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Bird Land Tokyo – yakitori in the basement of Ginza

July 20, 2017 by Jennifer Che 6 Comments

Bird Land Tokyo 31.jpg

Bird Land Tokyo

Bird Land is a one-Michelin starred yakitori (grilled chicken) place located in the basement of the Ginza subway station in Tokyo. It sits across the corridor from its more famous neighbor, Sukiyabashi Jiro.

Though located kiddie corner from each other, that is where the similarities end.

While dinner at Sukiyabashi Jiro is a serious affair where the diners quietly watch Jiro perfect his craft, dinner at Bird Land is loud, smoky, and crowded.
Bird Land Tokyo
The yakitori concept revolves around the hot charcoal grills in the center. You can either order a la carte or try a tasting menu. They grill mostly vegetables and various chicken parts on skewers.
Bird-Land-Tokyo_-13.jpg Bird Land Tokyo -12.jpg
The Chef’s Omakase (tasting menu) is reasonably priced and is an easy (brainless) way to try a variety of things if it’s your first time.There are two different choices for the Chef’s Omakase: The smaller one costs 6300 JPY and includes an assortment of appetizers, chicken liver pate, eight types of yakitori, sanshoyaki (Japanese spiced teriyaki chicken), and oyako-don (chicken and egg on rice). The larger one costs 8400 JPY and additionally includes a char-grilled fillet, grilled cheese, and dessert.

Since we didn’t know what we wanted, we decided to go with the tasting menu. Bryan got the larger one, and I got the smaller one.
Bird Land Tokyo BBird Land Tokyo Bird Land Tokyo
We started with an assortment of cold appetizers: chicken gizzard, chicken skin, Chinese watercress (or hollow heart vegetable), and a tiny onion.
Bird Land Tokyo chicken filet
Next was a chicken “filet” (breast meat) with sweet Japanese apricot sauce and shiso.
Bird Land Tokyo chicken liver pate
We each had a tiny block of chicken liver pate with shiso and a crostini.
Bird Land Tokyo
Chicken liver!
Bird Land Tokyo chicken butt
Bryan’s longer tasting included chicken butt, which they described as the muscle near the tail.
Bird Land Tokyo chicken gizzard
My tasting had chicken gizzard instead.
Bird Land Tokyo chicken thigh
Chicken thigh with lime.
Bird Land Tokyo chicken breast wasabi
Chicken breast with wasabi.
Bird Land Tokyo chicken breast wasabi
It was very tender, and the chicken was barely cooked inside (!).
Bird Land Tokyo tofu
The tofu came served with salt, black pepper, and olive oil. It was delicious, super soft, and creamy, sort of like a really fine ricotta or burrata cheese. Surprisingly, this turned out to be one of my favorite courses!
Bird Land Tokyo gingko nuts
My favorite! Grilled gingko nuts!
Bird-Land-Tokyo_-18.jpg Bird Land Tokyo salad
Salad was a simple mix of wild greens. The larger tasting menu’s salad include a quarter slice of a *super* sweet tomato.
Bird Land Tokyo chicken meat ball tsukune
Chicken meat ball (tsukune).
Bird Land Tokyo crispy skin kawa
Crispy skin (kawa).
Bird Land Tokyo sansho yaki
I loved the herbs in this next course, sansho yaki, which consisted of chicken marinated in teriyaki sauce, dusted with sansho powder (prickly ash, aka Sichuan peppercorns!), and garnished with kinome (leaves of the prickly ash).
Bird Land Tokyo chicken leg with onion and green pepper
Finally, we ended with a skewer of chicken leg with onion and green pepper.
Bird Land Tokyo Cacciocavallo cheese
Bryan’s extended menu also included char-grilled cheese, a Cacciocavallo from Yoshida-bokujyo, Okayama.
Bird Land TokyoBird-Land-Tokyo_-24.jpg Bird Land Tokyo
Finally, we ended with an excellent oyako-don (chicken and egg over rice) which comes with broth and pickles
Bird Land Tokyo 27.jpg
Bryan’s extended tasting came with dessert, and he could choose between a Japanese custard pudding (pictured above) or Turkish rice pudding.
Bird Land Tokyo 29.jpg

Bird Land Tokyo – General Comments

All in all, Bird Land is solid. The vivacious environment is fun and authentic. It’s cool to sit at the counter and watch the grill masters manage all the different pieces that they are cooking.

I still enjoyed the yakitori we had at Nakameguroiguchi more, at least in terms of absolute quality of the grilled meat.

This place, however, wins on the fun environment, and the food is still quite good. Plus as as bonus, you may get to see Jiro if you come at the right time (we did!).
Bird Land Tokyo 30.jpg

Bird Land Tokyo
Nearest Station: Ginza
Japan, 〒104-0061 Tokyo, Chuo,
Ginza, 4 Chome−2−15, 塚本素山ビル

Filed Under: Japan, Michelin, Michelin1, Restaurant, Review, Tokyo, World Travel

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Comments

  1. Frances Fung says

    July 20, 2017 at 9:40 am

    Have you tried Ranjatai or Toriki (at Kinshicho)?

    Reply
    • Jennifer Che says

      July 24, 2017 at 11:26 pm

      I have not tried either of them. To be honest, my yakitori experience is pretty limited. We’ve mostly been eating sushi whenever we come to Japan. Time to branch out!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Bird Land Tokyo - yakitori in the basement of Ginza ⋆ Epeak . Independent news and blogs says:
    July 20, 2017 at 9:03 am

    […] Source link […]

    Reply
  2. Shima Steak Tokyo - The famous steak sandwich - Tiny Urban Kitchen says:
    July 30, 2017 at 8:03 pm

    […] Posts  Sushi Ya Bird Land Tokyo Tour of Top Taiwanese Restaurants Part I: Noodles, Dumplings, and Breakfast Tour of Top Taiwanese […]

    Reply
  3. Tsukiji Fish Market Auction + Sushi Bun Breakfast - Tiny Urban Kitchen says:
    August 6, 2017 at 1:04 am

    […] Posts  Sushi Ya Bird Land Tokyo Tour of Top Taiwanese Restaurants Part I: Noodles, Dumplings, and Breakfast Tour of Top Taiwanese […]

    Reply
  4. Yardbird Hong Kong - Tiny Urban Kitchen says:
    November 8, 2018 at 11:37 am

    […] seek out sushi when I’m in Japan, I’ve still dined at some pretty good places, such as 1-Michelin starred Bird Land (made even more famous because it’s located next to Sukiyabashi Jiro) and another lovely […]

    Reply

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Welcome to Tiny Urban Kitchen!

JenChe

Hi, my name's Jen and welcome to my cooking, eating, and travel site! I am a Boston to Hong Kong transplant, born and raised in Ohio with parents from Taiwan. Feel free to head on over to the About page if you want to learn more about me, or just explore away, maybe starting with the Recipe Index or one of the travel pages! I hope you enjoy this site!
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