I, hiikun, love fish dishes.
Tuna, salmon, red snapper/sea bream, bonito, yellowtail, etc.
I love fish dishes so much that I always eat some kind of fish at least once a day.
Of all fish, mackerel (“saba” in Japanese) is my favorite.
Why?
Mackerels are affordable, easy to prepare, and delicious.
I usually buy salted mackerel at the supermarket and cook it myself.
I buy frozen mackerel simmered in miso and heat it up to eat.
One day I suddenly felt like visiting a restaurant specializing in mackerel dishes.
So I looked it up on the internet.
Then I found a store.
I actually went to that restaurant and ate there.
I liked it so much that I would like to introduce it to you.
What is the name of that restaurant?
SABAR, a restaurant specializing in mackerel cuisine .
This article is intended for the following people
・Those who love mackerel dishes
By reading this article,
you will notice the abundance and attractiveness of mackerel dishes
and definitely feel like visiting “SABAR”.
This was my first visit and I was satisfied.
I decided to write this article to let my readers know how good SABAR is.
I hope you will read it to the end.
What is “SABAR” ?
Sabar, a mackerel restaurant, is based in Toyonaka City, Osaka Prefecture.
This restaurant specializes in mackerel cuisine and is operated by SABAR Co.
The concept of the restaurant is “a place where you can meet “mackerel” that you have never met before.
It was established in 2014 (Heisei 26) as an information center for the attraction of mackerel.
(Taken from the official website/concept page )
“Sabar” has stores in Kansai, Kanto, Tokai, and Chugoku regions.
It also has a store in Singapore.
Please refer to this page for the location of each store.
Although I love mackerels,
I learned of the existence of this restaurant only a couple of months ago.
I wanted to visit a restaurant specializing in mackerel cuisine.
I discovered it by chance when searching the Internet.
Before I knew about this restaurant,
The only mackerel dishes I could think of were mackerels grilled with salt or simmered in miso.
But when I looked at the menu within the official website,
I was overwhelmed by the variety of mackerel dishes.
Starting with the standard salted and grilled dishes, miso-broiled dishes, and sashimi fresh raw fish,
salads, sushi, tempura, skewers, etc. are all intriguing.
In addition, the menu is written in both Japanese and English.
So international customers will be able to choose dishes with some peace of mind.
*However, it is not clear whether English-speaking clerks are stationed at the restaurant.
I thought, “I’d love to give it a try.”
I visited the SABAR Hankyu Sanbangai restaurant on August 29.
I would like to introduce to you some of the dishes I ate there.
Please look forward to it.
Before that, I will tell you how to get to the SABAR Hankyu Sanbangai restaurante.
How to get there
First, let me show you how to get to the SABAR Hankyu Umeda Sanbangai restaurante.
The starting point is the North ticket gate of Umeda Station on the Osaka Metro Midosuji Line.
The arrow in the photo points to the left.
However, when you get off the train and exit the ticket gate, proceed to the right.
You can see the road leading to Hankyu Osaka Umeda Station.
Please go straight there.
After a short distance, you will see stairs leading to Hankyu Osaka Umeda Station.
I wanted to photograph street from the Midosuji Line Umeda Station to here.
There were too many people, so I refrained from taking pictures.
Up these stairs…
You can see the entrance and exit of Hankyu Osaka Umeda Station.
Head for the aisle indicated by the red arrow in the lower right corner of the photo.
People coming to Umeda by lines other than the Hankyu and Midosuji lines (JR, Hanshin, and Osaka Metro Tanimachi and Yotsubashi lines)
should also aim for this location first.
Please go straight down this passageway.
The red arrow on the left hand side points to,
Kinokuniya Bookstore.
After a short distance, you will see an escalator leading to the underground shopping center.
Please go down to the second basement level.
I went down to the second basement floor.
There is an information board in front of you.
Look for the SABAR Hankyu Sanbangai restaurante.
It is located at number 38.
It is very close to here.
Go straight down the street in front of you and turn left at the first corner.
And then…
you can see it.
You have arrived at the SABAR Hankyu Sanbangai store.
I, hiikun, arrived at the site a little before 6 pm.
As it was before peak dinner time, there was no one else in the restaurant but me.
Now, let’s actually have mackerel dishes.
The meals that I ate
Now let’s take a look at the actual dishes I ate.
First, here is what was served as a tsukidashi*. * “Tsukidashi” or “Otoshi” is an appetizer automatically served in many Japanese style bars called izakaya before you place an order or before your ordered meals come. It is like a table charge. In Kansai region including Osaka, where I hiikun live, we use the word “Tsukidashi, but “Otoshi is more commonly used in other areas like Kanto region including Tokyo. Please remember that, in many Japanese style pub called izakaya, Tsukidashi/Otoshi is automatically served and basically charged even if even when you don’t order it.
It is mackerel stew and bite-size mackerel sushi.
I like that it is served in a mackerel can.
It is somewhat strong in flavor.
However, the flavor of the mackerel is not overpowered by the seasonings.
It tasted good.
Although I love mackerels,
I had mackerel sushi for the first time.
This is probably because they are well prepared and cooked.
It was delicious, with no odor at all.
The first meal is a half-size half-size mackerel super beauty salad.
It is a dish of raw mackerel fillets and vegetables tossed with Italian-style dressing.
Whenever I come to a restaurant or tavern, it is my custom to get a salad as my first meal.
I never neglect vegetable intake.
The second dish was a half-size portion of the famous Torosaba mackerel sashimi.
The appearance is truly vibrant.
In fact, this was the first time I had mackerel sashimi.
As with the mackerel sushi served as “tsukidashi”, there is no odor at all.
It is probably because the quality mackerel was properly cooked.
In order to enjoy the original flavor of the mackerel, I kept adding soy sauce and wasabi to a minimum.
I was able to enjoy the original flavor and elasticity of the mackerel
that I can never experience in eating grilled or boiled mackerels.
I had it wrapped in shiso leaves.
Mackerel and shiso leaves, they go great together.
Well, it was delicious.
I loved the mackerel sashimi.
If you don’t like raw mackerel,
Torosaba (mackerel) tataki seared mackerels would also be recommended.
I, hiikun, did not eat any of the seared mackerel this time.
However, it was delicious enough to be served raw.
Tataki seared mackerel should taste even better.
I would love to try it next time I come.
Moving on to the third meal.
The next dish is the one I most wanted to try at SABAR.
Here it is.
Mega Toro Saba (half size) grilled with salt.
Since it is a half size, I thought it would be small.
However, when I saw the actual product, I was surprised to find that it was surprisingly long and large.
This is the most expensive item I had.
The price is 1,650 yen.
Crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.
I, hiikun, sometimes cook grilled mackerel myself at home.
But, things don’t go as planned.
Even if I manage to make the outside crispy,
it is really difficult for me to make the inside juicy.
I felt the greatness of a professional cook.
It has just the right amount of salt, so it is delicious eaten as is.
However, ponzu (Japanese citrus sour sauce) was prepared, so I had it with ponzu.
Grilled mackerel with salt goes very well with ponzu.
It also goes well with grated daikon.
The grated daikon radish and ponzu will keep the mackerel from getting too oily.
It changes to a clean and refreshing taste.
The mackerel, filled with lots of meat, quickly became only bones.
It was easy to eat with few small bones.
A little pricey, though,
the taste, quantity and size are perfect.
I was very satisfied.
I wanted fried food, so I ordered tempura as my fourth dish.
It is plump and juicy.
The batter is just the right amount so it does not spoil the flavor of the mackerel.
Seasonal vegetable tempura is also served alongside.
Personally, I enjoyed the eringi mashroom the most.
It was served with the prepared tentsuyu (soy-based dipping sauce for tempura).
However, I personally would have preferred it with salt.
There was no salt on each table.
You may ask the staff to prepare it for you.
Next time I visit the restaurant and order tempura, I will ask if they have salt available.
Finally, it is time to close.
The last meal is ramen.
The last thing I got was a half ramen to finish off the meal.
Everyone, please take a careful look at the photo above.
Do you notice anything?
The rice noodles, ingredients, and juices lean slightly toward me.
In fact, the bowl itself is designed to tilt toward the eaters so that they can eat easily.
There is no need to bother lifting the bowl or leaning your body against it.
So I would like to give high score to this restaurant.
The quantity is small, as it is a closing dish.
But it is just the right amount as I have eaten various mackerel dishes.
I was quite full.
The normal portion of one served at a ramen restaurant is too much.
The soup is soy sauce based, but you can also taste the flavor of the mackerel.
It was light and very tasty.
I also ate up all the soup.
They were all delicious and I felt satisfied with them
Thank you for the meal. Gochisousamadesita!
Here are the items I had and their prices.
＜送料無料＞「とろさば料理専門店 鯖や SABAR（サバー）」極み冷凍：【焼きさば寿司】
さば料理専門店SABAR監修 しめさば 5枚真空 約100～120g 骨取り 鯖や SABAR すしねた 生食用 〆鯖 サバ 酢〆 刺身用 棒寿司 押し寿司
【送料無料】鯖味噌ラー油 190g×3個 SABARA- さば味噌ラー油 ご飯のお供 鯖フレーク 食べるラー油 お酒の肴 辣油 旨辛 サバ味噌ラー油 さば味噌 サバ 季折
summary
This time, I had a variety of mackerel dishes at SABAR Hankyu Sanbangai.
I introduced them to you.
How were they?
Through this experience,
I recognized again that
that mackerel is a versatile ingredient that can be applied to not only mackerel grilled, and simmered, sashimi, and sushi,
but also many different styles of cooking.
The prices are reasonable, yet delicious!
I was able to feel the charm of mackerel even more.
This time we had mainly a la carte dishes.
Set meals are also served at lunch.
Saba Sushi can also be taken home.
I hope that
all you mackerel fans will have the opportunity to visit “SABAR”.
Prices and items offered may vary from store to store.
If you feel concerned about it, I recommend that you contact the store for more detail in advance.
Thank you for reading to the end.
See you in the next article.
＜送料無料＞「とろさば料理専門店 鯖や SABAR（サバー）」極み冷凍：【焼きさば寿司】
さば料理専門店SABAR監修 しめさば 5枚真空 約100～120g 骨取り 鯖や SABAR すしねた 生食用 〆鯖 サバ 酢〆 刺身用 棒寿司 押し寿司
【送料無料】鯖味噌ラー油 190g×3個 SABARA- さば味噌ラー油 ご飯のお供 鯖フレーク 食べるラー油 お酒の肴 辣油 旨辛 サバ味噌ラー油 さば味噌 サバ 季折
