特盛ヒロシ
This time, I visited "Nagoya Cochin Ichio," a long-established restaurant founded in 1953 in Nagoya, which opened in Akasaka on August 8. The location is directly accessible from Akasaka Station on the Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line, and it's a 4.5-minute walk from Akasaka Mitsuke Station on the Ginza and Marunouchi Lines. The hours of operation are from 11:00 AM to 11:00 PM daily, including weekends and holidays (last order for food is 10:00 PM, and for drinks, it's 10:30 PM).
I arrived around 1 PM on the opening day. Perhaps because it was the opening day and there was a 10% discount promotion, there was a line, but the turnover was quick, so I got in after about 15 minutes. The seating consists of tables, semi-private booths near the entrance, and counter seats, with around 35 seats in total. I was shown to the second seat from the back of the counter.
After receiving some water, I looked at the menu. Lunch dishes range from 980 yen and include:
- Chicken Nanban Set (980 yen)
- Fried Chicken Set (980 yen)
- Teriyaki Chicken Thigh Bowl Set (1,200 yen)
- Chicken Miso Katsu Set (1,280 yen) - includes small dishes, salad, rice, miso soup, and pickles, with unlimited rice and miso soup refills.
- Premium Nagoya Cochin Oyako Don Set (2,000 yen) - includes premium Oyako don, small dishes, salad, miso soup, and pickles.
- Nagoya Cochin Grilled Chicken Box (2,500 yen) - with grilled chicken, small dishes, salad, miso soup, and pickles.
- Yokocho Orodou Set (2,980 yen) - includes premium Oyako don, a small portion of kishimen noodles, fried Nagoya Cochin chicken, and pickles.
- Shiki-tori Specialty Set (2,800 yen) - includes premium Oyako don, Nagoya Cochin fried chicken wings, sesame salad, and pickles.
- Miso Hot Pot Set (3,800 yen) - includes miso hot pot, a small portion of kishimen noodles, fried Nagoya Cochin wings, small dishes, and rice.
(Note: Prices are tax-inclusive.) For dinner, there is a course menu available for 5,500 yen, including assorted grilled Nagoya Cochin skewers, a seasonal appetizer, six types of skewers, two fried chicken wings (in miso or yuzu ponzu), and a final serving of premium Oyako don (with miso soup and pickles), plus dessert.
Having enjoyed Oyako don at Tokyo Station before, I decided to order the Nagoya specialty Chicken Miso Katsu Set (1,280 yen) exclusive to lunch. After about 10 minutes of waiting, my Nagoya specialty Chicken Miso Katsu Set was served. Its appearance was slightly different from the picture, looking more like a long thin pork cutlet rather than a round fillet cutlet. The miso sauce was served separately, and the meal included vinegared mozuku seaweed, salad, red miso soup, rice, and pickles—a quite luxurious spread with the unlimited refills of red miso soup and rice making it a great deal!
The special miso sauce was delicious, being from a Nagoya establishment, it paired perfectly with the crisp coating and the meat, making the rice go down easily. The flavor of the red miso soup was good too, and I enjoyed the rice so much that I had a second helping! Thank you for the meal. As it was the opening day, there was a bit of a bustling atmosphere, but the vibe was nice, and I think it would be great for dinner too. If I have the opportunity, I will definitely visit again.