Yakitori Imai

Restaurant Details

Yakitori is a style of Japanese cuisine that has a reputation as a casual, greasy snack that's best washed down with cold beer. Grilled chicken skewers are almost never at the forefront of fine dining. Recently, however, a new age of yakitori has dawned on the scene, with a refined take on the art of grilling.

One of the best places to try it is Yakitori Imai, located in Aoyama: a stylish thirty-seat, counter-style joint that's been reinventing the yakitori craft since its opening days.

Pairing tradition with a stylish and modern ambiance, chef-owner Takashi Imai elevates yakitori to a gourmet level while still making it fairly affordable for the masses. Imai's measured approach in preparing each skewered meat goes from selecting the best quality ingredients to choosing the right technique that best suits each ingredient.

A French-style chicken liver pâté opens up each course meal before moving on to other servings like a seasonal salad, a few other skewers, and grilled vegetables. Each dish is personally seasoned by Iwai himself as he pays close attention to the guests' personalities and the weather that day to decide on the best taste for that moment.

A hefty course meal of yakitori is bound to leave you satisfied and full — but best of all, Yakitori Imai will, without a doubt, redefine your views on the haute cuisine potential of skewered meat.