A remarkable yakitori restaurant has opened in Ebisu. The owner is none other than Toyoki Hikita, who served as the head chef from the very beginning at the famous "Makitori Shin-Kobe" in Azabu-Juban, a restaurant notorious for being impossible to get a reservation at.

A unique feature of this restaurant is that it uses both firewood and charcoal for cooking.

Opposite the eight counter seats are a stepped wood-fired oven with a freely adjustable grill height on a wood-burning bed, and a wood-fired stand with a handle that allows for stepless adjustment of the grill height on a flat wood-burning bed. There is also a charcoal grill on a stand adjacent to the counter.

Using three types of fire—wood fire, embers, and charcoal fire—along with smoking techniques, they achieve the perfect cooking temperature for each part of the chicken, or for each ingredient such as vegetables.

According to the chef, "Charcoal fires require split-second decisions because they use strong radiant heat to ignite the food. With wood fire, you need to be able to constantly adjust the heat and judge the smoky flavor that affects the ingredients."

Hearing about the daily research and dedication that goes into yakitori makes you want to bow your head in respect.

Now, let's eat!

The first dish served was the thigh meat of "Honke Hinai Jidori (Akita)," a chicken that the chef proudly presents. It was slowly cooked in a wood-fired oven. The delicious flavor of the meat was locked inside the golden skin, and when you bite into it, the juices burst into your mouth. The smoky aroma from the wood fire was incredible.

The salt sprinkled on the chicken gives it a really nice flavor, and apparently, they blend two types of salt and sun-dry them.

Incidentally, the firewood used is oak or chestnut, but from the very first skewer, you're drawn into a straightforward, no-nonsense yakitori show, practically digging in headfirst.

Watching the shop owner grapple with the firewood and charcoal right before your eyes is truly exhilarating.

The second dish is "Kisa Teru Jidori (Kagoshima) Chicken Breast with Wasabi." Liver is placed between the chicken breast pieces, and dried kumquat powder, similar to karasumi (cured mullet roe), is sprinkled over the wasabi. The meat has a bouncy texture that bites into your teeth, and the addition of liver doubles the depth of flavor.

I will introduce only the things that made the strongest impression on me.

I can't forget the "Chicken Skin Ponzu" made with Tosa vinegar. Crispy, fragrant grilled chicken skin is mixed with daikon radish, which is a mix of grated and finely chopped daikon. The crunchy texture of the chopped daikon brings an unexpected level of pleasure to the mouth. The balance of Tosa vinegar is also superb.

The liver in the "Choshu Chicken Liver" dish is perfectly cooked, plump and slightly undercooked. This too is cooked over a wood fire. It's elastic yet melts in your mouth like a cream. Of course, there's no unpleasant liver smell whatsoever.

The combination of vegetables and wood fire was superb, and the "wood-fired shiitake mushrooms" were especially exquisite. Who would have thought that such a simple cooking method—slowly grilled and seasoned with salt—cooked them so well and released so much juice! The shiitake mushrooms were from "Asagui Mushroom Farm" in Koga City, Ibaraki Prefecture, and incredibly, the firewood used here was cut from the same mountain. It truly is terroir.

I was amazed by the "Hinai Jidori chicken breast."

As the owner says, "I'm drawn to the delicious flavor and high-quality fat of Hinai chicken," he has a deep love for Hinai chicken. Watching him grill, you can see his dedication to grilling the chicken perfectly. The crispy skin was especially delicious. Of course, the breast meat, which was packed with juices, was also amazing.

Yakitori is really great, or rather, it's an eye-opening experience that makes you realize just how delicious chicken can be.

The "wood-fired broccoli" was cooked for a considerable amount of time, exposed to the far-infrared rays of the embers. The sweetness of the vegetables was infused with the smoky aroma of the wood fire. The shaved chicken flakes (similar to dried bonito flakes made from chicken) sprinkled on top added the essence of chicken flavor, ensuring that the grilled vegetables remained firmly within the realm of chicken dishes.

In the latter half of the course, grilled dishes are served, coated with the chef's secret sauce infused with the aroma of sake. Everything is superb.

But it didn't end there. A shock awaited us with the final three dishes.

First, there's the "Negitoro Hand Roll," which is made by wrapping Hinai chicken toro (fatty offal from the diaphragm) in white rice and seaweed. Everyone will be surprised at how much flavor the fat has. In fact, it's impressive how they've brought out the deliciousness of a part that's often relegated to a supporting role in a new way.

The white rice is Akita Komachi, cooked in a traditional iron pot over a wood fire. Rice cooked in an iron pot certainly has superior texture, flavor, and sweetness. The owner also says, "It creates a unique flavor that can only be achieved in an iron pot."

The next dish, "Chicken Soboro Rice," uses minced Hinai chicken, but it's topped with chives roasted over a wood fire. This combination with the chives elevates the minced chicken rice, which has absorbed the chicken fat, into something extraordinary.

The perfect ending: "Hinai Jidori Chicken Soba" and a shocking dessert.

The last dish served was "Hinai Jidori Chicken Soba." The soba noodles are made by the owner himself, the result of several years of training at a soba restaurant. The soba is made with 80/20 buckwheat flour that is milled in-house using a stone mill, and then hand-kneaded and hand-cut. The dipping sauce is made by combining chicken broth and bonito broth and letting it sit, resulting in a deeply satisfying flavor. "Wow, today's meal was wonderful," I sighed in admiration.

Just when I thought it was over, the final dessert delivered the finishing blow. It's simply described as "shaved ice with brown sugar syrup," but this is truly an unparalleled shaved ice experience.

This is what you call exquisite flavor.

Apparently, the owner is a big fan of shaved ice. It's a simple combination of finely shaved ice, mineral-rich natural salt, and brown sugar, but it's a fitting dish to conclude the course.

It's clear that reservations will become extremely difficult to obtain. There are only 16 platinum seats available per day, so if you want to go, now is the time.

Hikita

Address: 1-14-15 Ebisu Minami, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, La Reine Ebisu 4F
Opening hours: Two sessions, starting at 17:30 and 20:30.
Closed on Wednesdays and every other Tuesday.
Course price: 20,000 yen (tax and service charge not included)

Instagram: @hikihiki07