Ningyocho Imahan Ikebukurotobuten — Restaurant in Tokyo

I recently dined at Imahan in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, with quite high expectations fueled by numerous online reviews and the fact that it was fully booked during my last attempt to visit their Nagoya location. Our meal for three adults and one child set us back over JPY 60,000. The beef served was undoubtedly high-quality, and we were provided with staff assistance for cooking the Sukiyaki. However, despite the premium price tag, the overall experience didn't quite hit the mark for me.

To put it bluntly, while the beef was exceptional, the dining experience didn't feel as premium as I had anticipated. I have purchased expensive Sukiyaki sets to cook at home before, and somehow, the taste and experience felt more satisfying. At Imahan, apart from the staff cooking our Sukiyaki, the service felt no different from what you might expect at any regular restaurant. Perhaps the method of cooking or the overall service didn't stand out to me as much as I hoped it would, considering the reputation and cost.

Maybe I'm just being overly critical, and there's certainly a reason why Imahan comes so highly recommended online. It was indeed a unique experience to try such renowned beef in a well-regarded establishment. However, for me, it will remain a one-time experience. I'm glad to have tried it, to have formed my own opinion, but I don't foresee a return visit. For those considering Imahan, it's certainly worth trying for yourself to see if your experience aligns with the rave reviews or if, like me, you find it doesn't quite meet your expectations despite the high-quality...

After having missed out treating ourselves to a nice meal, but also an exceedingly risky timing the last trip, I made sure we had ample time and space to enjoy Ningyocho Imahan Sukiyaki.

Our visit in June falls upon their summer menu promotion, named Shunsai Sukiyaki and since it's a limited time menu, we went with the 特上 beef.

Shunsai Sukiyaki Lunch Course comes with an appetizer, clear soup, sashimi dish, seasonal dish, sukiyaki (80g), rice set and dessert.

The food was so pretty, the lady (forgot to ask her name) cooking for us is as pretty and elegant as the food. I asked for an English translation of the menu for my mum while I enjoy perusing the handwritten lunch course details. She spoke a little English but she can speak to us in Japanese as I needed practice. 😅

I was worried about the dress code but someone came in with Slam Dunk singlet, shorts and flip flops. 🤣 I still believe in dressing appropriately as it is considered fine dining.

The lunch service, or performance rather, will take about 2 hours.

I recommend making your way here before your actual visit as it was a little hard finding the right elevators to get to Dining City Spice. The 15th floor houses the premium restaurants while the lower floors have numerous restaurants.

We would love to come back and enjoy different...

This is a highly recommended restaurant. The staff was extremely nice, and the beef was in extremely well quality, when I heard that the beef I ordered was just quality, I quickly ordered five mega high qualities, and they could take the space of the best beef I ever had in my life. The staff was very nice, and gave us a little discount. She even chatted of us a lot, and I could tell that she really knew how to cook. She told us about the recipes, and patiently explain the dishes to us. The veggies were very fresh, so were the drinks as the juices were hand squeezed. the appetisers and the soup were delicious. The small roll of beef was very soft and tender while the soup had a fresh scent and taste of fish. The stirred egg was made by Japanese eggs so it taste very smooth. The rice covered in egg yolk was apparently nice as they used Japanese rice plus eggs again. Our private room was really clean and had a lot of space for storage. There was also a heater. This wooden made structure gave the restaurant a Japanese chill style. Desert was decent as the ice cream was a...