Kikuya Chrysanthemum House Review, Narita

Kikuya Chrysanthemum House Review, Narita - Unagi

 

This Kikuya Chrysanthemum House Review is part of a trip report including luxury resorts and dining in Asia and the Maldives and Laos, such as Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru and Amantaka, as well as Etihad First Class and Emirates First Class. 

For the prior posts, please see:

Review of Etihad's Lounge at Washington Dulles Airport (IAD)

Etihad First Class 787-9 Dreamliner Review

Rosewood Abu Dhabi Review

Review: Wingtips Lounge JFK for Etihad First Class Passengers

Review: Etihad First Class 777-300ER NYC to Abu Dhabi

Review: Etihad Business Class Lounge Abu Dhabi AUH Terminal 1 

Four Seasons Maldives at Landaa Giraavaru Review

Four Seasons Maldives at Landaa Giraavaru Restaurant Reviews and Menus

Four Seasons Maldives at Landaa Giraavaru Activities: Top 10 Things to Do

Interview with Armando Kraenzlin, General Manager of Four Seasons Maldives at Landaa Giraavaru

Review: Four Seasons Maldives at Kuda Huraa

Surfing in the Maldives at Four Seasons Kuda Huraa

Review: Four Seasons Maldives at Kuda Huraa Sunset Water Bungalow

Four Seasons Maldives at Kuda Huraa Restaurant Reviews and Menus

Four Seasons Maldives at Kuda Huraa Activities and Top Things to Do

Soneva Fushi Maldives Review

Soneva Fushi Maldives Activities and Things to Do

Soneva Fushi Breakfast, Ice Cream Room, Chocolate Room and Cheese Room

Fresh in the Garden, Soneva Fushi Restaurant Review

Trans Maldivian Airways Seaplane Review

Conrad Maldives Rangali Review: Beach Villa

Conrad Maldives Restaurant Menus and Review

Review: Conrad Maldives Superior Water Villa

Conrad Maldives Activities and Top Things to Do

Emirates First Class Lounge Dubai Review

Emirates A380 First Class Review

Amantaka Luang Prabang, Laos Review

Amantaka Restaurant Review and Menus

Amantaka Activities and Top Things to Do in Luang Prabang

Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi Review

Review: Crowne Plaza Singapore Changi Airport

Review: Japan Airlines JAL 767-300ER Business Class

Review: Hilton Tokyo Narita Airport Hotel

Kikuya Chrysanthemum House Review Narita

 

Getting to Kikuya Chrysanthemum House

One nice thing about the Hilton Tokyo Narita Airport and some of the other Narita Airport hotels is that, in addition to the free airport shuttle, they offer a free shuttle to Narita train station. And that opens up the opportunity to visit Narita Shinsho-ji Temple, if you have a layover during the day, and to try one of the many unagi (barbecued eel) specialists in Narita. 

We only had time for a quick dinner out, and in fact due to traffic, the shuttle ride proved to be anything but quick. What would have been a 12-15 minute trip with no traffic turned into more like 40 minutes. Fortunately, my son was surprisingly patient, and we at last got to the station and set out to try to find Kikuya Chrysanthemum House, where I'd made a dinner reservation.

Here's a map showing a couple walking options to Kikuya from Narita Station.

Map of How to Get to Kikuya from Narita Station

 

Just make sure that at the last fork in the road, you take the right path (sloping downward) toward Kikuya, which is at 385 Nakamachi.

Kikuya: Take a Right to Get to 385 Nakamachi

 

The Scene

It turned out that because we were there for dinner, there were several open tables and we needn't have worried about a reservation. When we were there, there were some businessmen dining, a solo Westerner, a family of Chinese, and somewhere above us on the 2nd floor a group dinner was being held. But lunch time can be very busy, and the restaurant apparently sees many staff from Narita Airport during the day. The restaurant is cozy and homely inside, not fancy.

Kikuya Chrysanthemum House Restaurant, Narita


Kikuya Chrysanthemum House Menu and Food

We were there primarily for the house specialty, eel, which is also featured in the plastic food display outside the restaurant:

Plastic Food Samples of Dishes, Kikuya Chrysanthemum House

 

The menu features it prominently as well, both in the more casual “Una Don” meals that we ordered, and the more expensive and formal Teishoku meal sets featuring unagi in lacquer boxes.

Kikuya Chrysanthemum House Menu

 

Sashimi and tempura are also offered, although we didn't try them, and salads are also offered on the menu's first page.

Kikuya Menu - Salads and Appetizers

 

After we were seated, hot towels were brought along with the menu. I was also poured hot tea, which I gratefully accepted, since it was a bit chilly outside and I'd hadn't dressed quite warmly enough for the weather.

Hot Towels and Tea, Kikuya Chrysanthemum House Review Narita

 

The salad came out quickly and was tasty, with a light miso dressing.

Salad, Kikuya Chrysanthemum House Review

 

Some Japanese pickles were also served, which I enjoyed, but my son wrinkled his nose at due to the acidity, so I ate his.

Japanese Pickles, Kikuya Chrysanthemum House Review Narita

 

Since we were both hungry, I ordered an Una Don for each of us; the regular Una Don, which was very good, even though we would have loved some more unagi sauce on the side to flavor the rice, since there was a modest amount of unagi and a huge amount of rice.

Una Don, Kikuya Chrysanthemum House Review, Narita

 

And also, for the sake of comparison, the Super Deluxe BBQ EEl (Tokujyo Una Don). I wanted to see what difference there was. After comparing them side by side, we noticed that the super deluxe one was thicker and had a slightly firmer texture, but the taste, to us at least, was virtually the same. 

My husband had been doubtful when I told him we had reservations at an eel restaurant, but I was confident the munchkin would enjoy unagi, and he ate his entire portion plus some of mine, along with most of his rice.

Kikuya Chrysanthemum House Review, Narita - Unagi

 

Miso soup came with both orders of una don, and was an excellent version, with mushrooms in the broth.

Miso Soup, Kikuya Chrysanthemum House Review, Narita

 

The Service

Kikuya, due to its location in Narita, sees many international visitors, so everyone we interacted with spoke some English. Our server was very friendly, and kept my son's water glass and my tea cup refilled. They were also happy to provide a fork, since my son isn't yet skilled with chopsticks.

It took some time for our Una Dons to be prepared, but that's to be expected because they grill them to order.

 

The Verdict

While I might not have taken us to Kikuya if I'd known how terrible the traffic would be, I'm glad we got out of our hotel and tried Kikuya, which is one of the best unagi specialists in Narita. I will say that I personally preferred the unagi I've had when living in Nagoya, perhaps because it is only charcoal grilled, with no steaming beforehand. Tokyo unagi is more subtle–it comes down to personal preference. But regardless, we enjoyed our dinner, and it was a new dish for my son, who thoroughly enjoyed it.

If you've dined at Kikuya, what was your experience?

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