The hiragana character ‘u’ (for unagi, ‘eel’) emblazons the lantern hanging outside this old-style detached house, while the fluttering noren proudly proclaims ‘Founded in 1835’. Preserving Hashimoto, a family business in continuous operation since the days of the shogunate, is the sixth-generation chef. Classic Edo-style grilled eel is served, prepared with a tare sauce passed down through generations. While we wait for our ‘Unaju’, broiled eel with rice in a lacquered box, a variety of skewers arrive to delight us, including grilled eel liver, ribs, and fin rich with its flavour.