Having opened in Meiji 32 (1899), and serving its signature yakitori (grilled chicken), unagi (eel) and nabe (hot pot) for over 110 years, Miyakagi is one of Nagoya's longest-running restaurants.
The first floor is for those wanting to try the grilled food, with a kitchen that pumps out a smoky aroma onto one of Nagoya's busiest roads, the bustling Hirokoji-dori, enticing customers to venture inside. But with winter just around the corner, I chose to eat upstairs to try one of its famous nabe. Although there is a wide range of side dishes to choose from, there are just three main nabe on the menu: sukiyaki (¥3,500), miso-suki (¥3,800) and its regular chicken nabe, shirataki (¥3,750).
I went for the third option, and although the meat doesn't come from the famous Cochin chicken of Nagoya, Mikawa jidori is a very respected alternative. The chicken provided was extremely fresh and consisted of meat, skin and liver, plus a variety of vegetables including onions, mushrooms, green onions and a healthy mound of greens.