Unagi Kobayashi: Kanto-Style Steamed and Grilled Eel

Unagi Kobayashi (鰻 小林) is an eel restaurant in a handsome timber house in Suwa. It was named to Tabelog's Unagi Tabelog 100 list in 2018, 2019, 2024 and 2026. The eel is cooked Kanto-style, steamed before grilling, so it arrives very soft. The signature is the 金銀鰻重 (kinkin unajū). It sets kabayaki, glazed with sweet soy, beside shirayaki, grilled without sauce, in one box. You finish it hitsumabushi-style with wasabi, yuzu-kosho, nori and spring onion, then pour dashi over the rice. Wild eel is served on days it comes in.

Reviewers most often praise the soft, clean-tasting eel and a sauce that is not overly sweet, with extra on the table. The kinkin set and the 上 (two pieces of eel) are the orders mentioned again and again. Ginjo sake served in a frozen green-bamboo stem gets its own mentions. The building is spotless and the floor staff are warm, and children get free juice and small toys. Thai, Chinese and English-language reviews are uniformly positive.

Complaints are frequent too. Several diners say the eel is small for the price, with rice showing even in the 上. Others describe brusque phone handling, bookings not honoured, a takeaway order handed to someone else, and long waits outside while tables stood empty. Some dislike sauce on the shirayaki, find the eel too soft or suspect it was pre-grilled. A few feel quality has slipped.

Reviewers in 2025–2026 paid around ¥4,620 for the 上 (two pieces), ¥6,545 for the 特上 (three pieces), ¥6,820 for the kinkin set and ¥7,040 for the 特々 (one whole large eel). The donburi cost about ¥3,245, shirayaki à la carte ¥1,760 and chawanmushi ¥550. Expect to spend ¥5,000 or more per person at lunch and ¥6,000–7,999 at dinner. Value is fair rather than strong. The eel is excellent, but many find the portions modest for the money.

• Getting there: a car is the practical option. The restaurant is 1.3 km (about 4 minutes) from the Suwa IC, or about 20 minutes by taxi from Kami-Suwa or Chino stations on the JR Chuo Line. The Karin-chan city loop bus (outer route) leaves from the Lake Suwa Exit of Kami-Suwa Station and stops at Kamiakanuma, a 5-minute walk away, but it runs only about once every two hours. The Alpico bus from Chino stops at Shiga Branch Office, 716 m short of the restaurant.
• Parking: about 10 spaces.
• Booking: you can simply turn up. Regular tables cannot be booked. Take a number from the EPARK ticket machine at the door, which starts issuing tickets at 11:00; regulars arrive well before then. The phone-call alert is reported as unreliable. The special menu, such as u-maki (eel omelette), is available only by advance reservation. Same-day reservations are not accepted, and even with a reservation you may have to wait if the room is full.
• Sell-outs: popular sets, including kinkin, can sell out, especially on Sundays. The kinkin set takes about 25 minutes to prepare.
• Payment: VISA, Mastercard, JCB, AMEX, Diners and PayPay are accepted. Electronic money is not accepted.
• Seating: 42 seats (18 at tables, 24 on tatami). A private room seats 10–20 people, and private hire is available.
• Other details: non-smoking, children welcome, takeaway available.
• Before you go: hours may change, so check before visiting. The room is cold in winter.
• Not to be confused: this is not the separate, unrelated Unagi Kobayashi in Shimosuwa.