motsu sen: Creative Offal Hotpot and BBQ

motsu sen (motsu・sen) offers a creative and theatrical take on offal (motsu) cuisine from its stylish second-floor location in Nagoya. The restaurant's signature dish, and the reason most people visit, is the 'motsu-suki'. This is a multi-stage meal prepared by staff at your table or counter seat. It begins with offal seared sukiyaki-style, complete with a small flambé show, before being transformed into a rich, garlicky hotpot (nabe). The meal concludes by adding champon noodles to the flavourful broth.

Guests consistently praise the freshness of the ingredients, particularly the offal served sashimi-style, such as heart (hatsu-sashi) and diaphragm (sagari-sashi). Other popular dishes include sweet shrimp marinated in a spicy sauce (ama-ebi no kejan) and vinegared motsu (su-motsu). The attentive service and good value for money are also frequently highlighted by reviewers.

The main drawback is the restaurant's small size; with only 16 seats, it fills up quickly. A few isolated reviews have mentioned curt service, but this is not a common complaint. Note that you must choose between the hotpot (nabe) course and the grilled meat (yakiniku) course; you cannot have both in the same visit.

Reviewers typically spend between ¥5,000 and ¥5,999 for dinner. Course menus were recently quoted at ¥4,818 and ¥5,480. A la carte, the motsu-suki set costs around ¥1,980, with smaller dishes like tsurami-sashi (cheek sashimi) at ¥880 and seasonal namul at ¥450.

• Booking: The venue is small and popular, so booking ahead is strongly recommended as walk-ins are often turned away. Seating may be limited to two hours during busy periods.
• Getting there: motsu sen is a 10-minute walk from JR Nagoya Station or a 5-minute walk from Kokusai Center Station on the Sakuradori Line.
• Payment: Credit cards (Visa, Master, JCB, Amex, Diners), electronic money (transportation IC cards like Suica, Rakuten Edy, iD, etc.), and QR code payments (PayPay, Rakuten Pay, etc.) are all accepted.
• Smoking: The entire restaurant is non-smoking, and this includes electronic cigarettes.
• Parking: There is no dedicated parking, but paid coin parking is available nearby.