Sumiyaki Unagi Kamo: Charcoal-Grilled Kansai-Style Eel

Sumiyaki Unagi Kamo (炭焼うなぎ 加茂) grills eel the Kansai way, jiyaki: straight over charcoal, to order, with no steaming. The result is a crackly, almost crunchy surface over thick, soft flesh. Counter seats face the grill, so you watch the chef skewer, debone with tweezers and baste. The tare is restrained and lets the eel lead. Tabelog has named it one of its top 100 eel restaurants in 2018, 2019, 2022, 2024 and 2026.

Nearly every review praises the contrast of smoky, crisp skin and plump interior on the unajū (eel over rice in a lacquer box). Many reviewers call it the best eel they have eaten, Hamamatsu locals and regulars of several decades among them. The shirayaki, grilled without sauce and eaten with wasabi or ginger soy, is singled out as the purest test of the grilling. Reviewers also mention the plump liver in the kimosui soup, unusually fragrant sansho and a ginger-accented eel chawanmushi. Staff are kind and efficient.

The main complaint is the wait. A few reviewers found the skin softer than expected, and one found the eel thin and the sauce heavy. There were isolated hygiene notes: a smelly oshibori, a faint odour on a teacup, and the chef tasting from a ladle and returning it to the pot.

Reviewers in 2025–2026 paid around ¥4,200 for unajū jō (one whole eel), ¥5,500 for unajū tokujō (1.5 eels), ¥4,200 for unadon tokujō, ¥3,600 for shirayaki and ¥500 for chawanmushi. Expect roughly ¥3,000–4,000 at lunch and ¥4,000–5,000 at dinner. Reviewers consider it good value for eel of this quality, with generous portions. The jō is enough for most diners.

• Booking: walk-in only. There are no advance or phone reservations. Register your name and phone number in person on the day from about 9:00 (the listing also mentions calling from 9:00), take a time slot and wait to be called. On weekends reviewers arrive by 8:30, as lunch slots can be gone by 9:30. Waits of two hours or more are common.
• Getting there: 3-minute walk from Higashi-Tsuzuki Station (Tenryu Hamanako Railway), or 5 minutes by car from the Mikawa-Mikkabi Interchange. The area is remote, and reviewers recommend a car.
• Parking: available. Reviewers mention about 15 spaces.
• Payment: cash and credit cards (VISA, JCB, AMEX). Electronic money and QR payments are not accepted.
• Seats: 25 in total, with 9 at the counter and 16 on tatami. There is one private room for 8. Non-smoking.
• Children: welcome. A half-eel children's bowl is sometimes possible off-menu, but not always.
• Photos: no photography inside the restaurant or of the grill. Photos of your food are fine.
• Good to know: service ends when the eel sells out, and hours can change, so check ahead. Take-out is available. Staff speak no English but are friendly. Rice portions are large; ask for gohan sukuname if you want less.