Esaki

Oden is probably the best winter comfort food in Japan — a rich stew of dashi broth, filled with all sorts of ingredients. You can try it in any number of places, but to get the full experience you should take a trip to a proper oden specialist restaurant. At Esaki, you can get a taste of the full variety of oden, with premium seasonal ingredients. The Kansai style broth they use is much richer than the native Kanto style, made with three different types of dried fish flakes and kelp. Inside a huge copper kettle of this soup, they stew premium ingredients like clams, large fillets of seasonal fish, tofu, and much more. In addition to oden, they also offer other dishes like sashimi, sashimi meatballs, and charcoal grilled dishes cooked over binchotan charcoal. They offer a set tasting menu to get a sample of all the good stuff, or if you already know what you like then you can pick a la carte from the chalkboard menu of the day. The restaurant is compact and quite exclusive, with only 8 counted seats and 8 tatami seats available. Reserve your spot early to avoid missing out.