Unagi Akasaka Sekine

Unagi Akasaka Sekine (うなぎ 赤坂 勢きね)

⭐⭐

Unagi / 📍 Akasaka

📓 Visits: 1 (2025)

The asparagus was bitter.  The species of the sashimi was not specified (couldn't tell if it was kobujime or just not very fresh).  I'm guessing the uni was Bafun ensui uni.  Anyone can open a box of uni.  The goma sauce covering the kogomi killed everything.  The hanasansho was probably the highest quality I've ever had but it's an ingredient that I actively avoid.  As for the unagi, there were only three (four if you count the skewer of guts) actual unagi dishes.  Unagi is nearly always good but it needs to be better than good at this price -  it needs to be amazing, and it wasn't.  I'm particularly skeptical about "unagi courses": I think you're better off just ordering shirayaki and unajyu and skipping all the fillers.  The only unagi course I'd go back for in Tokyo is at Sangubashi Asaya.  The chef has redefined the boundaries of unagi courses and has excellent and very satisfying food.

None of the dishes were properly introduced and the provenance of the unagi was not specified, though based on the flavour and texture I could tell it was all farmed.  There was a screw up with the reservation so the whole thing got off to a bad start and with the first dish being cooked unagi it didn't drop until after a wait.  The accounting was lazy: simply dividing the total cost of the meal by the number in the group, so you were subsidising the heavy drinkers.  And it was raining.  I left furious.

📌 https://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1307/A130701/13039787/

❓ My Rating: ⭐⭐ 2.5 (food: 3.45: value: 2.9, service: 2.1)

📱 Booking: ⬛ Introduction only.  No English spoken.

📍 Location: 

9-1-7 Akasaka.  The address is Akasaka Residential Hotel but the restaurant has its own entrance.  7-8 mins on foot from nearby stations.
Map data ©2025 Google

📅 Visit May 2025

Shirayaki 
White asparagus
Madai, uni
Hamaguri, kogomi, goma
Liver 
Uzura 
Unagi 
Hanasansho, hamaguri dashi 
Unadon
Tea

💴 Damage: 43,923

⏱️ Time taken: 2h30m