Tabelog ratingUnagi no Matsu Ka (うなぎのまつ嘉) is a sixth-generation eel house founded in the Edo period, working with unusually large eel from Isshiki in Aichi. The eel is steamed in the Kanto manner, then grilled over charcoal until the flesh itself, not just the skin, turns crisp, while the inside stays soft and rich. The ritual is part of the visit. You order outside before opening, then wait on tatami in an old wooden house, drinking tea while your eel is grilled.
Almost every reviewer returns to the texture, crisp outside and fluffy inside, along with the absence of small bones and a clean taste with no muddiness. The una-ben, a lacquer box with one and a half eels, arrives with the fish spilling over the edges. The kimo-yaki, a heaped plate of grilled eel liver, is repeatedly called the dish not to miss, and the liver soup gets similar praise. Fried eel-bone crackers come free with drinks. Staff are described as kind, and in winter they hand blankets to people in the queue.
The main complaint is the wait: roughly 1.5 to 2 hours inside after ordering, and some find sitting on tatami that long tiring. A few reviewers found the sauce too salty or strong, or the rice soft or ordinary. A handful thought the eel good rather than exceptional, and some found the una-ben simply too much. One objected that a single person may queue and order for a group of 14.
It serves lunch only, with no dinner service. Reviewers in 2024–2026 paid around ¥3,900–4,200 for the una-don (one eel, with liver soup and pickles) and about ¥6,300 for the una-ben (¥5,500 in 2023). Kimo-yaki ran about ¥900, una-zake (sake with eel) ¥1,300 and a medium Sapporo Akaboshi ¥650. A typical lunch comes to roughly ¥4,000–7,000 per person.
Reviewers used to Tokyo prices call it cheap for the quality, and the una-don alone fills most people.
- Getting there: 12 minutes on foot from Matsumoto Station (JR Shinonoi Line), Castle Exit (East Exit).
- Booking: no reservations, so it is walk-in only. It often sells out before opening. Reviewers arrive by 9:00 on weekdays and by 8:00–8:30 at weekends. The una-ben tends to sell out first, after which only una-don remains.
- Kimo-yaki: very limited. The restaurant says 2–3 servings, and reviewers say roughly the first 3–4 groups get it.
- Closures: closed Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Unannounced closures happen and the owners may move to weekends only, so phone ahead.
- Payment: cash only. Credit cards, electronic money and QR payments are not accepted.
- Seating: 59 seats, all on tatami. There are no private rooms and no private hire. Bring a book for the wait.
- Smoking: non-smoking.
- Parking: space for 3 small cars in front and 3 behind, through a narrow, hard-to-find entrance. The restaurant recommends a coin car park.
- Take-out: available.
- Language: staff speak little English but are helpful.
