Termine
Located just a 30-second walk from Yoyogi Station, "Tokyosakaki." is a creative Japanese restaurant that opened in February 2024. The restaurant's entrance is quite subtle, with no prominent sign on the street, making it easy to miss. The indicator is a stylish sign in front of the multi-tenant building where the restaurant is located, featuring the name "榊" (Sakaki) in red and black, designed to resemble a torii gate. Upon exiting the elevator, you will find that this restaurant is the only one on that floor.
Inside, the atmosphere is calm and sophisticated, with a dark color scheme that embodies an adult hideaway vibe. This time, I tried the "Recommended Course" for 5000 yen, which includes a salad, sashimi, three types of seasonal specialties, and dessert—totaling nine dishes.
♦︎ First course: Noto Island's rock mozuku seaweed. These thin seaweeds have an incredible crunch! Instead of the usual vinegar dressing, they are served with a light dashi made with sesame and tororo, perfectly complementing the crisp texture.
♦︎ Salad: Fresh Tokyo vegetables and smoked salmon. The vegetables include salad spinach, kale, and watercress, all drizzled with homemade wasabi dressing.
♦︎ Sashimi:
✴︎ Katsuo (bonito) tataki, seasoned with flavorful soy sauce.
✴︎ Sakuradai (cherry sea bream) sashimi, served with homemade grilled sake jelly.
♦︎ Warm fish dish: Grilled sea bass with bamboo shoots—seasonally perfect and delicious!
♦︎ Seasonal specialties (3 types):
✴︎ Whole grilled shrimp, incredibly tender and can be eaten head-to-shell!
✴︎ Asari (clams) in nanban-style marinade.
✴︎ Matsumae-zuke made with wagyu prosciutto.
♦︎ Warm meat dish: "Yakitori," topped with Harajuku onions sauce and served with Moroccan green beans and rice sauce. These onions, grown on the roof of a Harajuku building, paired perfectly with the juicy yakitori.
♦︎ Main dish: "Nikujaga" (meat and potato stew) - unlike any home-style version, this is an elegant take, made with Akagi wagyu ribeye and sweet, fluffy new potatoes, served with a white miso and béchamel sauce. Truly a refined nikujaga!
♦︎ Rice dish: Two kinds of inari sushi—with shirasu (young sardines) and ikura (salmon roe). It’s rare to finish a meal with inari sushi at a Japanese restaurant! Visually beautiful, with the fried tofu having just the right amount of sweetness.
♦︎ Aosa seaweed miso soup.
♦︎ Dessert: Fuki no Tō ice cream, made from the seasonal herb fuki no tō. The moment you taste it, you can really experience the subtle bitterness of the fuki. It’s clear a lot of effort goes into making this ice cream, which is handcrafted for about five hours, resulting in a creamy texture and soft mouthfeel. This limited-time offering is an exceptional treat!
For drinks, I had grape juice as I prefer non-alcoholic options. The restaurant also offers a variety of wines, sake, beer, and shochu that pair well with the food. At 5000 yen, the value of the meal was excellent, especially given the seasonal changes in the menu each month. There are counter seats available, making it a friendly place for solo diners as well. The tranquil ambiance suits various occasions, whether it's a business meeting or a date, making "Tokyosakaki." a versatile dining spot.