魚心日本料理 — Restaurant in Zhongshan District

I read the stellar reviews of this place and knew I had to come try.

Dark and cozy atmosphere with friendly service.

Ordered the small portion of unagi rice because I wanted to have some room to try other stuff. I also ordered the chicken skewer and what looked like hamachi collar (but my server claimed it was hamachi, nor was it tuna but the actual name was lost in translation lol).

Unagi rice comes with soup and a chawamushi (steamed egg), both of which were so so. I don't expect much of miso soup which is likely a powder packet with hot water added but it was substandard. The chawamushi was probably the least flavourful chawamushi I've ever had. Unagi was average IMO. Not terrible and totally edible but if this is what others claim is the best unagi in Taipei, I'm disappointed.

Luckily I only ordered the small so I could try the skewers. The chicken skewer came with spring onion and was excellent. The collar bone was also quite good (sorry, I forgot to take a pic) so I'd say they redeemed the meal.

Not bad overall but I'd say my expectations were too high based off the...

Taiwanese family run restaurant with Japanese-style cuisine.

The unagi don (grilled eel on rice) is the signature dish and very good.

Chicken yakitori is also very tasty.

Apparently phone bookings cannot be made (?) however quite a few groups arrived early to reserve a table on the night.

Waiting time is around 30-45 mins ( we arrived just after 6.30pm on a Sunday night).

Efficient service and reasonably priced.

Two types of (bottled) beer on hand - Kirin and a Taiwanese beer. Most guests were drinking tea, so not really an izakaya atmosphere.

Worthwhile...

A old Taiwanese-Japanese restaurant that has been around for many years, well known for its unagi rice which we didn't order. The mixed sushi roll was very tasty, good texture. The squid though was a bit too tough, hard to chew. The grilled chicken was a winner, juicy dark meat. They also did a pretty good job on the hamachi kama, fresh and tender. Prices also were quite reasonable, good CP! Unfortunately, the place had quite aged, dark decor, greasy smelling and stuffy. ...