Gion U Unagi Restaurant Review

Best unagi in Japan? Yes sir! 

I usually don't like unagi because it's a dish that's hard to cook, and so easy to screw up. I've had way too many unagis that have skin too thick or unagis that are way too bony, or with sauces that overwhelm the natural quality of the unagi. 

This chef has spent 30 over years perfecting the art of grilling the unagi and truly changed my mind with regards to unagi, he's able to serve the unagi plain without any sauces, and bring out the unagi's natural quality

Gion U specializes in the cedar tub unagi and you can choose the tub for 3/4/5 pax, we got the 3 pax one and it was big but so fresh and well-cooked that we licked the tub clean

Their other speciality would be the unagi grilled in tamago, which was a refreshing dish and the sweetness and saltiness of the tamago complemented the fish 

What really interested me was the innards that they served!! They had yakitori unagi liver, I love innards, and this liver had the crisp char and the typical smooth and soft liver quality but also because of the bile ducts connected to the liver, it had a different chewy texture and I was just like... Woah 

They also gave a clear soup with unagi liver inside and it was really light on the palate and really lent a nice finish to the whole meal 

Burp!! Very happy with this dinner :) it's also Michelin-starred and located in the old town gion, full of tea houses and geishas! 

Gion U 

95%

Higashiyama-ku

Kyoto Prefacture 

075-551-9966