The Greatest Sushi Restaurant In Shibuya~Kurosaki ~
Kurosaki
Phone number | 03-6427-7189 |
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Open hours | [Monday-Saturday] Group 1: 18:00-20:40 Group 2: 21:00-23:40 [Sunday, Holidays] Group 1: 17:00-19:40 Group 2: 20:00-22:40 |
Holidays | Wednesdays |
Credit card | VISA MASTER JCB AMEX Diner's |
Nearby attractions | Shibuya Scramble Crossing (520m) |
This popular Shibuya restaurant, always packed with young customers and foreign tourists, opened in 2015.
It's been referred to by many as "the best and most popular sushi restaurant in sushi-barren Shibuya," but in more recent times it's been steadily gaining a reputation as one of Tokyo's best sushi restaurants.
Inside the black-toned store, 37-year-old Kazuki Kurosaki, the restaurant's owner, stands behind the counter, which stands out like a stage.
His slender, tall, and handsome features make him the rather impressive #1 most handsome man in Japan's sushi world (according to TokyoTableTrip).
Kurosaki was a rapper in the past, and as such he is particularly fastidious about fashion, so seeing him in his clean outfit and tailored jacket as he picks out fish is sure to stand out at Tsukiji Market in the morning, where most people are wearing rubber boots.
Although Kurosaki garners the same attention as other similarly aged sushi chefs like Yuichi Arai of "Sushi Arai" and Masamichi Amamoto of "Higashiazabu Amamoto," but his career distinguishes him from other young chefs.
After he turned 18, Kurosaki spent the next 10 years studying at Asakusa's long-standing restaurant "Kintaro."
It is a popular sushi restaurant for the masses with its glass case at the counter, and they offer deliveries as well.
From age 28 onward, Kurosaki worked as the head of popular sushi restaurant in Setagaya, "Sushi-ya Uoshin Shimokitazawa Store."
At age 35, to support himself, he led around an architect who specialized in housing, and was able to make this restaurant down to every detail he desired.
The omakase course at "Kurosaki" (around 20,000 yen) is served in a somewhat odd style, with side dishes in the first half and nigiri sushi in the second half, and with nigiri scattered throughout the latter part of the side dishes and some side dishes during the nigiri course.
The composition of sides is carefully balanced between sashimi, steamed dishes, grilled items, and drinks, showing off the full extent of Chef Kurosaki's honed senses that he's cultivated over visits to many famous restaurants.
The sushi rice used is made of a mix of 2 types of rice, which are then seasoned with 2 types of red vinegar and 1 type of white vinegar.
Chef Kurosaki uses a soft touch to craft the exquisite nigiri, which are made with al dente rice with texture for each grain, allowing you to taste both the rice and the fish together as the rice falls apart in your mouth.
The restaurant's pride-and-joy tuna is sourced from the wholesaler "Yamayuki" in Tsukiji Market, the same as "Arai" and "Sawada."
Kurosaki does not use the highest-quality cut, the belly meat (fatty tuna), but the bluefin tuna nigiri made with his amazing rice is already enough to take your breath away.
My #1 recommendation from my visit on a night in January is the natural kuruma shrimp (Japanese tiger shrimp).
It's exquisitely prepared, boiled to half-cooked, and it is an incredible dish where you can enjoy both the sweetness of the cooked shrimp as well as the raw texture.
Chef Kurosaki does not have any experience working in famous restaurants like the other young chefs his age, but as far as Kurosaki can see right now, he believes that he is moving in a good direction thanks to not being influenced by any other sushi restaurants.
Kurosaki's "weed spirit," which keeps him from ever being satisfied with the status quo, helps him to evolve at unparalleled speeds.
While it's currently still far off, there's a good chance that 5 or 10 years from now Chef Kurosaki may be considered on par with famous chefs like Hidefumi Namba of "Namba" and Takaaki Sugita of "Nihonbashi Kakigaracho Sugita," who similarly created some of Tokyo's top sushi restaurants without any prior experience at famous restaurants.
If you want to have some delicious sushi in Shibuya, be sure to give "Kurosaki" a visit at least once!
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Location
Address | 1-5-9 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo |
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Transportation | 7 minutes on foot from Shibuya Station; 10 minutes on foot from Omotesando Station |
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Leo Saito
chief editor, TokyoTableTripIf you are looking for sushi in Shibuya, search no further. This is a sushi restaurant that has been gaining much praise and appreciation lately.