i. Biography
The Tabelog Bronze Award in 2026 for Grill Ukai in Tokyo sits alongside Tabelog 100 #81 recognition in 2025 for Yakitori Imai, the Jingumae restaurant Takashi Imai opened in 2006. Read together, the two honors mark a practice built on continuity: two Tokyo addresses, distinct rooms, and the same exacting approach carrying across both.
The Path
Takashi Imai’s work is defined by two kitchens rather than a single fixed stage. At Yakitori Imai in Jingumae, the restaurant has carried his name and his standards since 2006; at Grill Ukai in Marunouchi, the same discipline has been recognized with a Tabelog Bronze Award in 2026. The shape of the career is steady and legible, with each venue adding another register to the same line of work.
The Work Today
The current balance comes from maintaining both a long-running yakitori restaurant and a separate Tokyo dining room. Yakitori Imai earned Tabelog 100 #81 recognition in 2025, while Grill Ukai received a Tabelog Bronze Award in 2026. Taken together, those markers point to the daily demands of keeping standards consistent over time, in more than one room, without losing focus on the craft. Yakitori is the named specialty in the record, and it remains the clearest thread through. Since 2006, Yakitori Imai has served as the anchor in Jingumae, while Grill Ukai extends Takashi Imai’s work into another setting in Tokyo. The line is compact: one specialty, two venues, and a sustained level of recognition attached to both.
Acclaim
Takashi Imai’s honors are Tabelog Bronze Award (2026) and Tabelog 100 #81 recognition (2025). The two awards read as a cumulative record rather than isolated events: one tied to Grill Ukai in Marunouchi, the other to Yakitori Imai in Jingumae, both reflecting the same continuity of work.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Takashi
What recognition has Takashi Imai received?
Tabelog Bronze Award (2026).
What is Takashi Imai known for?
yakitori.
