Matsumoto, Komagome 松本、駒込

After a hiatus of three or four years, I recently returned to Komagome (Yamanote- and Namboku-line) for an evening meal with an old friend. I’ve never spent a great deal of time there, and that which I have was usually in the izakaya EJ-Kitchen. In parts, Komagome has something of an old-Tokyo atmosphere, and indeed has one or two claims to fame.

Not least is that Hiratsuka Raichō (1886-1971), one of Japan’s earliest and foremost feminists, founder of the Bluestocking (Seitō) literary journal and author of In the Beginning Woman Was the Sun (Genshi, josei wa taiyō de atta), for a while called Komagome home. The town also sports a famous and quite beautiful Edo-period garden, the Rikugi-en. On a more contemporary note, an award winning shōten-gai is another of the attractions Komagome has to offer.   

After strolling along the shōten-gai a while, my dining partner explained that she had a yakitori-ya, Matsumoto, in mind for the evening. Traditional, simple and not busy even on a Saturday evening, she assured me that although it may be a little quiet the food would make the visit worthwhile.

The exterior of the building was understated to say the least. Dull concrete façade over a building that judging by its shape was a once an attractive traditional two storey building of wood and paper. Once inside the sight of a crowed room met us, barely a seat left empty, with the mama-san, a small woman perhaps in her early-sixties, rushing around serving foaming glasses of beer and skewers of chicken and other delicacies. Squeezed into a seat at one end of the counter, right in front of a wide charcoal brazier, despite being determined to take our time over the menu and surroundings the mama-san soon pressed us to order drinks. Initially I found her

approach a little brusque, although as the night wore on it became apparent that she was actually a most apologetic, friendly host who was just a surprised as we were to find her shop suddenly filled to capacity. Not only was she rushed off her feet, she alone served customers while what I assume was her husband prepared ingredients and a younger man (her son?) was busy grilling the food, but she also seemed quite overwhelmed. The drinks menu offered little of note, unnamed sake – hot or cold – and shōchū, ume-shu or draught Sapporo beer. We ordered beers, which ended up taking a little longer to arrive than I would have hoped. They were, as was everything else throughout the evening, delivered with a “gomen ne.”

Matsumoto’s interior is pleasingly simple, probably unchanged for decades, providing a cozy late-Shōwa atmosphere. Worn floor, walls and counter of dark-polished wood; behind the counter stacked with assorted plates, bowls and condiments an open kitchen filled with utensils, the charcoal brazier at one end near the entrance to the shop and on the rear wall of the kitchen a tall old cupboard, with cracked glass panels, containing piles of crockery. Heavy wooden beams support the ceiling, from which hang lights covered in traditional-looking lampshades of wood and paper that serve to diffuse the light so as to create a warm, comfortable atmosphere. On the right of room, running parallel to the counter, three small tables, and at the rear a larger table that could seat seven or eight at a push, above which a television provided background noise. To the right of this large table is a raised washitsu complete with tatami mats and low table. Neither large nor particularly small, at the most this yakitori-ya could house twenty-five customers.

While enjoying our beers, and ordering the next round so as to allow for the delay in delivery, we enjoyed two o-toshi. The first was of mixed vegetables such as myōga (Japanese ginger), carrot, cabbage, celery, shōga (ginger plant) and cucumber topped off with a section of crunchy slightly sweet-tasting corn-on-the-cob accompanied by a good dollop of miso paste in which to dip the corn. This particular o-toshi was delicious, fresh and interesting. According to the mama-san, its contents changes daily. The second was a small dish of pickled hōrensō (spinach) and tiny white shirasu (whitebait.) Not especially inspiring, but tasty nonetheless.

Our initial yakitori-moriawase, consisting of two chicken wings, one leek and chicken skewer (kushi) and another of chicken heart with tsunagimo (gizzard) complimented by a quarter of lemon to squeeze over all, looked great and tasted even better. Everything was simply prepared, cooked and presented. The flavour and texture of each ingredient allowed to speak for itself. A crunchy o-shinko-moriawase of pickled daikon (radish), cucumber and shiso (perilla) had a distinctly no-frills home-cooking feel, the vinegary taste encouraging us to quaff more beer.

Instead of my usual leafy salad, I decided on the potato variety. A nice, big pile of the stuff resting upon a lettuce leaf. Again, nothing spectacular but delicious all the same. A strange addition to a yakitori menu, the katsuo no tataki, slices of bonito served with wakame seaweed, cucumber and onion in a ponzu sauce, looked wonderful with each slice of fish being of a good size, succulent and suitably strong tasting. Returning to chicken, a skewer of tori-kawa (fried chicken skin) was a little too oily in my opinion, although my dining partner seemed to enjoy it very much, and another of simple white chicken breast in tare sauce and mustard was perfectly tender. Both were a little on the small side, however. Unable to resist we then ordered three large skewers of grilled chicken liver. Although not the best I’ve had – I prefer a slightly stronger tasting liver – this was still a wonderful dish, the liver pieces large, soft and nicely complimented by tare sauce and mustard.

Matsumoto remained packed for the entire evening. No sooner had a party finished their meal and departed than a new group would enter. Indeed, several eager hungry looking customers were turned away, there not being a table to spare. This busy situation, combined with the simple interior and overwhelmed mama-san, resulted in a splendidly convivial atmosphere of down to earth, no-nonsense dining. The feel of the place so warm and cozy that I feel it would be a wonderful place to dine on a cold winter’s night. When we asked if the shop is usually so busy, the mama-san, somewhat out of breath, expressed a kind of bewildered shock, claiming that she’d never seen so many customers in one evening.

Sorry as we felt for her, we were not yet inclined to make her life any less hectic. Some vegetables, in the form of a skewer of six shishitō (small green peppers) and another of two broad, flat mushrooms were followed by six halves of superb grilled tsukune (chicken-mince) in tare sauce. These really were fantastic, being cooked to perfection, rich tasting and not in the least gristly. Three more portions of tender white momo (chicken thigh) with leek, lightly cooked, and then pieces of garlic, five to a skewer, slow-grilled so as to be slightly charred on the outside and soft inside, served with miso paste. Couldn’t have been more simple but all were delicious. Indeed, watching the care with which each dish was prepared and cooked, it was not only obvious why everything tasted so good, but also explained why each order took so long to arrive.

No sooner had we concluded our meal with three wholesome-looking grilled onigiri (rice balls) served with pickled daikon and cucumber and, being determined to settle in for the rest of the evening, ordered a few more drinks, than the mama-san suddenly served all her customers with tea. This was the classic Kyoto-style way of saying “that’s it, go home.” Everyone understood, although not a few seemed shocked. No doubt the mama-san was simply exhausted or had decided that the till had taken enough money to last her for the rest of month. Either way, she’d obviously had enough and decided it was time to close.

Would I make another visit to Matsumoto? Certainly! This was one of the most enjoyable yakitori-ya I’ve been to in a while. The food, although simple, was excellent with plenty of different dishes to choose from. The service while slow was actually polite – even apologetic – and friendly. The cozy look and feel of the place made it easy to relax and settle in for the evening. The price was very reasonable, especially considering the variety of dishes we ordered and the quantity of beer consumed. Simple, tasty yakitori served in comfortable, Shōwa-esque surroundings. Can’t be bad.

Tel: 03-3945-9920