CATCH YOUR OWN FISH FOR DINNER … IN A RESTAURANT ( A GUEST POST BY MELISSA BERTLING )

Written by Guest Blogger Melissa Bertling

Melissa currently lives in Tokyo with her husband and two adorable little boys.  Check out all of their adventures on her blog LetsHaveAnAdventure.com.

Zaou also offer sushi classes and teach visitors how to fillet fish and make nigiri.

LET’S GO FISHING – FOR LUNCH!

Our family loves adventures, so we were excited to bring some magic to a typical Sunday by checking out a restaurant where we could catch our own lunch: Zauo, a fishing restaurant.

Although we have lived in Tokyo for over a year, we moved here from Minnesota, the land of 10,000 lakes, so fishing is in our boys’ blood.  When I first mentioned the restaurant to my family, I think my husband was as excited as our 3 and 5-year-old boys to give it a go.

I quickly hopped on zauo.com, chose the English option and clicked on Reservations.
We decided on the Meguro location, as they had same day reservations available.

An hour later, we found ourselves standing in a space with a boat, a big fishing area and an atmosphere that was super kid friendly.  We were quickly assigned an English speaking server that provided us with a lay of the land.  We opted for two fishing poles and to fish for Sea Bream and Flounder.  We also “fished” in super small containers for Octopus and Shrimp.

The staff was super helpful baiting the hook and showing us the best place to position ourselves based on what we wanted to catch.  They even provided a bench for the kids to stand on.

Each of my boys caught a fish in less than 5 minutes.  From there they help you net it, take a picture with it and finally have you participate in a celebration of your catch – which my boys loved because it involved a Taiko drum.

Then you get to choose how you want your fish cooked.  We tried: sashimi, grilled, deep fried and sautéed with butter and they were all fantastic.  Plus, they were cooked in what seemed like a flash.  We also ordered a side of edamame and pickled cucumbers to make this momma feel like her boys were getting some green on their plates too.

I love being able to teach the boys where their food comes from and have them turn any feelings into gratitude for the animals.

I also love experiential spaces where you don’t have to ask kids to behave like adults – in fact, I like it best when we are all encouraged to have fun.

Leaving 1.5 hours later we knew Zauo is a place we will definitely be visiting again, as we all left with full bellies and full hearts.

The Zaou website is here with all of there locations.
Please note that this is not a non-smoking restaurant. 
Strollers allowed but need to be checked at the front reception. 
They do offer a vegetarian menu.
Credit cards accepted here. 
Approx lunch budget 1500 yen. Approx dinner budget 4000 yen. 

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