Kioicho Mitani, a well-known sushi restaurant in Yotsuya famous for being a Tabelog GOLD establishment with hard-to-get reservations, has a branch that opened 10 years ago at Tokyo Garden Terrace Kioicho to nurture its apprentices. I found that there were quite a few available seats here, so since I couldn't go to the main store, I decided to experience at least a taste of Mitani's sushi and made a reservation through Pocket Concierge.This was my second visit to Tokyo Garden Terrace Kioicho, the first being last year at CHIUnE. At CHIUnE, I entered directly from inside the building, but here, like the neighboring Ningyocho Imahan, the entrance is on the outside. By the way, the Kioicho Mitani Bettei, which opened on the same floor five years ago, also has an entrance from the inside, just like CHIUnE.The large L-shaped counter has 13 seats. There’s also a private counter available. With 13 seats, there are chefs at both the front and back, and I sat at the back. There were also several chefs in the kitchen, along with about 4 to 5 staff members attending to customers. Since the restaurant doesn’t start all at once, it was already lively when I arrived. The chef in charge looked quite young—he was 26 years old! It’s impressive that he can serve sushi at such a young age. It seems that Hiroyuki Takano, the general manager who oversees the Bettei, was absent, possibly at the New York branch that opened in June.I heard that Mitani is also famous for its pairings, but since there was no menu, I decided to order some drinks as it was my first time here.○ 6 Dishes- Purple Sea Urchin from Nemuro (Saltwater Sea Urchin) Served with a clam purée from Kashima. The clam had a strong ocean scent, almost a bit fishy. Hmm.- Steamed Hairy Crab from Funka Bay and White Shrimp from Toyama Lightly seasoned with salt, so you can enjoy it mixed. However, the texture of the white shrimp was a bit off. It wasn’t bad, but...- Marinated Bonito from Miyagi Served with homemade nori tsukudani. You can add powdered chili to taste. The soy sauce wasn’t too strong, and the nori tsukudani was delicious. The bonito was just average.- Rare Fried Black Cod Lightly seasoned with soy sauce. You can add salt to taste. Oh, this was half-cooked and delicious! The batter was light and crispy, which was nice.- Black Abalone from Sanriku Served with liver and Rishiri kombu sauce. The abalone had a nice bite to it and was tasty. The kombu sauce was good. Oh, I forgot to take a photo! - Tender Boiled Octopus from Awaji and Sea Urchin Rice with Horse Manure Sea Urchin This combination was new to me. However, the octopus, which was softened by pounding the fibers, didn’t feel out of place. The octopus was lightly seasoned so as not to overpower the umami of the sea urchin, which was nice.- Refreshing Tea Yame tea steeped in water for 8 hours. It had a nice umami flavor amidst the bitterness, which was great.○ 7 Sushi Pieces- Ishikawa's Hon-Ara Full of umami. The cooked sauce was rich and matched well.- Shoboro Squid Chopped and pressed into sushi, it was sticky and delicious!- Marinated Lean Tuna This was just right in terms of marination and temperature. The sushi really brought my evaluation back up.- Seared Otoro Meltingly delicious! The tuna is said to be from Ireland.- Vinegared Donchicchi Horse Mackerel from Shimane Refreshingly fatty and delicious!- Spanish Mackerel Served as a hand roll. The skin was seared while the flesh was cooked with residual heat. It was soft and also tasty.- Simmered Anago Seasoned with salt. You can really taste the umami of the anago, and it was delicious!○ 2 Rolls- Chutoro Roll A thin roll that was simply delicious.- Gourd Roll One piece was a fried roll wrapped in deep-fried tofu. This was unusual! It’s said to be the chef’s original creation.- Tamagoyaki This was also a unique creation of the restaurant, slowly cooked at low temperature for 8 hours. It was moist and had a custard-like texture. Delicious.○ 1 Dessert- Pickled Ume Kishu Nanko Ume. While green plums are common for desserts, red plums are rare. But it was delicious.Honestly, I was a bit surprised at the beginning with the appetizers, thinking "What is this?" But it picked up in the second half, and I was able to enjoy the sushi with peace of mind. Truly a promising young talent!
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