Kurosaki in Shibuya, Tokyo
Great sushi in Shibuya? Yep! At Kurosaki.
This shop opened in February 2015 in a quiet part of Shibuya, roughly a 10 minute walk from the famous crossing. There are a total of nine seats at the beautiful counter and another six seats hidden away in a private room. Chef Kurosaki-san (who is a DJ and rapper in his spare time…. say what?!?!) is a friendly chap and the restaurant’s vibe is relaxed. The sushi is quite modern in style: smaller nigiri pieces, shari (sushi rice) mildly seasoned with akasu (sake lees vinegar), otsumami (small plates) interspaced between nigiri, small amount of shari per piece. Sophisticated sushi, if you will.
Ingredient quality is very high and the sake list is stellar, with many rare (and delicious) nihonshu offerings I’ve never seen before. The very enjoyable omakase of about 7 otsumami and 15 pieces of nigiri, along with loads of great nihonshu came to ¥35,000. Not cheap by any means, but worth every penny. Highlights included the very tasty trio of hon-maguro, a good piece of kohada which showcased the chef’s skills, and a great uni/ikura otsumami combo. Everything was very good and there were no letdowns.
The style of the sushi here is not necessarily my cup of tea (frequent readers will know I prefer more rustic sushi with big pieces of nigiri and strongly vinegared shari), but I’m happy to have tried this restaurant and can highly recommend it to anyone looking for great sushi in this part of town. Those who love a more modern take on Edomae sushi or folks who seek out great nihonshu should place this shop high on their “must visit” list.
I was slightly out of sorts during my visit: extremely tired and jet-lagged (having arrived in Tokyo from the US earlier that day) and a bit tipsy. I was also socializing with friends, and hence, a number of courses were either not photographed, or too blurry to publish. The images below are the ones that made the cut; they should at least provide you with an idea of the restaurant’s food.
A good hotel concierge should be able to secure a reservation with four to six weeks notice. Bookings are also available via Pocket Concierge, just be prepared to pay extra fees when using this third-party service.
