Must-see restaurants in Tokyo

  • Street entrance of Harajuku gyoza shop, Harajuku & Aoyama.

    Harajuku Gyōza-rō

    Harajuku & Aoyama

    Gyōza (dumplings) are the only thing on the menu here, but you won’t hear any complaints from the regulars who queue up to get their fix. Have them sui …

  • Entrance to Meal Muji (inside Muji's Yurakucho flagship store), Marunouchi & Nihombashi

    Meal MUJI Yūrakuchō

    Tokyo

    Those who subscribe to the Muji lifestyle will be delighted to know that the 'no name brand' experience goes beyond neutral-toned notebooks and linens…

  • Entrance as seen from the street, Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa.

    Sagatani

    Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa

    Proving that Tokyo is only expensive for those who don't know better, this all-night joint serves up bamboo steamers of delicious noodles for just ¥320…

  • Yamacho shopfront in Tsukiji Outer Market, Ginza & Tsukiji.

    Yamachō

    Ginza & Tsukiji

    Come sample the delicious tamago-yaki (Japanese rolled-egg omelette) sold at this venerable purveyor conveniently on a stick. They come in a variety of…

  • Viron, The front of the shop seen from the street., Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa.

    Viron

    Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa

    Tokyo's best French bakery (it apparently imports the flour from the motherland) serves up sandwiches and pastries to take away or you can eat them in the…

  • Farmer's Market @ UNU

    Harajuku & Aoyama

    The weekend farmer's market, held in the plaza in front of the United Nations University on Aoyama-dōri, is Tokyo's best. Dozens of farmers come from…

  • Monk's Food

    Tokyo

    Given the wholesome, organic meals, heavy on vegetables and delicately seasoned with no additives, you'd assume Monk's Food was named for a humble priest…

  • Shinsuke

    Ueno & Yanesen

    In business since 1925, Shinsuke has honed the concept of an ideal izakaya (Japanese pub-eatery) to perfection: long cedar counter, 'master' in happi …

  • Maisen

    Harajuku & Aoyama

    Maisen is famous both for its tonkatsu (breaded, deep-fried pork cutlets) and its setting (an old public bathhouse). There are different grades of pork on…

  • Path

    Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa

    Come early for pastries, sandwiches and coffee (made with beans courtesy of either Fuglen or Little Nap, naturally); the croissants are famously good, but…

  • Nihonbashi Dashi Bar

    Tokyo

    A key ingredient of the stock dashi is flakes of katsuobushi (dried bonito), which the Nihombashi-based Ninben has been making and selling since 1699. The…

  • Sougo

    Roppongi, Akasaka & Around

    Sougo is one of the few restaurants in Tokyo that prepares shōjin-ryōri (Japanese Buddhist vegetarian cuisine – what the monks eat). Not everything on the…

  • Safari

    Roppongi, Akasaka & Around

    Tokyo restaurants with camel, ostrich and kangaroo (that most non-African of marsupials) on the menu can be counted on one hand. Safari's speciality dish,…

  • Pokémon Cafe

    Tokyo

    Pokémon fans will find it hard to pass on this chance to sample Pikachu-themed food and drink, made with classic kyara-ben (character bentō) techniques …

  • Shirube

    Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa

    It's easy to see why everyone loves this izakaya (Japanese pub-eatery): the young chefs put on a dramatic show in the open kitchen and the creative takes…

  • Maru Bengara

    Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa

    Maru is a meal made easy: at lunch the restaurant does good grilled fish teishoku (set meals), among other things; in the evenings, courses with sashimi,…

  • Daiwa Sushi

    Odaiba & Tokyo Bay

    One of Tsukiji's most famous sushi restaurants has made the move to the new Toyosu Market. The course meal includes seven pieces of nigiri (hand-pressed)…

  • Maru

    Harajuku & Aoyama

    Maru has hit upon a sweet spot with its casual reinterpretation of kaiseki (Japanese haute cuisine). With the seven-course meal (which changes monthly)…

  • Gyūkatsu Motomura

    Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa

    You know tonkatsu, the deep-fried breaded pork cutlet that is a Japanese staple; meet gyūkatsu, the deep-fried breaded beef cutlet and currently much…

  • Akomeya Kitchen

    Ginza & Tsukiji

    This restaurant in the back of gourmet food store Akomeya serves great value set meals of several small dishes, including meat, fish and vegetables –…

  • Donjaca

    Shinjuku & Northwest Tokyo

    Donjaca, in business since 1979, has many telltale signs of a classic Shōwa-era (1926–89) izakaya (Japanese pub-eatery): red vinyl stools, lantern…

  • Kintame

    Asakusa & Sumida River

    This branch of the famous Kyoto-based pickle shop provides tastings of its traditional preserves done in a variety of ways, including with salt, vinegar…

  • Kikanbō

    Kōrakuen & Akihabara

    The karashibi (カラシビ) spicy miso-rāmen here has a cult following. Choose your level of kara (spice) and shibi (a strange mouth-numbing sensation created by…

  • Maru

    Ginza & Tsukiji

    In the evenings Maru offers a contemporary take on kaiseki (Japanese haute cuisine) fine dining. The chefs are young and inventive and the appealing space…

  • Yanagi-kōji

    Tokyo

    Yanagi-kōji is a classic nomiyagai (eating and drinking strip) and this one is particularly beloved for its nostalgic (read: crumbling) atmosphere. It's a…

  • Berg

    Shinjuku & Northwest Tokyo

    Wedged inside the fashion-forward Lumine Est department store (itself inside the frenetic Shinjuku Station), Berg stands still. The cramped, cult-status…

  • Kappō Miyako

    Asakusa & Sumida River

    Centuries ago, when Fukagawa was basically a tidal flat, hungry locals would gather clams at the shore, resulting in the neighbourhood's signature dish:…

  • Isegen

    Kōrakuen & Akihabara

    This pocket of Kanda has several long-running restaurants in vintage wooden buildings. Isegen, in business since the 1830s, occupies a handsome one from…

  • Hayashi

    Roppongi, Akasaka & Around

    Ensconce yourself in your hori-kotatsu (low table with hollowed-out space in the floor for your legs) or on a log bench, and drape a napkin made of kimono…

  • Ethiopia

    Kōrakuen & Akihabara

    In studenty Jimbōchō, Japanese curry cafes are everywhere and fiercely competitive. Ethiopia is a seasoned champ, offering jumbo serves and curries packed…

  • Nihonbashi Tamai

    Tokyo

    Anago (seafaring eel) has long been considered a super-food, rich in vitamins A and E (and fortunately, not endangered like its freshwater cousin unagi)…

  • Monja Kondō

    Ginza & Tsukiji

    Monjayaki is a Tokyo speciality, a batter, veg, seafood and meat fry-up with a loose, scrambled-egg-like texture. This place dating back to 1950 is said…

  • Fugu-dashi Ushio Hachidai Keisuke

    Ginza & Tsukiji

    In the stylish basement-restaurant floor of Tōkyū Plaza Ginza, this standard-looking ramen stall has the usual vending machine for paying at the entrance…

  • Mosuke Dango

    Odaiba & Tokyo Bay

    The original Mosuke, a street vendor, began making dango (soft rice-flour balls) in 1898, back when the fish market was in Nihombashi. Now on its third…

  • Jikasei Mensho

    Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa

    The latest Tokyo outpost from boundary pusher Mensho has two appealing options: really good vegan tantanmen (Sichuan-style spicy noodles), the broth…

  • Sasa-no-Yuki

    Ueno & Yanesen

    Sasa-no-Yuki opened its doors in the Edo period and continues to serve its signature dishes with tofu made fresh every morning using water from the shop’s…

  • Hagi Cafe

    Ueno & Yanesen

    Part of the gallery and event space Hagiso, run by students from Tokyo University of the Arts (Geidai), this is a good all-rounder for meals, drinks and…

  • Kōenji Gādo-shita

    Tokyo

    This is Kōenji's signature nomiyagai (eating and drinking strip), a collection of shabby (and cheap!) yakitori (chicken, and other meats or vegetables,…

  • Hoppy-dōri

    Asakusa & Sumida River

    Along either side of the street popularly known as Hoppy-dōri – ‘hoppy’ is a cheap malt beverage – are rows of izakaya (Japanese pub-eateries) with…

  • Honmura-An

    Roppongi, Akasaka & Around

    This fabled soba shop, once located in Manhattan, now serves its handmade buckwheat noodles at this small, elegant shop on a Roppongi side street. It's a…

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