Kani Doraku Shinjuku Honten かに道楽新宿本店 (Tokyo, JAPAN) ★★★★☆

One of the most exciting meals you will ever find in Japan is their "all-crab" dinner. There are a number of places serving a full-course meal of crab dishes in Tokyo but as any crab lover would tell you, Kani Doraku (かに道楽) is the place with the best crab centric menus and the most affordable prices.

Kani Doraku has a few branches across Tokyo but it's their Shinjuku Ekimae branch that has attracted most of the attention mainly due to the giant mechanical crab they have at the front. But for us shopaholics, the comfort of being close to most of the department stores (Isetan, 0101, Beams etc.) speaks volume and that's when the Kani Doraku Shinjuku Honten (かに道楽新宿本店) comes in.



The two-storey Kani Doraku Shinjuku Honten is "strategically" located next to Isetan and just a 5-minute walk to the Shinjuku Sanchome subway station.



The place is beautifully decorated in wood creating a nice sense of comfort and warmth. It was only 5:30pm so we were really more interested in getting something a little more light and we ended up ordering two of the shortest course dinner (4,700yen and 5,200yen respectively).



Both sets started us off with this poached queen crab served with Japanese sweet vinegar. The crab meat was sweet and delicious.



Next up was queen crab sashimi that was eaten with soy sauce and wasabi.



This was my favorite dish, crab leg tempura. The batter was very thin giving the crab legs a nice crispy texture but without tampering the bite. That was ohhh sooo good!



Crab paste isn't something for everyone as the flavors are often considered a bit rich for certain people. But it's one of my favorite too. This is very nice and fresh.



Who would shy away from some hot pot in the middle of fall, especially it's hot pot with in-season crab and vegetables?



Crab meat sushi was probably one dish that I could do without.



Finally steamed rice with some tiny crab legs. 




I honestly think they should have some crab flavored ice-cream for dessert but here's a traditional green tea with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream as my sweet treat tonight. The green tea was prepared right on the spot for me.








Food Rating: 6/10
Price: ¥¥¥¥
Address: 〒160-0022 3-14-20, Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Theatre Building 7-8/F
Closest Metro Station: Shinjuku Sanchome
Tel: +81 3-3352-0096
Website: douraku.co.jp.e.at.hp.transer.com/kanto/shinjyuku_h/