Yakitori Taniguchi (焼鳥 谷口) is a yakitori restaurant in Amagasaki, just a 20-minute train ride from Osaka-Umeda, run by Chef Taniguchi Yuuta (谷口祐太). The restaurant specializes in Takasakadori (高坂鶏), a breed of chicken from Hyogo raised in a specially controlled, near-sterile environment that makes it possible to consume the entire bird raw, including both the meat and the offal. And plenty of raw chicken you will be served here, including a plate of shiromi sashimi (白身のお造り) [pic 3], heart, shiroreba (白レバー), and gizzards [pic 4]—even the breast (むね) was served medium-rare [pic 5].
Chef Taniguchi trained at Yakitori Daikichi (やきとり大吉), a well-known yakitori chain with locations across Japan. In an era when a yakitori chef’s training and lineage are increasingly emphasized, much like in the sushi world (e.g., the 鳥しき一門, 末富 Group, etc.), this feels relatively uncommon.
For me, the standout characteristics of Takasakadori lie in the sweet umami of the flesh and its clean fat/abura, and Chef Taniguchi does well to highlight them. I would describe his cooking as honest: the size of the cuts are generous, there is a clear emphasis on fat, the salting of the flesh is kept to a minimum, and there is no attempt to be creative for the sake of being different. Given the size of the cuts, he rests his skewers extensively, sometimes repeating the fire-and-rest cycle up to three times for larger pieces. He also seems quite fond of using smoke to add complexity, often leaving the fat/abura side of the meat swimming in a steady stream of smoke for minutes at a time [pic 1]. It’s a good thing the extraction fans here work exceptionally well.
Below is a brief description of the menu, with ☆ for skewers and dishes I particularly enjoyed:
- Chicken consommé, intensely flavoured with ginger
- Shiromi sashimi with a dipping sauce of chicken oil and ginger
- Clockwise from top-left: heart, shiroreba, and gizzard (all raw) with a sprinkle of sesame, sesame oil, and salt ☆
- Chicken breast with skin, served with grated horseradish(山わさび) on the side
- Thigh(もも) with skin, served with salted peppercorns ☆
- Tsukune(つくね)
- Upper thigh(上もも) layered with alternating meat and skin/fat ☆
- Tomatoda(トマトダ) tomatoes from Shizuoka, grilled
- Roughly grated daikon(鬼おろし), with lightly pickled cucumber and myoga
- Negima(ねぎま) using chicken breast
- Chicken wing(手羽先)
- Yuba and tofu(湯葉豆腐)
- Chicken liver pâté, toasted shokupan(食パン), and pickled vegetables
- Nototemari(のとてまり) shiitake from Ishikawa, grilled with chicken fat
- Chicken oyster/sot l'y laisse with the thigh meat and skin attached(ももの付け根), served with kanzuri(かんずり) ☆☆
- Katamawari(肩回り), also known as Furisode(ふりそで), served with soy-marinated green onions
- (Add-on) Grilled shiroreba
- Chicken rice and chicken soup
I loved the atmosphere here reflecting the cooking, neither flashy nor sterile. Chef Taniguchi is certainly a lovely chap; switches on when grilling the skewers, but otherwise comes across as relaxed with a sense of humour. The service team is also very attentive despite the casual setting. They used to be quite difficult to snag a seat but now that the restaurant is listed on omakase.in, occasional cancellations do get released every now and then. Well worth checking out if you’re in the area.
by dine_fining