Kamameshi Mutsumi — Restaurant in Tokyo

One of our favorite meals in Tokyo. It was so good we went twice in the span of 4 days and I wish I had one more meal there before I left. The best part of the meal is towards the end where there is some browned and crispy bits on the rice that are just concentrated with flavour. The staff can help you scrape down the bowl if you want.

Apart from the fragrant and perfectly seasoned rice that is topped generously with fresh and/or seasonal ingredients, the staff was EXTREMELY friendly and were also kind to accommodate us without reservations in advance even when we went as a big group.

The first time we walked in as a couple and we were seated almost immediately. When the staff realised we were foreigners he switched to English and offered an English menu. While we were there another tourist came in and was seated almost immediately as well.

The second time we went closer to their opening time to secure seats for a large group of seven people. It was the same staff greeting us at the door and who helped us to make a reservation for an hour later when the rest of the group would join us. We had no issues getting seated and no issues ordering either despite being seated on the second floor (there is a button you can push to call the staff).

Note: the English menu has the outdated prices, the staff also highlighted this to us and suggested for us to use Google translate on the Japanese menu to get the...

This restaurant has a long history and their signature is the iron pot rice with various ingredients cooked together with rice. The owner doesn't speak english, but he has staff who can help and an english menu too.

We also ordered the seasonal spring vegetables tempura to share and he was really patient to explain the name of each vegetable to us. The iron pot rice take a while to cook, so you do have to be patient, especially if the restaurant is busy. The iron pot rice smells amazing when served. I ordered the seasonal bamboo shoots (takenoko) and mushroom rice, the ingredients are very fresh and blends very well with the rice, it was very addictive, all of us finished our rice, which is a huge surprise, as we normally eat very little rice. This is absolutely amazing and one of the best restaurant I have been.

The red miso soup is served at the end of the meal to wash down everything, and it's the perfect japanese way to...

Kamameshi ("kettle rice") is rice cooked in an iron pot, called a kama. You'll get some crunchy burnt rice from this cooking method. Under ¥2,000 for a very filling and tasty lunch. Tatami seating, small restaurant. Go at 11:30 to avoid a wait. Japanese-only menu, cash only. Order the ¥1,620 lunch set, and ask for which side they recommend ("Nani ga osusume desuka?"). The default kamameshi comes with a tiny bit of shrimp, clams, fresh bamboo shoots, sliced shiitake mushrooms, chicken, and fresh cilantro. (It's mostly rice.) You have the option to choose a different kamameshi and pay the additional price difference, if any. Hot tea (ocha) with refills is free. Deducted one star because they allow smoking everywhere in the restaurant, which is not my favorite environment in...