仲家

Even though the inner fish market has moved from Tsukiji, the outer market is still a great destination for food, sightseeing, and shopping. My first visit to Tsukiji was back in 2016, and we stayed around just outside the inner market waiting for it to open to the public. In the meantime, people were waiting in multiple lines to be able to dine in one of the many restaurants scattered across the inner market.

We decided to wait in one of these long lines, and it happened to be Nakaya. Long line, must be good right? Standing in line looking at the large menu near the front door with Japanese, some English, and photos. It was tough to choose. After about a 45min wait, we gave our order to the host, and we finally got seats in the small bar area. Very Japanese.

I ordered the donburi "rice bowl dish" with assorted sashimi and a side order of the bluefin tuna sashimi. My parents ordered the donburi crab and a side of monster-sized fried shrimp. Each order came with miso, tea, and a couple of other items. The presentation was picture perfect and to no surprise, tasted just as good!

Is it the best tasting seafood ever?! Close! But at the moment, every bite was enjoyable, and the freshness was there. Was it worth the wait? Sure, for being a first time customer, I have no regrets. Our tourist hearts and bellies were satisfied. If it's a short line, this is a must try!

This restaurant has to cater to the masses, and it delivered. It's a long day for the owners, chef, and servers. I appreciate the effort they presented to us. ​

I ate here this morning for the second time but first time in a long time. I did not feel the excitement I had at my first time this time. I think they need to update the menu photos. The reality is less both in quantity and quality. I got there around 7:30 and there was no wait. However as soon as my bowl came and I started eating, the place with only counter seats got all full. All full of foreigners
My toro looked like chutoro, and my uni was not much in quantity. The menu photo looked much better. For the price, you don't get enough fish.

Tsukiji market is a crazy bustling area where finding a place could be a tad bit overwhelming. This place has nice big signs and illustrations of what they had on the menu and I also really loved that there was no tourist tax. (Beware of some places! They do charge seating charge or tourist tax for foreigners and that's not cool).

Came here around 9:30am! Sushi for breakfast! Woot woot! A very friendly lady takes your order outside and then you wait in line for a seat at the bar that sits about 15 people. Be courteous and eat with a reasonable amount of time because tons of people wait in line.

The interior decor is interesting- a mix of tan baby dolls and Hawaiian style items. The food wasn't amazing but it wasn't bad. Tuna pieces seemed kind of dry but the uni was superb. The miso soup and clams came complimentary to the meal. Price is pretty good for the portions and it's a super cute old Japanese couple that makes the food.

Top quality fish and ingredients, but the portions and presentation leave something to be desired.

I decided to eat here because it was a very long line.
Usually, that's an indicator of some awesome food.

I had the rice bowl with Tuna, Uni and Ikura.
Very good. You can absolutely taste the freshness. I especially enjoyed the Ikura.

But the portions. Oh my goodness. Where was the rest of it?
I just paid 1800yen, and this tiny bowl is what I get?

I was so angry. I wish I had just gone to Sushizanmai.
Now that has quality, nice portions and great prices.
I felt so cheated.

The food here is good. But beware of small portions and not the best presentation.

Long lines leading to Nakaya made me think this was going to be a great place for donburi topped with raw fish. While I enjoyed my sliced and bits of tuna (#36), #24 chu toro (belly tuna) didn't exactly live up to expectations. The fish was not fatty nor light pink in color due to the belly fat content. Instead it was more of a dark red.

The donburi rice was, however tasty and made up for the quality of fish. I appreciated the fact they served a side of radish pickles, marinated baby clams, miso soup, and roasted rice tea. Given other much pricier and perhaps more famous places in Tsukiji, Nakaya is an ok option.

To get here (if you took the Oedo line) turn to the left (you'll see a guard handing out flyers) and a bunch of delivery trucks. Stay on the left side and once you see shops head towards them. This is the start of the Tsukiji market outer shops. Buildings are labeled. Nakaya is building 8.

Seafood donburi heaven! This is my second time at Nakaya, my first visit being 4 years ago.

I arrived at around 7:30am on a Saturday morning, and there was already a line up. It helped give me some extra time to decide, since there's more than 20 combinations of donburi to choose from. While you're in line, they take your order. I chose a ikura and uni don.

After 30 minutes of waiting, I was seated at one of the ten seats in the narrow restaurants. Once seated, your order is presented on a tray, along with a clam miso soup and some pickled radish.

The bowl was presented beautifully, half with uni, half with ikura, garnished with a shiso leaf. It was fresh and delicious. Wished there was even more uni on top of the rice! I thoroughly enjoyed my breakfast of champions!

When you despair at the three hour plus wait for your last pilgrimage to Sushi Dai because you couldn't make yourself get in line at 3:00am, there is Nakaya.

Mr Iwate's kaisendon come in all sorts of combos with the toro/ikura/uni at ¥1800 being my favorite. I mean, how can you go wrong with creamy uni and firm balls of ikura that pop in your mouth and some good tuna for breakfast? Other good choices for combos are the negi toro, nakaochi chunks (rib meat), and crab legs. Heck, probably everything is good.

This place is all business. Unless you're one of the first people In the morning don't expect much conversation, be ready to order when asked, and don't ask too many questions. You're there to eat, they're there to serve you. Leave the interviews about his background, where the stuff comes from, the Hawaii surf stuff on the walls to the credentialed media.

We all had the #14.... and loved it.

Sushi for breakfast is a tough concept to grasp, but we went all in and we are glad we did.

There are only 10-12 seats in the restaurant, so there is a wait to get in. The service is fast and the fish tasted great.

Long wait, sub-par expensive meal.
Not like the pictures on the outside. Had much better away from fish market

Nakaya is solid dining option at Tsukiji which doesn't involve a hundred person line, of the likes of nearby Sushi Dai. That being said, at 9am my companions and I still had a 45 minute wait.

The menu is just donburi sets and the food did not disappoint. I went with the bowl that consisted of uni, regular tuna and fatty tuna. There wasn't but much difference between the fatty tuna & regular tuna, but both were still solid cuts. The addition of the uni to offset the fish was super delicious. The uni was probably the best part of meal.

I'd recommend if not looking to wait for hours on end at Sushi Dai just around the corner.