Tokyo - Sukiyabashi Jiro: A dinner by the World's Greatest Sushi Chef

Jacob and I with Master Sushi Chef, Jiro Ono, in front of his restaurant in Ginza, Sukiyabashi Jiro, a 10-seat, sushi-only restaurant located in a Tokyo subway station

 

I think Japan ruined my sushi experience for life....

 

Before going to Japan, sushi was already my favorite food in the world! I have been fortunate to try some of the best sushi restaurants all over the globe (in my opinion, of course!): Masa, Sushi Yasuda, Sushi of Gari and Morimoto in New York; Zuma, Roka, Dinings and Umu in London; Kabuki, Ginza, Miyama and 99 Sushi bar in Madrid; or Shunka, Koi Shunka and Yashima in Barcelona, ... to name a few! Some more fusion, others more purist in their style, but all of them fabulous, or so I thought before going to Japan..... And yes, I will eventually review them here as well but if you ever go to one of these destinations, those are FOR SURE a HIT and MUST!

 

That being said, you can imagine that going to Japan and learning more about their Zen culture and amazing food had been in my wish list for quite some time and I started my research for the best restaurants and sushi masters in Tokyo as soon as we planned the trip (in February!!). To be completely honest, I had heard, of course, about the documentary about Jiro: "Jiro, Dreams of Sushi", which if you have not seen I would highly recommend you to! But I had not seen it either at that point. I immediately bought it and watched the incredible story of Jiro, an 87-year-old sushi master that has devoted all his life to create the most perfect piece of sushi and, after being the first sushi chef in Japan awarded 3 Michelin Stars at the age of 82, receiving a Guinness World Record one year later for being the world's oldest Michelin three star Chef (see picture) and being considered for some a world's treasure, he is still not satisfied and considers he has not yet reached the top (or his top, wherever that is!).

 

After watching the movie, to me he is the definition of perseverance, hard work, devotion, perfection, precision, passion.... a great example of an admirable and successful professional life. However, he admits himself that this "obsession" to master the art of sushi came hand by hand with not being so good as a husband and a father... but... at the end of the day, his job or rather profession was and has always been his priority.

 

I mention this because I think that you HAVE to know all this information (and more that you can find in the documentary about his sons and their relationship as well) in order to appreciate the experience of him preparing a meal for you.

 

Our experience at Jiro: We arrived at 7:00pm (after having a bit of trouble finding the restaurant!! You need to go with someone that speaks Japanese and can assist you or it is pretty difficult to find..) and one of his assistance received us and sat us in the bar. There were only 3 other people, all foreigners, in the restaurant that night, despite the fact that they did not accept any other reservations for that day (maybe that is how many people he wants to serve at the same time now?). Later on, an older, very skinny, beautiful Japanese lady came in and sat in the seat closest to the kitchen, it seemed she knew everyone in the restaurant very well.

 

Menu singed by Jiro at the end of dinner

We were presented our menu for the night, asked (in broken English) if we had any dietary restrictions (well.... Jacob missed that part and he was not very pleased with some of the items featured that night like Mantis Crab!!),
offered a drink (green tea, water, beer or house sake) and complimentary edamame. I am not a big beer fan but... I must say that one thing I have discovered in this trip is that beer and sake may actually pair better with sushi than wine (I will deny if I am asked again that I have said this! :) I love wine with everything!).

Meanwhile, Jiro was starting to prepare our first piece of sushi of the 19 that we were going to have. The sushi was created in a sort of production chain: each piece of fish was "picked up" from the kitchen by his apprentice who then did some work on it, then was passed to Jiro's oldest son, Yoshikazu, who also treated each piece somehow and finally was given to Jiro for him to create the most perfect combination of warm, firm rice, with just the right amount of vinegar, and fish.

At 7:02 we the first piece in front of us and Jiro was observing us to see our reaction after we ate it. Needless to say, the quality of the fish and the rice! were unbelievable. You could tell that each piece of fish has been treated for several hours before you put it in your mouth. The flavor of each fish was the most intense I have ever tasted. The amount of previous work brought the flavor and texture to a next level. The problem: if you do not like intense ocean flavors or are a little apprehensive to textures... You are up for disappointment and you may have a hard time swallowing some of the pieces (I can tell you because I only had to look at Jacob's face after putting some of them in his mouth!!).

Another thing we personally not particularly liked was the timing. Being Spanish (or if you know me) you can assume already I enjoying long meals, lots of talking in between, and I like to take my time to taste each piece and share opinions with my dinner companions (to their frustration!). That cannot happen in Jiro's restaurant. You are expected (and in some way "pushed" because he is observing you at all times!) to eat each piece immediately after he makes it (it is when the piece is at its best). Therefore, by 7:28 we were done with the 19 pieces!! You really feel in the middle you need a brake... In addition, the environment in the restaurant is a little tense.. no one really talks (I think people are a little intimidated by him).

Well, unless you are like me and wanted to make sure you told him how much you have been looking forward to the experience, how much you loved it and thank you and you make the concierge of the hotel write it down for you in Japanese and you read it to him!! I am not sure if he understood... the apprentice tried to said it correctly after me BUT, at least I made him SMILE!! and he replied back (which, of course, I could not understand)! I believe he appreciated me try!
 
The experience was absolutely unbelievable! Was it my BEST Japanese meal or the dinner I have ever enjoyed the most? Well... unfortunately, I have to answer No to this question... Was the fact of being there with such an admirable person, that he was cooking for us and the whole evening in general a once in a life time experience that I will remember forever? ABSOLUTELY! Without a doubt!!! So.... If, for what you have read above, you are like me, I would definitely recommend you going; but again, it has to be much more than the sushi the motivation behind going for you, because also at the end the bill comes and... it probably will be the most expensive dinner in your life. Well... since I want you to be aware, let's say that if you drink some beer or sake, you are looking at a bill around... $800 for two? So... I will let that decision to you :)

Let me know your opinion if you do go! If you are team Marta: worth it for once at least (I actually want to go back in the winter because the assortment of fishes in season it's supposed to be much better!!), or Jacob: not sure if it was worth it... maybe for the experience...? but for the sushi, definitely not.
 
I hope this is helpful!!! (sorry I could not take pictures... I was not sure if it was appropriate or if it would have bothered Jiro...!).

Until the next post! MSP