01 / ABOUT THE PLACE
About this place
At Hiiragi-tei, start with tataki made from Omi chicken thigh or breast. Some diners say the thigh is cut thick and grows more savoury with each bite; others mention enjoying it with a delicately flavoured soy sauce. Breast tataki is also on the menu, offering a different cut from the more substantial thigh. The tataki is described as a raw dish, so it is best enjoyed soon after ordering.
The yakitori selection features freshly butchered Omi chicken from Shiga. Alongside familiar cuts such as thigh, breast, neck, gizzard and wing, there are limited-quantity chochin and segimo, as well as rarer options listed as tori filet and sorinsu. One visitor noted that the skewers were generously sized and satisfying, so consider ordering fewer if you want to sample several kinds. White liver is also available on a skewer; one diner described it as rich yet light.
Between skewers, you can add dishes such as salt-grilled chicken tenderloin with grated daikon and spring onion, or seared shank with grated daikon and wasabi. Water eggplant with ponzu and steamed chicken with sansho sauce offer further variety alongside the yakitori. To finish, choose between fresh egg over rice and egg over rice with karasumi. The menu makes it easy to build a meal around skewers, or to finish with a bowl of rice.
Drinks include sake, beer and wine, as well as kabosu-shibori, described as a good match for food and available on the rocks or with soda. There is also Shakujō plum wine, with plum and peach flavours, and yuzu liqueur, giving you a choice of drinks to pair with the yakitori.
Some diners have recorded eating at the counter, while others have used the upstairs tables as a group. Reservations are recommended for dinner, so it is worth booking ahead. Hot-pot dishes, including Omi chicken mizutaki, Omi chicken nabe and shamo sukiyaki, all require reservations.
