Despite the second largest Japanese expat community outside Japan, Bangkok doesn’t have a Japan town. There’s China town and Korean town and east of Phrom Phong shop signs, restaurant signs, all signs turn into Japanese. Japanese are unassuming and in the neighborhoods of Phrom Phong, Thong Loh, Ekkamai, and Prak Khanong omnipresent. They don’t need their own “town”, they just are. And they like to eat well.
Japanese restaurants are plentiful. To choose the best one might be a never ending guessing game, unless you have some inside knowledge. One of the best yakitori chefs in town just happens to be a serious karateka. He mentioned his restaurant Toritama a few times, but friends standing nearby mouthed “expensive” behind their raised hands.
Toritama Bangkok turned four in September. It was time for celebration and a great occasion to explore the famed Japanese restaurant in Ekkamai. Despite the fewer visitors to Thailand at the moment, the place was quite busy for a Monday night. The free glass of sake in the adjoining bar might have been an added incentive.
About 7 minutes on foot from the sky train station Ekkamai, Toritama is on Soi/street 63. On the way the chicken-lover passes many other Japanese restaurants, but doesn’t get deterred or distracted until she reaches the wooden steps to the Orihara Shoten sake bar that serves a wide selection of sake and shochu.
Just behind, passing the sake-filled shelves, Toritama invites diners to be transported to modern Japan and a unique dining experience.
The decor of the bar and restaurant are contemporary light, brown wood. A minimalist Japanese design with clear lines is the background that highlights the food. The counter centers around the cooking stations where every part of the chicken meets its skewer, sizzling heat and the occasional flame. Whether thigh, tail, oyster, or liver, the chicken is the star. Guests seated at the u-shaped counter get the full view of the art of grilling the famous yakitori while (considerably) being protected from the heat by glass partitions.
While chicken might be the main attraction that also got it a Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2016, the restaurant serves other kinds of meat grilled on bincho-tan charcoal. The wagyu beef is a must for meat lovers and the salad with seaweed sprinkles and the chef’s own dressing a favorite with the less carnivore.
Pickled vegetables and rice bowls including the signature dish of ground chicken, poached egg sandwiched between the rice and savory seaweed strips round up the menu that is beautifully supported with the sake, sochu, and beer selection. Tea is certainly an option, too, but diving into the atmosphere calls for something a bit stronger.
The service was, of course, impeccable, but then I am biased because the chef is a friend and we got special attention. But restaurant reviews marvel at his focus and the friendly atmosphere. In terms of prizing, it is absolutely in the normal, affordable range and only goes proportionally overboard in relation to the sake consumption.
chao phraya princess 
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