaki). It was quite flaky and not really meaty. But there were so many side dishes to choose from… I noticed that around me goma-dōfu (tofu-like cubes of creamed sesame) were particularly popular.
The check
The final check was 2,530 yen (the udon dish was 850 yen plus tax) or 23.5 USD. I fully enjoyed the dining experience in this restaurant and I would go back just to sample more of their side dishes.
Where in Tokyo:
2-14-18 Nezu, Bunkyo-ku.
In Japanese: 東京都文京区根津2-14-18.
Website: http://kamachiku.com/top_en/.