Sawaragi — Restaurant in Tokushima

Sawaragi is a Japanese Kaiseki restaurant you do not want to walk past on your next trip to Tokushima. This review looks at the location, the décor, the service and the offerings. We visited during the Awa Odori festival in 2022.

When it comes to restaurant success it is often said the there are three primary factors, location, location and location. Sawaragi has the location. It is just a 2 minute walk from the main exit of the JR Tokushima Station. We were surprised that the shop was not crowded when we entered at 5PM. But it soon became full within 30 minutes.

The building and its exterior is a typical Showa era style standalone structure. Upon entering, you find more Showa era influence. The are a few counter seats and a couple of tables for 4-6 people. On our visit we sat at one of the 4 seater tables near the kitchen. It was comfortable and convenient. The décor kept simple with wood paneling and a few Awa Odori posters. There are large Japanese Sake bottles lined up along the top of the counter and the kitchen opening. This gives the place an old Izakaya feeling which is very enjoyable.

The staff welcomed us with just the right amount of volume and enthusiasm. I really do like it when you enter a shop and the welcoming is just right and doesn't feel forced, practiced or absurdly over the top. Sawaragi's is genuinely inviting and friendly. The service throughout the time we were there was friendly, helpful, polite, and efficient. I will not say speedy, but it wasn't slow either. It was, comfortable. About the pace I would expect for somewhere you go to enjoy a good meal, drink some great Sake and chat with your dinner companions. That's the pace.

While the surroundings are good and the service is great, the reason you are here is for the food and drinks. And both will impress you. However, because we were watching the Awa Odori dance parade later that evening, we stayed away from drinking Sake and instead went with a beer. There's plenty of time after the festivities for sampling the local Sake brews.

We start the order with the seasonal special of Ajidashi Egg Plant. The egg plant was soft and tender but didn't fall apart when picked up with chopsticks. The Dashi sauce was strong but not over powering. The two together complemented each other as was heaven in your mouth.

This blissful experience was followed by a serving of mixed sashimi. There was a lot more than I thought there would be. It was a lot of fish, and the cuts where thick. Each piece 2 to 3 times thicker than I would normal expect.

Next came a Kambachi fish in soup. Again we are surprised at the delicate flavors hidden within a full flavored clear broth. It's voodoo magic. I don't care and eat and drink it all.

Then we get to the special of the week, the Awa Odori Nambantsuke. Or in other words Lightly Deep Fried Chicken. We dive in and it is soft, the chicken is tasty, and external is salty but bit overly. It's perfect.

We think we've had enough until we spot Hamu No Zotsui or Rice Stew with Fish on the menu. We order one and share. It takes a while and we start to worry they may have forgotten the order. No, not to worry, they are making from scratch. Wow. We wait patiently. We should have ordered it earlier. Oh, well never mind, we have plenty of time and are in no hurry. And then it's here. Smooth, silky, soft, and delicate in simple and few flavors. The aroma of the fish swirling around. We finish it way before we should.

This is one of those shops that Japanese people don't tell you about. It's everything you want a Japanese Kaiseki experience to be. It is a total Japanese experience, this includes Japanese only menus, Japanese language only and Japanese cultural expectations while...

徳島市へ出張したら、必ず利用お店です。徳島駅から徒歩２分にあるお店で、リーズナブルなお値段で本格的な美味しい和食が頂ける敷居の低いこじんまりしたお店です。 コロナの時は、18時過ぎ頃に行ってもお店に入れましたが、今は17時頃に行かないといっぱいになって入れません。 店主1人で調理をしているためだと思います。なので、提供して頂ける料理一品一品が丁寧に調理されて、味がとても上品で料理人の味です。とても美味しいです。そこら辺の居酒屋の味とはひと味違います。 私は、いつも夕食セット(1,650円)を注文します。付き出し、天ぷら盛りか魚の煮付けのどちらか、刺身盛り、ごはん、味噌汁、お漬物、デザートです。ここの刺身盛りが鮮度が良く白身はコリコリしています。 そこに追加で自分の好みの一品を頼みます。それで贅沢な、1人でのコース料理になります。今回は、鯛の兜煮を注文。大きな鯛のお頭が出て来ました。コストパフォーマンスの良い料亭の味が味わえるお店です。 とても美味しか...

The dinner set is reasonably priced with a wide variety of dishes, but the ingredients and flavors are so-so. Stewing fish meat...