Friday night and my partner wanted to eat out since it’s his day off and we didn’t want to cook anything. I was so busy at work too so I wasn’t in the mood for groceries so I was okay with eating out.
There are a few restos nearby but we’re tired of eating the same “fast food” options. Then he decided yakitori - the one in the neighborhood. We’ve been there before and I even posted about it here. I wanted to try a different one so I told him, why not toriki?.
Toriki, the slang for Torikizoku, is a yakitori chain famous in Japan. They have branches all over the country. They’re known for being affordable, and a place where friends can gather and hangout for a few drinks while munching the skewers.
We found a branch nearby. Actually there were 3 near us, so there was no problem. I reserved a table for the 2 of us before coming to make sure we would be seated. The last time my friends and I went to their branch in Shinjuku, we were not accomodated because it was full and they only accept people who had reservations. I learned from that incident.
Upon settling in our little private-like space, we immediately ordered a bunch of skewers and drinks. I got cocktails while boyfie got oolong, no alcohol for him tonight.
Our orders came one by one and it was fast. They even have limited edition items, just for the season. Most of it were sold out already but I was lucky to be able to order the beef skirt skewers in cabbage. I wasn’t sure if I ate it right (there was a guide on how to enjoy eating certain items but not sure if it was this item) but I didn’t bother with formalities anymore. I just ate it as is and it was so good! The sauce was just so perfect.
Another notable yakitori (skewer) was the liver. It was so delicious and cooked to perfection, just the right heat.
There were a few more yakitori that we ordered - chicken with green onion, chicken heart, pork belly, beef and many more. I also liked the chicken in mentaiko (spicy pollack roe) but some people don’t really enjoy mentaiko. Not for everyone so be careful when ordering. The meatballs with cheese on top was surprisingly big in size. I thought they’ll give us only a small meatball.
Aside from the skewers, we ordered chicken skin chips, and sliced cucumber. Well, I was the only one eating it though. My partner ordered rice and it came with an egg and soup. There were different kinds of rice meals in the menu like rice with chicken or something flavored but he chose the plain rice.
All items are priced at 360 yen (tax inclusive) so it was an easy computation. We ordered a lot so we paid around 8,000 yen (~54 USD). They offer eat all you can too but it’s only available for 4 people and above.
We enjoyed our dinner date. The place was also clean and not packed and not too noisy so we liked it.
If you’re looking for yakitori, next time try toriki!
Thanks for reading!
See you around! じゃあ、またね！
All photos are taken using my phone unless stated otherwise.
