Usagi Chaya

The grill-your-own dango set is a standout at Usagi Chaya: grill the dumplings yourself and cook them to your preferred level. Sets come with three or five skewers, served with kinako (roasted soybean flour), mitarashi sauce and brown sugar syrup. Grilling them yourself is part of the pleasure. Diners have described the dango as soft and said they enjoyed eating the ones they grilled.

One visitor paired their choice of dango with two skewers to grill themselves, trying several flavours, including kinako and mitarashi. The options range from classic mitarashi, salted sweet bean paste and select soy sauce to pistachio, anko butter and black sesame. Individual orders are also available in pairs. You could make mitarashi the starting point, then add the sweet-and-savoury salted bean paste or black sesame to create your own combination.

For a leisurely sweet break, consider the Japanese-style café set, which pairs your choice of dango with a Japanese tea drink. Hōjicha is available hot or iced; the menu describes it as clear in colour and fragrant. Summer-only shaved ice includes Uji Kintoki, topped with matcha sauce, amanattō (sweetened azuki beans), matcha condensed-milk cream and mascarpone. Another version comes with warabi mochi and brown sugar, kinako and condensed-milk cream. Shaved ice served with dango is also listed, for anyone who would like a dumpling alongside their cold dessert.

There are savoury choices as well, including a tuna rice bowl, sea bream paitan soba and a set of three rice balls, making the café an option for lunch too. One diner mentioned stopping by after visiting Sumiyoshi Taisha. It’s a place to take a quiet break and enjoy the time spent grilling dango.