Dish · 7 kitchens in 3 cities
Eel
Eel smoked, jellied or grilled with a glaze — from East London to Tokyo.
Nobody paid to be here. Each kitchen is described from its own menu where it publishes one, unranked, so each note says how that kitchen makes it.
In London
Jellied eels
M. Manze · Bermondsey · ~£12 pp
Jellied eels, eels set in their own jelly, made on the premises, with vinegar on the side. The cold East End classic beside the hot pie.
Smoked eel, lardo & jalapeño panisse
Ploussard · Battersea · ~£48 pp
Smoked eel and lardo, cured pork fat, on panisse, a fried chickpea fritter, with jalapeño. With the parfait.
Smoked eel sandwich
Quo Vadis · Soho · ~£55 pp
Smoked eel in a toasted sandwich. Ordered to start, before anything else.
In Tokyo
Hakomeshi (箱めし)
Nihonbashi Tamai · Nihonbashi · ~¥3,800 pp
Sea eel (anago) over rice in a box, simmered or grilled
Hakomeshi, wild sea eel on rice in a box, simmered, grilled or both. Eat half as it comes, then pour on broth from the grilled bones as ochazuke, rice in broth.
Unajū (鰻重)
Nodaiwa · Azabu · ~¥6,000 pp
Unajū, eel grilled and glazed with tare, the soy glaze, over rice in a lacquer box, with liver soup. One box each, and our main.
Anago-zushi (穴子寿司)
Sushi Noike · Yanaka · ~¥3,000 pp
Conger eel on sushi rice
Anago-zushi, conger eel on vinegared rice, the house's named dish. The reason we'd come to Yanaka.
In Amsterdam
Broodje gerookte paling
Frens Haringhandel · Koningsplein · ~€6 pp
Smoked eel on a white roll, the old Dutch broodje, sandwich roll. The second fish, once the herring is gone.