01 / ABOUT THE PLACE
About this place
Down a flight of stairs off a street in Minato Ward's Shiba neighbourhood, Kobouzu occupies a quiet basement dining room scented with searing pork. The house specialty is tonteki, cooked with careful heat control until supple and tender, then dressed in a savoury, umami-rich original Japanese-style sauce. At lunchtime, this pork steak headlines a selection of set meals served with chewy brown rice, making it a reliable staple for a midday meal.
Varied Pork Cuts and Handcrafted Small Plates
The evening menu showcases pork across a broad spectrum of techniques. Pork tongue sashimi, cooked gently at low temperature for a supple texture, offers a pleasing transition of bite from the tip to the back of the tongue. Generous spare ribs marinated in a special sauce and oven-roasted, numbing Sichuan-style saliva pork fragrant with hua jiao pepper, and a comforting salted offal stew provide hearty centerpieces. Alongside them, inventive small plates—such as a baked tofu gratin with house meat miso and melted cheese, a soft dashi omelette, and deep-fried taro—invite leisurely snacking over drinks.
Spiced Spirits, Craft Sours, and Gatherings
The beverage lineup shows similar attention to detail. Spiced highballs blend whisky infused with cardamom, cinnamon, coriander, or roasted coffee, while the craft lemon sour balances Setouchi lemons with beet sugar, pairing cleanly against rich meats and bold spices. For gatherings, banquet courses include all-you-can-drink packages covering draft beer, craft sours, and spice highballs, with private hire options available on request. Finishing the night with pork sobameshi cooked in rich tonteki sauce or spicy cod roe and takana fried rice leaves little left to be desired.
