Gonpachi

Right around the corner from our hotel, Gonpachi is a wonderful yakitori restaurant that we couldn't get enough of. We have now been here twice in a week! From the tuna & shark cartilage in sour plum sauce to the yakitori sticks and grilled black cod, we savoured every bite amidst a vibrant atmosphere and to the sounds of the lively staff members greeting guests. The handmade soba is delicious too! We enjoyed sitting at the bar chatting with Mindaka, who walked us to the door at the end of the evening. The second time we were here, Yuuka was very attentive and provided friendly service, which we appreciated very much. Highly recommend!

Gonpachi is a great spot for lunch (sit upstairs with a view of the river), but note that it will get VERY busy around lunch with big tour groups, so the sooner you get there the better. They had some great lunch special options for those that wanted to try a little bit of everything. Otherwise they had some great tempura rice platter that were sizable but not too big for lunch. Feel free to also order à la carte and order some grilled skewers which they’re known for. We had two groups of 20 people come in at once so the service was incredibly slow but otherwise it was a lovely meal.

Everything we ordered was top notch. The shrimp tempura was perfection, 10/10, exactly how tempura should be made. The soba noodles were freshly made and so delicious (not normally a soba noodles person). The karage chicken was the best we’ve had our entire trip. We ordered a lot of different dishes and really all of them were just great. Highly recommend.