Edifice of the Week: Gonpachi (Nichi Azabu)

Most Thursdays Cindy and I have lunch at Gonpachi in Nichi (West) Azabu. It's about halfway between work and home, so it makes a convenient meeting spot. But even if it wasn't convenient, we'd probably figure out a way to get here. It's our favorite Japanese restaurant. Gonpachi is part of a small chain--I think they have four other locations in Tokyo--but this is the only one we've been to.

I have heard conflicting stories about the original building that was on this site. One is that it was formerly a castle, another that it was a treasure house. Maybe it was both. It is probably most famous in recent years as the site of a 2002 lunch featuring President Bush and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

You have to duck (actually, C. J. and I do--Cindy doesn't) to get inside Gonpachi. Once you enter, you are met by a hostess, who calls out a greeting, which is echoed by a welcoming shout from all the staff.

There are two main floors, but the bottom one is divided into two levels. On the lowest is an open kitchen, with a large grill, that sends a mouth-watering aroma (and smoke) into the air. Surrounding the kitchen on three sides is a bar where you can sit, and tables on the floor beyond that.

Some of the tables on the bottom floor have a latticework of bamboo overhead. The upper part of the first floor is a row of booths along the eastern wall, elevated a few feet above the lower part.

The upper floor is open in the middle, and consists of rows of booths or rooms along each wall. The booths are like those on the first floor; the rooms are fancier. While still partly open to the balcony-like hall on one side, they are more private, and are treated like separate chambers. You have to remove your shoes and don slippers to eat in one of them.

Beautiful wood is everywhere inside. The tables on the first floor, and the extensive bar, are solid. The booths feature heavy benches. Any seat in the house allows a view of the enormous beams across the ceiling. And above the upper booths are screens of bamboo.

The verdict from our family--C. J. included--is that the food here is delicious. It's very Japanese--yakitori (skeweres of charcoal-grilled chicken) is the specialty, but they make great tempura as well. You can get a really good lunch special, featuring a little bit of everything,
for 2,000 yen (under $20). But this post is really about the building--we'll talk about food another time.