Guests visiting us for the first time usually start by wondering about the name zaruyaki itself. It sounds like an unfamiliar dish, but what arrives is not complicated: various cuts of chicken and vegetables in a bamboo basket, grilled over charcoal and shared around one table. We think the pleasure of zaruyaki is less in one single chicken flavour than in slowly discovering the different texture and charcoal aroma of each cut.
Zaru and yaki, brought to one table
Zaru means a bamboo basket and yaki means grilled. Different cuts such as gizzard, heart, thigh, neck and cartilage are grilled with vegetables and shared. Even within the same chicken, some cuts are tender, some chewy and some crunchy. Rather than going by the menu names alone, think of the texture you usually enjoy and the choice becomes easy.
Put contrasting cuts in your first order
Rather than picking similar cuts from the start, add one of gizzard, heart or cartilage to tender meat such as thigh or neck. Tasting them alternately, a piece at a time, makes it clear why zaruyaki is built from several cuts. Tell us how many you are, how hungry, and what else you are ordering, and we will guide you within what is available.
A warm hot pot follows the charcoal grill
Once you have had enough of the zaruyaki and feel like a broth, look at motsunabe, torinabe and Kanto-style sukiyaki nabe. Moving between grilled food that still carries the charcoal aroma and a warm broth makes the flow of the meal and the drinking much easier. Tell us which direction you want today: rich, light, or sweet and salty.
What we want to offer is not a right answer but your own taste
There is no single right way to enjoy zaruyaki. It is fine to start with familiar meat, and equally fine to start with the specialty cut you have always been curious about. Check the latest menu on our official website and on the menu in the restaurant that day, then tell us what you like. We will help you find the differences between the cuts at your own pace.
Frequently asked questions
Is zaruyaki the same as skewered grilled chicken?
Unlike eating one skewer at a time, our zaruyaki puts several chicken cuts and vegetables in a bamboo basket, grills them over charcoal, and is shared together.
Is it all right if this is my first time with specialty chicken cuts?
Mixing tender meat with one chewy or crunchy cut lets you compare the differences without any pressure. Just tell us what you like.
Can I order zaruyaki and a hot pot together?
You can put them together from what is available to order that day. We will suggest an order that matches your party size and appetite when you order.