Gonpachi - Nishi-Azabu

In Tokyo you can find the restaurant where they filmed the fight scene between Lucy Liu and Uma Thurman in Kill Bill. Outside looks good, but as soon as you go in you can see the place that you saw in the film. It had a bar downstairs where you can watch the chefs cook from directly in front. But the best place is at the top where you can enjoy, in addition to food, a magnificent panoramic view of the whole place. The waiters shout all at once when someone asks for a special dish or when someone leaves. The atmosphere is second to none, but the prices are a tad more expensive than a traditional izakaya.

A friend organized a dinner for our group of approximately 20 people at this place, coworkers from one of the embassies. Yes, Gonpachi had its 3 seconds of relevance in an Uma Thurman movie over 20 years ago, but does that justify a tourist trap?

For 8000yen a head, this is what each person got: 1 piece of salmon sashimi 1 chicken skewer 1 mystery meat stick 1 plate of mystery greens (to share at a table) 1-2 croquettes 1-2 deep fried shrimp + scallions Wow, what a feast! I really appreciated the 20x markup on the food. Regarding food quality, it's a smidge better than what you would find at an outdoor event or a food truck. There's no "special sauce" or originality—just the kind of basics any cook could prepare. We also had unlimited drinks served in tiny 10oz glasses and crammed with ice.