Torikizoku

Personal experience

One weekday evening in May, at around 7pm, we went to Torikizoku in Sanjo-Kiyamachi, located along Kiyamachi Street. As we had booked in advance, we were immediately shown to our table as soon as we arrived at the restaurant.
The restaurant wasn’t very big, and it was practically full inside. A tablet is installed on each table, making it easy to place orders from there. In principle, all the dishes on the menu are accompanied by photos, so you can order with complete peace of mind. And in addition to the tablet, a large illustrated menu is also placed next to the table, making it easy to see all the dishes on offer.

One of the special features of Torikizoku restaurants is that everything – from yakitori skewers and side dishes to alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages and desserts – is priced the same. In 2025, each item is offered at a single price of 390 yen. Over the past ten years, due to rising raw material costs and inflation, this single price has risen from 290 yen to 390 yen. Despite this increase, it remains undeniably affordable. And with the recent depreciation of the yen, foreign tourists find these prices even more advantageous. It’s worth noting that one of this restaurant’s commitments is to use exclusively Japanese chicken for its skewers. The sauce is also made in-house, and each skewer is carefully prepared, one by one.

This restaurant has a lively izakaya atmosphere, so it’s not a quiet, refined place. However, it does offer an all-you-can-drink children’s menu, making it very suitable for families with children. The menu focuses mainly on grilled chicken skewers (yakitori). There are also a few side dishes such as edamame, cucumber and cabbage. There are also mini-ramen, but few salad-type dishes. We don’t often order this dish, but there is a dish called tori kamameshi (rice cooked in a pot with chicken) on the menu. As it takes time to prepare, a few moments before closing time, an employee comes to inform each table that “it’s the deadline for the last order of tori kamameshi”. This does not mean that this is the last order for the whole meal, but only for this particular dish.

As far as desserts are concerned, there are only a few ice-cream-type options, and the choice remains rather limited. This is because in Japan, it’s not customary to eat a dessert immediately after a meal. This is why, in many Japanese restaurants, dessert choices are often few and far between. If you like chicken skewers and would like to discover a chain of yakitori restaurants that is well known in Japan, why not try it at least once?