Two-Michelin-Star Chef Takagi Headlines Bentoville’s Unagi Festival

In Japan, there’s a day set aside every summer just for eel. This July, that centuries-old custom shows up in Bentonville, and a chef flying in from Kanazawa is building an entire evening around it.

THE DEETS

🗓️ Thursday, July 23, 2026- Saturday, July 25, 2026
🕔 Seatings at 5 PM and 8 PM
📍Bentoville Food Theater, 100 NW 2nd St Suite 100, Bentonville, AR
💰 $290 per person, optional beverage pairing $60
🔗 More info | Reservation

Meet the Chef

The chef behind it is Shinichiro Takagi, who holds two Michelin stars and runs the kaiseki program at Zeniya, a landmark restaurant in Kanazawa, Japan. You’re catching his first Food Concert on the new stage at Bentoville Food Theater, and he built the entire evening around one ingredient: freshwater eel.

What’s on the Menu

Expect a meal that moves through both traditional and contemporary unagi preparations. Select courses finish over binchotan charcoal, and you’ll work your way to an unagi donburi by the end of the night. A standard beverage menu is available all evening, and you can add the $60 pairing if you want Takagi’s picks alongside each course.

Why Eel, Why Now

The timing isn’t random. Doyō no Ushi no Hi, the Day of the Ox, falls during Japan’s most punishing summer heat, when energy runs low and the heat feels relentless. If you eat unagi that day, you’re following a tradition that goes back generations, built on the idea that rich, grilled eel helps carry you through the season’s worst stretch.

Takagi built this menu specifically for Bentoville Food Theater’s new stage, so you won’t find this exact lineup of dishes anywhere else, not even back at Zeniya.

This is the Unagi Festival’s debut at Bentoville Food Theater. If you want in, book your seat online before the three nights are gone.