Ningyocho Imahan — Restaurant in Tokyo

We had a very disappointing experience at this restaurant, which we had hoped would be one of the highlights of our trip to Tokyo. We made a reservation in advance and paid ¥17,600 (¥19,360 including tax) for the Top Quality Beef Sukiyaki Tsuki Course for two. This was quite expensive for us, but we were willing to pay for what we expected to be an exceptional dining experience with top-tier ingredients and service.

Unfortunately, it turned out to be the opposite. We were left alone in a private room for long periods and had to wait excessively for our food.

The appetizer course went smoothly. However, despite clearly stating in our reservation that my husband has food allergies—including an allergy to otoro (fatty tuna)—we were still served a dish with about four pieces of red fish. I had to eat it in his place. (If you have food allergies, I strongly advise double-checking with the staff before dining here.)

Later, the staff brought in raw beef and then left the room. The meat and a bowl of cracked raw egg were left on the table for over 10 minutes. No one returned until I pressed the call button to say we were ready. Only then did someone come in to start cooking.

After finishing the sukiyaki, the staff told us they would return to prepare fried rice with the remaining egg. Instead, we were left again—with empty dishes, leftover egg, and a hot pan—for over 40 minutes. I even asked a staff member to refill our water (since there was no water jug in the room), but we were simply left there waiting.

Eventually, we felt we could not waste any more time and decided to leave. We did not get to complete the full course, and the level of service we received was nowhere near worth the nearly ¥40,000 we spent. Although the staff offered to serve dessert at the end, it did little to make up for what was, unfortunately, the worst dining experience...

We had the Sukiyaki Dan lunch set.  The meal starts with an appetizer plate, and sashimi.  At this location, a staff member cooks all three pieces of meat for you in a thin layer of warashita, followed by cooking eggs in the sauce and fat left in the pan.  The meat is rich, so three pieces of the "finest" quality is more than enough.  Eating the first piece of meat is truly transcendent.  The vegetables (lotus root, negi, chrysanthemum leaves, shitake, ginko nuts) are high quality.  You can request more egg and rice as needed.

Staff are very kind, and the service is impeccable. It is not necessary that you speak Japanese. I highly recommend this place for tourists -- yes, it is not cheap -- but the history, ambiance, service in a private room, and high quality meat cooked in a sukiyaki style, make it a special and memorable meal.  It is no surprise that when we dined, there were Japanese families celebrating...

Ningyocho Imahan is my favorite place for sukiyaki. Sukiyaki is usually something we have at home because it’s more fun to have hot pot with a group of people, but this place is special.

They now have several locations that are cheaper, but if this is your first time trying the famous Imahan sukiyaki and you have some money to splurge I would definitely recommend coming to this original location in Ningyocho. Here you get the ultimate Imahan experience where you get your own private traditional Japanese tatami room and the women who work here bring out the food and cook everything to perfection. They will leave once everything is done so that you get some privacy. They use high quality wagyu beef for the sukiyaki and then they make an egg porridge for you at the end of the meal.

The service and sukiyaki here is so good that no sukiyaki will ever be the same once you’ve...