This is the page for delicious food. If you’re looking for a crazy only-in-Japan theme restaurant/café experience, go to the #crazycafes page instead.
•
Blacow in Ebisu
Amazing burgers, with an interesting Japanese twist
Might be the best burgers in the world • Perfectly cooked meat, homemade buns, build-your-own additions & condiments
•
Café Bechet in Ginza
One of the most amazing cups of coffee you’ll ever drink • Beans roasted daily • Weighed out, ground and hand-dripped, cup by cup • Charming pre-war style café with music by French jazz great Sidney Bechet playing in the background • Smoking allowed
•
Hoshino Coffee Shop in Shibuya
Extreme pancakes are absolutely delicious • I like the ones with kuromitsu (syrup made from Okinawan brown sugar)
•
Maguro Bito in Asakusa
Conveyor Belt Sushi
Fun “conveyor belt sushi” restaurant • Inexpensive & excellent selection • Don’t need to order – just grab plates as they go past and pay by the plate at the end • There are plenty of cheap conveyor belt sushi restaurants in Tokyo, but the sushi at Maguro Bito is always fresh and delicious.
•
The chef uses homemade fruit vinegars to mix refreshing alcoholic (“sours”) or non-alcoholic (“ciders”) drinks • Flavors include wonderful Japanese tastes like yuzu citrus, Japanese plum (ume), ginger-apple (shoga-ringo) and the wickedly addictive blue shiso (ao-shiso) • Menu has delicious fresh dishes made with seasonal specialties • Menu in Japanese only, but friendly staff will help you
•
Shin Ah Hanten in Kamiyacho/Daimon
Japanese-style Chinese
Shanghai-style soup dumplings a speciality • Authentic Shanghai-ctyle cuisine, prepared with the freshest seasonal ingredients and less oil • My favorite Chinese restaurant in the world
•
Sushi Zanmai in Tsukiji
Sushi that’s fresh off the boat at the Tsukiji Fish Market
More varieties of fresher-than-fresh fish than you’ll find anywhere in the world • “Tasting menu” of various kinds of tuna, from maguro to oh-toro
•
Yuki Daruma in Nakano
Grill your own meat and vegetables at your table • Owned by a former sumo wrestler • All-you-can-eat (various meats & veggies) & All-you-can-drink (beer or whisky-soda highballs): ¥4,480 or ¥4,980 per person (wider selection of foods with more expensive plan)
•
If you want to find good places to eat in Tokyo, I highly recommend the restaurant search guide I use, bento.com. You can search bento.com in English by neighborhood, type of food, price, and even whether they stay open late. The site is always up to date, the write-ups don’t hesitate to tell you the cons (if there are any), and there are maps to every eatery.
•
Jonelle Patrick writes mysteries set in Tokyo. And Painted Doll strikes Tokyo Detective Kenji Nakamura much too close to home…
PAINTED DOLL Book Trailer (0:52)
