埼玉屋

One of my favorite dining experiences in Japan was here at Yakiton Saitamaya! As the reviews advised, we got here early (3:40pm) to wait in line for the first seating at 4pm. We were so lucky to get the best seat in the house, in front of the charcoal grill! We started with a radish salad and a warm welcome from the chef/owner, whom spoke a little English. For drinks, they offer beer or a sparkling lemon cocktail, which was refreshing and not too sweet or sour!

Then, the fun starts right away. The renowned yakitori chef grilled some melt-in-your-mouth wagyu beef over the charcoals. It was perfectly rare with a little char. It certainly set the standard for the night. We were then taken on a journey where offal was totally transformed! We had 8 more skewers of grilled liver, spleen, heart, stomach, and more. I discovered some new faves, like soft the almost-buttery pig stomach and the tender spleen. Seriously, don't know it until you try it, especially from an expert! The pig's ear salad was another favorite! As the night goes on, everyone will get full on delicious yakitori, fun drinks, and good times. Everyone loosened up and chatted and indulged. Oh, and be sure to ask for some of their beef stew. It's so satisfyingly tender, rich, savory, and a little sweet. Oh man.

No photos are allowed, but the owner asked us at the end if we'd like a photo with him. It was an honor! Truly the cherry on the offal sundae.

One of the greatest dining experiences you can have. The chef is a master at what he does, he keeps the drinks and tasty food coming, and makes sure you get a chance to try a wide array of skewers.

"The most legit Izakaya experience you could ever have" (the hubby). What an amazing local experience at this family owned Izakaya (Japanese skewers + bar)! The owner is the main chef and was so friendly even though we didn't speak Japanese!

The atmosphere alone was 12.5/10 because honestly the friendly owner and regulars made this experience amazing for us and the other tourists! They were joking around with us and we were just getting drunk and sharing food with each other. Such an amazing experience with a welcoming owner and friendly regular customers all for 1/3 of the price you'd normally pay for such quality ingredients.

The owner speaks a little English and definitely does everything in his power to engage all his customers, whether local or tourist! He is proud of the fact that he uses top of the line ingredients from only the best provinces in Japan without charging ridiculous prices. In fact, during this 9 course skewer meal, he makes it a point to show you all the ingredients before he places them on the grill! You will start with a radish salad, lemon sour alcoholic drink, and delicious melt-in-your-mouth Wayu beef skewer dipped in house special secret sauce (there has got to be crack in there, how is it sooo good?). When you are done with the radish salad, he will give you a cucumber and pig ears salad mixed in organic olive oil and black pepper. My hubby nearly jumped with surprise when I told him how much I love the crunchy pig ears!

Things to know:
- Their specialty is yakiton which means most of their skewers are pork rather than chicken. If you can't eat pork unfortunately this is not the place for you.

- The owner has a strict "No photos or videos allowed" policy so that you can fully enjoy the experience with amazing food and really friendly neighboring customers. Seriously, we had such a good time talking to our neighbors, some of whom could speak English quite well and those that couldn't still engaged us and laughed and joked with us. It was an unbelievably fun local experience thanks to the "no cameras" policy!

- You must be willing to try offal. Yes, intestines and spleen may sound icky and I have to admit, I was doubtful at first. I have tried offal in the past and had never been able to enjoy it until I tried it in this Izakaya (just ask my hubby how hard it is to get me to eat offal). But they do such a good job prepping the quality ingredients that I really enjoyed all the skewers in the course, offal included!

- You must be able to drink. An Izakaya is a bar that serves food, so being able to have at least one drink is a must. But trust me, you won't be able to just stop at one.


Pro tips:
- Place the rectangular empty dish (your skewer dish) closest to the chef so that he can place the skewers on there.

- When you finish the first skewer, place the skewer in the middle of the dish which he will use to place the next skewer such that it is not contaminated by the sauce from the previous skewer.

- There are no bins to place your skewers when you are done. Instead, as you continue to eat more skewers, spread the skewers around the first skewer in the middle of the skewer plate.

- When eating the offal, it is recommended to try the first bite plainly off the skewer. Then, dip your second bite into the olive oil from your pig ears side dish. For your third bite, shake some of the house blended seven spices onto your skewer and enjoy! Finally, for the rest of your skewer, they encourage you to enjoy it the way you like it, feel free to mix olive oil & the seven spice mix if you desire!

- If you really enjoyed any particular skewers, wait until the course is finished and then you can order skewers a la carte! When the 9 course skewer meal is finished, the chef will offer a French-inspired beef stew. GET. THIS. All the regulars strongly recommended this dish to us and boy are we glad we did even though we were already getting full! It comes with bread that the chef strongly recommends you dip into the sauce and then top with the beef stew. When you try this, the taste is so magical you will finally understand why he was so insistent.

- they've got a secret menu and secret pairings! Go and discover for yourself deliciousness like chicken skin and blood vessel (don't worry, all the blood has been cleaned out and it just looks like penne on a skewer). Many of the secret menu items are limited supply and we were so lucky to have the last chicken skin skewer left!


The drinks:
They make it a point to avoid ice cubes in your alcohol so you get the strongest drink possible! They pre-freeze all the Shochu (roasted sweet potato liquor) so that it pours like an ice cold slushy on top of their fresh lemon slices for their lemon sour. It was so addicting, everyone in the house got seconds and thirds!

Then, try a hoppy, which is part soda water and part Shochu. They also have beer on tap! Or, if you've had a bit too much to drink, try the non-alcoholic hoppy!

Amazing experience.

Came on a Saturday afternoon at 2:30, turned away because the line was too long. Probably because they close at 6 on Saturdays and only do one seating.

Came again on Monday at 2:30 and there was nobody else in line until 3:15. We were first in line. They were punctual and let us in around 4pm. They seemed to know who came in first despite where we decided to sit as the grill master greeted us first and gave us each round first. He told us about each round in English and showed us to dip some meats in some sides despite the busy crowd. He interacted with every guest. He introduced a CEO of a Japanese company sitting behind us. He introduced us as Americans to the people sitting diagonally across from us. Very lively atmosphere in general, and after a few drinks, most people were laughing, and we even introduced ourselves to the businessman sitting next to us. He was very kind and let us try some of his side dish of intestines. One of the waiters was very funny and poked my spleen as he explained that the next course was spleen.

Sauerkraut was amazing. Meat bowl with a side of bread was amazing. Delicious Baguette, delicious buttery sauce. Order whatever the people around you are ordering and you can't go wrong. Tongue was amazing. Chicken with salsa from Italian tomatoes was amazing. Try their sake with beer mix - they use a rare draft beer called "Hoppy" according to the guy next to us.

Overall total 2 of us ate 9170 yen (~$90 USD). Worth every yen. Amazing meal. Best experience in Japan.

It was kinda like a small show and eating with friends who like to drink and joke around. Except they're strangers.

Everyone drinks here. Everyone. And they're glad you are.

Lemon drops are good, but hoppys (hopp-i) are better! Frozen slushy sake with beer.

I had a great time.

This is by far one of the best restaurant experiences I've ever had in my life and I'll explain to you why.

After watching Simon and martinas video on this place, my boyfriend and i decided to check it out. We love yakitori and had some quite good ones in other places. This place however, blew those out of the water.

We came around 15:20 because it opens right at 16:00. There is a line and you want to be the first batch of people in. You must drink when you come in here as well as there is only delicious lemon sours and beer. No soda. They specialize in yakiton which is mainly pork instead of chicken skewers. Also there are 9 set skewers.

If you are picky, DO NOT COME HERE.
If you can't drink or are underage, DO NOT COME HERE.
If you don't like sitting with awesome strangers, DO NOT COME HERE.

We came the first time and was seated around the bar in front of saitamaya himself. He speaks a little English and was so welcoming and talkative to us. Which helps because we couldn't speak a lick of Japanese. We told him we would be back because the atmosphere is so fun and the food is downright delicious. He didn't believe us but low and behold we came back our last night on Tokyo. He was so surprised and gave us some free dishes his family made before we left as a going away present. The second time around, we sat with two strangers at the side table and we were all getting so drunk and sharing food and drinks with each other. I tear up thinking about his restaurant and the awesome memories of it.

If you're in Tokyo, please, please, please check this place out!

Lovely, just lovely. The yakiton was certainly amazing (and I would have had two rounds of the nine stick course-oh! and a second of the daikon salad), but truly it was the overall experience of the restaurant, fellow diners, and most of all, the family that runs it that makes this izakaya a true gem. I suppose the lemon sours don't hurt either, please be sure to have a couple and take the whole wonderful affair in.

They do have a few rules to follow:

You cannot take photos or video.
You must eat all kinds of cuts/offal (don't worry though, the yakiton is delicious).
You must have at least one beverage (but truly, have two of those lemon sours-like a Japanese margarita).

This was the best restaurant experience I had in Japan! The chef and servers were super friendly and hospitable, they definitely make you feel welcomed and right at home. We got to try yakitori dishes like wagyu beef, pig heart, pig liver, pig spleen, and pig intestines, just to name a few. There's nine yakitori dishes you'll be served and all of them are delicious. And you can keep ordering your favorites!

This place is near the train station and super easy to find. Got here around 3:30pm and there was already a few people waiting. Definitely recommend coming here at least a half hour before they open at 4pm so you're one of the first group of people to get seated. For drinks, the lemon drops are a must but be careful! It's one of those drinks that you don't feel right away but will slowly creep up and slap you drunk silly in the face. This place is pricey but sooo worth it! Me and my boyfriend spent about $80 for a handful of drinks and the meal. Honestly, we would come back again and spend more because it's that good!

FYI: you can't take pictures in here!

We decided to go there because Youtube bloggers, Simon and Martina, recommended it. It didnt disappoint. They don't allow cameras so i dont think there are a lot of reviews or information on this place, thats the beauty of it though.
They want you to put down your cameras, sit next to your neighbor and enjoy the atmosphere. Once you sit down, you are automatically treated to eight delicious yakitoris and sides of salad. You have to order a drink, which lemon sour is the favorite. And like i said, wind down, relax, and laugh. Thats the atmosphere of this place. Everyone was welcoming, from the cook, to the servers, and to the locals that go there. Amazing place!

I found out about this place from a YouTube channel I follow which did a special feature on the restaurant. When my boyfriend and I finally finally decided to go to Japan, there was no question that we had to visit this place. To sum my experience up, it's one word "amazing". There are many chefs in the world who can make good or great food, but there are very few chefs who can touch their customers through their food. I was touched by Chef Saitayama and his family's warm welcome and attentive service. Despite of not being able to speak a word of Japanese, the family provided careful explanations of each skewer and introduced us to several house side dishes including a flavorful pig ear in olive oil and oregano as well as wagyu stew. The simple but delicate flavors of meal shone through. Each skewer stood its own and showcased a different texture, a different flavor. All together, the skewers came together masterfully to demonstrate the diversity of rich flavors a yakiton can afford.

The meal featured an ensemble of 9 meat skewers including different cuts of: wagyu beef, pork, and chicken, all of which were expertly grilled right in front of our eyes. Notably, there were several pork dishes that featured less commonly appreciated slices of pork, including, heart, liver, intestine, spleen, and skin. Like most Americans, I typically don't venture out my comfort zone when it comes to entrails, but under Chef gentle guidance, there was no question that whatever was carefully explained and grilled for you was top notch. And I have no regrets. Everything was fantastic, superb!

Maybe it was the alcohol but I was quite touched by the time I finished our final skewer. In fact, I was even a bit teary. Perhaps it was a combination of the kindness the staff exuberated and the beautifully executed meal, but I truly felt the sincere intentions of Chef Saitayama's family to share truly delicious food to others. It reminded me that the enjoyment of food has no borders and can surpass national and cultural barriers. I did not feel like outsider here in Japan as I did in many other restaurants, and for that alone I'm very greatful. It was truly a superb meal!

Definitely pay a visit here if you are in Tokyo. Chef Saitayama will certainly exceed your expectations. You can watch the Youtube video that started this all here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geZWL_gE-Ak