Although there is no thorough art like in soba (buckwheat noodles), it is a food on which an Edo native has a distinct opinion about, such as 'it is unsophisticated to rush in an eel restaurant' (it takes time because the eels are slit open individually and grilled to order) and 'drinking sake (rice wine) with shinko (pickled radishes) until the kabayaki is brought out' (it is wrong to order things like shiroyaki - eel broiled without the sauce in order to bide time, therefore, it was considered that eel restaurants paid special attention to shinko pickles).
蕎麦ほど徹底した美学はないものの、「鰻屋でせかすのは野暮」（注文があってから一つひとつ裂いて焼くために時間がかかる）、「蒲焼が出てくるまでは新香で酒を飲む」（白焼きなどを取って間をつなぐのは邪道。したがって鰻屋は新香に気をつかうものとされた）など、江戸っ子にとっては一家言ある食べものである。