MY NEXT MEAL / TOKYO

SUSHI ZANMAI

In the first of a series that riffs on the regular Monocle magazine feature My Last Meal, we ask staffers about the restaurants and places they’re longing to return to and how hospitality helps make our cities tick.

There are many more exalted sushi restaurants in Tokyo but I’ve been going to Sushi Zanmai in Shibuya for years (writes Fiona Wilson). It has none of the anonymity you might expect from a chain; it’s warm and friendly, “heartful” even (to borrow a Japanglish word). The chefs – all in crisp whites – give a hearty chorus of irasshaimase (welcome) and Nozawa-san, my favourite waitress, rushes to bring the green tea, warm hand towels and glasses of iced water.

There is a menu but I barely look; it’s always sushi or a crab salad for me and a large pile of ikura temaki (a cone of seaweed, rice and salmon eggs) for my children. I’ve been here in all seasons and on all occasions; I can be in and out in 15 minutes if necessary. The quality is great and the prices reasonable; no wonder chef René Redzepi (of Noma fame) recommended this chain in a list of his favourite restaurants in Tokyo. A cheery arigato gozaimashita (thank you) accompanies departing diners and sugary lollies shaped like sushi are handed out to the children. Nozawa-san gives us a wave from the doorstep and we disappear into the bustle of Shibuya.

As most people were working at home, I had lunch at Sushi Zanmai with a skeleton staff and just one other person eating there (unheard of). Nozawasan said it’s been quiet with the virus. Restaurants haven’t closed in Tokyo but numbers are down and the lunchtime trade is quiet with so many people away from their offices. The restaurant made the most of the lull to close for a quick refurb. Freshly scrubbed, it will be ready once the hordes descend again.

Address:

2-22-11 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

Fiona’s order:

Grilled tuna, scallop, salmon and kohada (shad) sushi A side order of yuba (tofu skin) Miso soup Green tea