Uniholic, Roppongi

There are so many things to love about Tokyo, but no doubt that the incredible cuisine is one of them.  I've enjoyed the high end (consuming 8 Michelin stars in 3 days!) and the convenience (yes, I ate entire meals at 7-Eleven!), and just about everything in between (see my master post for full list of reviews).  Another thing I love about Japan is the complete obsession with singular items, and the theme experiences that surround them.  In this case, one of my favorite foods: uni.  Uni is the entire basis of a restaurant, aptly named Uniholic, located near my office.  I adored the name even.

#allTheUni.

Yup, I went to a restaurant that served any entire menu based around uni.  Literally.  They have exactly 1 non-uni dish.  Do not go here if you are not an uniholic (like my manager, who was traveling with me, and very clearly stated his preference NOT to attend.

Luckily, one of my other fellow travelers was excited by this idea, and agreed to join me for lunch. Together, the two of us sampled nearly every item on the smaller lunch menu.  Some of it was actually *really* good, other dishes were fine, others were MEH.  I did almost go back a few nights later, so, that is a testament to how fabulous the good ones were.

Signage.

The sign out front honestly made me excited.  The restaurant name leaves no doubt in what you are about to experience.  Uni.  All the uni.

Entrance.

I think there is likely a story behind the panels featured on the doorway, but I wasn't really able to figure out what it was.  Enough English was spoken for us to order and communicate the basics, but asking about the panels seemed outside the realm of what I should try to ask, given my entire lack of Japanese language skills.

Bar Seating.

The bar had counter seating for pairs or singles, and really did look like a comfortable space to dine alone in peace.

I seriously considered coming back several other nights, for a cocktail, the uni pasta dish that isn't available at lunch that I really wanted to try, or even just the ridiculously good uni ice cream.  But more on that soon.

Tables.

We were seated at a regular table, wooden, a bit rustic.

Place Setting.

It came pre-set with chopsticks, and Uniholic branded coasters and hand wipes.

Somehow the branding didn't feel tacky, and I think it is because the decor really was otherwise quite nice.

Condiments.

Our table also had its own condiments, including salt, pepper, and soy sauce.

A Menu of UNI!

The lunch menu isn't as extensive as dinner, but still has plenty of uni for everyone.   The menu is a bit confusing, but I believe the first 4 items above are all entrees, and the rest are a collection of smaller plates to compose a meal as you see fit.  We opted for one larger set menu, and a slew of other items a la carte.

There is only one non uni item, the fried chicken (which we skipped), and only one dessert.

Drinks.

The drink menu was a novel in comparison.  Pages and pages of cocktails, plus the expected sake, beer, and shochu.

Wasabi. 950 JPY.

I'm not normally a day drinker, but, I couldn't really resist trying something, given the extensive line up.

I went for the most fascinating sounding one, just titled, "Wasabi".

It did, indeed, come with a wasabi rim.  I loved the zing it provided, a very unique cocktail.

Sea urchin shot -roppongi style-. 600 JPY.

We started off with ... an uni shot of course.  A *jelly* uni shot.  Like you do.

I had notes on this dish, but alas, I lost them.  I do remember being quite pleased at the start of the meal ... and I mean, how would you not be, given that beautiful uni presented front and center ...

Fresh vegetables bagna cauda with UNI sauce. 700 jpy.

From there we moved on to vegetables.  Who orders crudite at an uni restaurant?  Yeah, me.  For good reason!

The vegetables were all just simple raw veggies, served in finger food, stick style, in a cup with ice.  A full rainbow of colors, which was certainly more visually interesting than most crudite.  Carrots, two colors of bell peppers, broccoli, celery, jicama, radish.  All were extremely fresh and crisp, and I liked them more than most vegetables I've encountered.

The real reason I adored this dish though was the mayo uni dip.  OMG.  I was absolutely in love with the mayo uni dip for the veggies.  Seriously.

My companion had one veggie and a tiny bit of dip, and I literally ate the rest of it.  The entire shot glass.  Of mayo.  I ran out of veggies, and just used a spoon to finish every last drop.  I would have had another shot of it, no question.  Yes, straight.  It was crazy good.

This was, hands down, the dish of the day.  I'd get it again, anytime.

Uni Butter Baguette. 600 JPY.

Then it was time to start getting into the heavier offerings.   Nearly every review I read in advance of my visit mentioned this dish as a "must get".

And yes, it was excellent.  Just a toasted baguette with uni butter slathered on, but, the bread was nicely toasted (just the right amount of crunch, no cutting your mouth, and still soft inside), and, um, yeah, uni butter is as fantastic as you would guess it is, and it was perfectly soaked in.

We both enjoyed this, and gladly finished our two pieces.

2 Kinds of Uni Sashimi of the Day. 1500 JPY.

"Compare 2 kinds of sea urchin today."

After those more innovative dishes, it was time to focus on just uni.

The different kinds were actually quite distinct, and I found myself liking one far more than the others.  Sadly, I lost my notes on this dish too.

Set Menu: 2800 JPY.

"3 kinds of UNI sashami, appetizer, miso soup, and rice. "

And finally, the uni set lunch.  It contained a slew of different dishes.

I'm not one for rice, so my companion got that to himself.  Same with the miso soup, although I did try a bite of it.  It was, um, miso soup?  Not something I cared about, given all the uni surrounding me.

The sashimi in the middle was a nice non-uni touch, quite fresh, light.  I really liked the shiso leaf and shaved diakon (?) that came with it, super fresh, crisp, and flavorful.  Although we were sharing, let's just say, my companion didn't get any of that.

The pickles were also fabulous, and, uh, I may have taken more than my share while he was busy with the rice.

And finally, a selection of 3 different kinds of raw uni.  It was really interesting to compare them, an experience I've never had before.  I've always known there is variance due to different regions and species, but this made it very obvious, much like the previous dish.

The top was one was fine but boring - not any funk, but it was kinda just there.  Non-offensive, but not something to rave about. The middle one was quite good, much smaller lobes than I've had before, and slightly sweet too.   But the bottom one however just took the prize.  It was amazing, super creamy.  No question the best uni of the day.  It was nice to see such difference in the regional variation!

I'm glad we ordered this for the opportunity to do the trio tasting, and for the fresh and crunchy veggie/pickle components, and of course, to get a better understanding of uni.

Sea Salt Vanilla UNI Ice Cream. 400 JPY.

And finally ... dessert.  Yup, uni dessert.  FABULOUS uni dessert.

I obviously love ice cream, and I'm not one to shy away from uni based desserts (like uni creme brûlée from Quince or the signature version from Lot 7, or the uni flan from Fifth Floor or Skool, or he uni chawanmushi at Alexander's and Commonwealth, etc.), but I'll admit I wasn't really expecting this to be as amazing as it was.

It looks simple, but, wow.  It was both sweet and salty, and at first, it really just tasted like (very good) salted caramel ice cream.  But then the uni came through on the finish, and it was just incredibly delightful.  So very, very, very good.

And I of course was quite happy with the crispy bits of feuilletine for a bit of texture and additional caramelized crunchy goodness.

My companion and I both really adored it, and found the flavor shockingly complex.  Ok, I might have claimed that uni dip was the best dish of the meal, but really, *this* was the dish of the meal, and I'd go back for it in a heartbeat.

*****.  Perfection.