| 勢揃坂 蕎 ぎん清（渋谷区） Seizoroizaka Soba Ginsei (Shibuya-ku, Tokyo) Gaienmae / Soba  This famous restaurant is tucked away along the old Kamakura Kaido Road. It is also listed in the Michelin Guide. Lunch:￥1,000~￥1,999 Dinner:￥6,000~￥7,999 (sobaginsei.com) |
On the outskirts of Aoyama, along the old Kamakura Kaido Road, there is a soba restaurant known only to those in the know.
It is so secluded that you would not even notice it is a buckwheat noodle restaurant if you did not know it was there, but it is a famous restaurant that is listed in the Michelin Guide.
In this article, we would like to introduce you to a hidden gem of a soba restaurant in Gaienmae, Soba Ginsei.
Please check the official website and the Google map at the bottom of this page for opening hours, regular closing days, reviews, etc.
A restaurant so quiet that you forget you are in the city.
Soba Ginsei is a 7-8 minute walk from the nearest station, Gaienmae.
It is located along the old Kamakura-kaido road, not on the main street, and has no conspicuous signboard, so you would not recognize it as a soba restaurant unless you come here for the purpose of visiting.
The restaurant seats a little more than 10 people at the counter and tables, but the serenity of the restaurant’s interior is so serene that you may wonder if you are really in Aoyama.
Famous restaurants listed in the Michelin Guide
The Soba Ginsei is coarsely ground (nihachi) buckwheat noodles made from home-made stone-ground buckwheat flour, and made by the owner himself every day (as of March 2024).
The soba noodles are moderately firm and match the slightly sweet, mildly flavored buckwheat sauce that has no corners.
Although the restaurant is relatively new, opening in 2011, its taste is well-known and it has been selected as a Bib Gourmand in the Michelin Guide.
In the evening, you can order a course meal, which includes soba-mae (sake snacks) made with live fish and vegetables directly from the owner’s hometown, Ise-Shima, and a carefully selected selection of local sake, mainly from Fukushima Prefecture, the wife’s hometown.
Soba Ginsei’s specialty
When we asked the proprietress about the restaurant’s commitment, she gave us a surprising answer: “We are obsessed with chopsticks.
She told us that the chopsticks are made thin so that the soba noodles are easy to eat, and that some customers take them home with them after their meal.
He also said that he always changes the chopsticks when he serves soba at the end of an evening course meal.
He says, “I don’t want customers to eat soba with soba sauce that has fat on the chopsticks. I want the soba to taste as good as possible.
The proprietress’s attentive and thoughtful words conveyed her desire to make her customers’ soba as tasty as possible.
If you go to “Soba Ginsei”, please pay attention not only to the soba, but also to the chopsticks that the owner has put a lot of thought into.
Access, Reviews
For access, hours, holidays, and reviews of Soba Ginsei, please see the Google map below.
