Yakumo Saryō
Open for: All day
Price range: $$
For a rejuvenating start to the day indulge with a Japanese breakfast at Yakumo Saryo. Designed by architect Shinichiro Ogata, the teahouse is a tranquil space offering a morning of peace and mindfulness. The asacha (morning tea) set breakfast includes a variety of teas, porridge, fish, pickles, miso soup, and wagashi (confections) to finish.
Know before you go: Reservations are required.
3-chōme-4-7 Yakumo, Meguro City, Tokyo 152-0023, Japan
L'ambre
Open for: Lunch and dinner
Price range: $
Just minutes from Shinjuku Station, L’ambre, which opened in 1950, allows customers to step back in time to an old-school kissaten. The cafe sports a high ceiling, red velvet seats, and classical music, providing the perfect atmosphere for enjoying coffee drinks, pizza toast, tuna and egg sandos, and a selection of cakes. Retro menu items include coffee jelly topped with ice cream and whipped cream, as well as a bright-green melon soda float.
Best for: A casual throwback lunch.
新宿3丁目31-3 (B1F-1F), 新宿区, 東京都, 160-0022
Coffee jelly and ice cream.
Yukari Sakamoto
Tamawarai
Open for: Lunch and dinner
Price range: $$$
There’s no shortage of soba specialists in Tokyo, but few manage to create noodles quite as flavorful and satisfying as those at Tamawarai. Each batch is made from scratch — the dough mixed, rolled, and cut by hand — and much of it with buckwheat the restaurant helps to grow. The side dishes, such as soba miso and the wonderfully creamy yuba (soy milk skin), are prepared with equal care.
Know before you go: Tamawarai doesn’t accept reservations, so expect to stand in line for up to an hour.
神宮前5-23-3, Tokyo, Tōkyō 150-0001, Japan
Soba at Tamawarai.
Robbie Swinnerton
Isetan Shinjuku
Open for: All day
Price range: $$
No visit to Tokyo is complete without exploring a depachiku — the food halls found on the basement levels of major department stores. Isetan in Shinjuku can’t be beat for gourmet glamor, with local wagashi (Japanese confections) arranged alongside the patisseries of Sadaharu Aoki, Jean-Paul Hévin, and Pierre Hermé.
Know before you go: Take a bento or light meal up to the rooftop garden.
新宿3-14-1, Shinjuku, Tōkyō 160-0022, Japan
Inside Isetan Shinjuku.
Isetan Shinjuku
Onigiri Manma
Open for: Lunch and dinner
Price range: $
Manma, an onigiri (rice ball) shop, sits in the shadow of the Shinjuku Isetan department store. Onigiri are a classic comfort food, but Manma’s draw is its unique fillings: Popular options include a “mother and child” of grilled salmon with sujiko salmon roe, seasoned ground meat with cured egg yolk, and bacon with cream cheese. The only side dishes — all that’s really needed — are miso soup and tsukemono, pickles. The casual seating is at the counter, so everyone has front-row seats to watch the staff assemble giant rice balls.
Know before you go: You’ll have to wait for a seat, but you can also grab a to-go order and take it to the nearby Shinjuku Gyoen park.
Japan, 〒160-0022 Tokyo, Shinjuku City, Shinjuku, 3-chōme−14−23
Onigiri with fun fillings.
Yukari Sakamoto
Pizza Marumo
Open for: Lunch and dinner
Price range: $$
Chef Yuki Motokura left a traditional Japanese kitchen to open Pizza Marumo. Motokura defines his pies as neither Neapolitan nor Roman, but as Tokyo-style. The charred pizza dough has the texture of freshly grilled mochi rice cakes, a comfort food for many Japanese diners. The extensive menu includes wagyu carpaccio, oven-roasted vegetables, and a long list of pizzas. The restaurant covers classic pizzas, as well as unique Japanese-style renditions incorporating umami-rich ingredients like katsuobushi (smoked skipjack tuna flakes), shaved kombu (kelp), shiitake mushrooms, or almost cheesy, soy-marinated tofu.
Know before you go: Marumo is popular, so be sure to book a reservation via the restaurant’s website.
Japan, 〒150-0022 Tokyo, Shibuya City, Ebisuminami, 1-chōme−11−１３ 恵比寿ヴェルソービル 1階
Umami pizza.
Pizza Marumo
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Den
Open for: Dinner
Price range: $$$
Chef Zaiyu Hasegawa’s decision to move Den from its iconic Jimbocho address has paid off in spades. At the new location, the chef can see each diner’s face and may adjust service or the size of dishes accordingly. The cooking remains innovative and satisfying, incorporating audacious, humorous ideas into Japan’s highly formalized kaiseki tradition. Expect foie gras in your appetizer and unique personalized front of house service from the chef’s wife, Emi, and her team.
Must-try dish: The signature Dentucky Fried Chicken.
2 Chome-3-18 Jingūmae, Shibuya-ku, Tōkyō-to 150-0001, Japan
Yakitori Imai
Open for: Dinner
Price range: $$$
Grillmaster Takashi Imai’s namesake yakitoriya is large, sleek, and contemporary. All the seats look in on his spacious open kitchen, so you can watch him in action over the main charcoal pit. Besides his excellent chicken skewers, Imai usually offers a list of premium meats, such as French pigeon, and a serious selection of grilled vegetables from his second grill.
Know before you go: There’s also a substantial list of natural wine to pair with your skewers.
Japan, 〒150-0001 Tōkyō-to, Shibuya-ku, Jingūmae, 3 Chome−42−１１ ローザビアンカ 1階
Butagumi
Open for: Lunch and dinner
Price range: $$$
Butagumi, serving tonkatsu (breaded deep-fried pork), is set in a romantic 60-year-old, two-story, freestanding traditional house. Here, you dine on premium cutlets — made from your choice of a couple dozen regional heirloom breeds from around Japan — cooked a beautiful golden-brown and served with a pyramid of finely slivered cabbage and thick, house-made Worcestershire-style sauce.
Know before you go: Butagumi has a second shop in the nearby Roppongi Hills complex in the Metro Hat level basement two.
西麻布2-24-9, Tokyo, Tōkyō 106-0031, Japan
Narisawa
Open for: Lunch and dinner
Price range: $$$$
Yoshihiro Narisawa worked under Paul Bocuse, Frédy Girardet, and Joël Robuchon. But at his namesake restaurant, he fuses French haute cuisine with a profound understanding of Japanese ingredients that has resulted in a style uniquely his own. Serving brilliant left-field dishes such as soil soup (yes, really) and Okinawan sea snake broth, alongside superb langoustine and wagyu beef, he more than merits his two Michelin stars and spot on the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list.
Know before you go: Chef Narisawa and his team are flexible to accommodate dietary restrictions.
南青山2-6-15, Tokyo, Tōkyō 107-0062, Japan
A colorful dish from Narisawa.
Eureka
Open for: Dinner
Price range: $$$
Sake aficionados flock to Marie Chiba’s Eureka sake bar. The impressive sake list includes labels like Senkin, Aramasa, and Raifuku. Pair a glass with sake-friendly small plates like a smoked jammy egg covered in squid ink mayonnaise, blue cheese ham katsu, and crab cream croquettes. As a sake sommelier, Chiba can expertly recommend pairings, and will warm up some sake to draw out different expressions.
Know before you go: There are only a dozen counter seats so be sure to book in advance, or walk in and hope to get a tachinomi (spot for standing and drinking).
Japan, 〒106-0031 Tokyo, Minato City, Nishiazabu, 4-chōme−11−２８ 麻布エンパイアマンション ２Ｆ
Sake and a snack.
Eureka
Sushi Yuu
Open for: Dinner
Price range: $$$$
Second-generation chef Daisuke Shimazaki serves traditional Edomae sushi at Sushi Yuu, located in a quiet residential area not far from the busy Roppongi district. While some high-end sushiya can feel stiflingly formal, more like a library or a church than a convivial restaurant, chef Shimazaki puts all of his customers at ease (in English, Russian, or Italian, as well as Japanese). The meal starts off with small seasonal bites such as grilled Pacific mackerel and simmered yellowtail before the parade of nigirizushi.
Best for: Sushi Yuu is particularly famous for tuna, which Shimazaki sources from one of Toyosu Market’s top tuna vendors.
Japan, 〒106-0031 Tokyo, Minato City, Nishiazabu, 1-chōme−4−１５ 寿司勇
Daisuke Shimazaki behind the sushi bar.
Yukari Sakamoto
Bricolage Bread & Co.
Open for: All day
Price range: $$
Bricolage offers work by a dream team of prestigious chefs. Soups and salads come from chef Shinobu Namae of three-Michelin-starred L’Effervescence; baker Ayumu Iwanaga of Le Sucré-Coeur in Osaka contributes sourdough, baguettes, and pastries; and Kenji Kojima of Fuglen provides the coffee. Stop by for tartines and sandwiches, served on vintage blue and white dishes. Bricolage also has an outpost at Shibuya Station’s Tokyu Food Show for takeaway.
Know before you go: Take advantage of the outdoor seating, a rarity in Tokyo.
六本木6丁目15-1 (六本木けやき坂通り 1F), 港区, 東京都, 106-0032
Pastries at Bricolage.
Yukari Sakamoto
Sougo
Open for: Lunch and dinner
Price range: $$$
Chef Daisuke Nomura serves modern shojin ryori — vegetarian Buddhist cuisine — strategically locating his restaurant Sougo in the Roppongi district to appeal to the younger, international crowd who live and work in the neighborhood. The menu includes a myriad of vegetables from land and sea, along with traditional shojin ingredients like fu (wheat gluten) and yuba (soy milk skin). Diners wanting to learn more about Japanese food can take classes at Tokyo Cook, a cooking school located within the restaurant.
Must-try dish: The signature sesame tofu, fried or grilled to bring out a silky texture.
Japan, 〒106-0032 Tokyo, Minato City, Roppongi, 6-chōme−1−８, Roppongi Green Building, 3F
A vegetable-focused dish at Sougo.
Andrea Fazzari
Kagurazaka Akomeya
Open for: Lunch and dinner
Price range: $$
Akomeya is the place in central Tokyo if you’re looking to buy premium rice, foodstuffs from around Japan, kitchen essentials (including earthenware donabe pots), and designer tableware. But the best reason to visit is the casual in-store canteen, Akomeya Shokudo, which serves simple set meals of rice, miso soup, pickles, and main dishes like deep-fried fish and scallops. There’s also kakigori shaved ice, which can be topped with chocolate and rum raisins, as well as a variety of teas including a yuzu green tea and lemongrass hojicha roasted green tea.
Best for: A quick set meal, plus a new donabe to take home.
６７番地 Yaraichō, Shinjuku City, Tokyo 162-0805, Japan
Cookware at Kagurazaka Akomeya.
Yukari Sakamoto
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Kikunoi Akasaka
Open for: Lunch and dinner
Price range: $$$
Kaiseki, Japan’s ineffable, hyper-seasonal traditional cuisine, always tastes best in its hometown, Kyoto. This can be attributed to the water, which is softer than in Tokyo. Chef Yoshihiro Murata gets around this by shipping water from the ancient capital to the Akasaka branch of his renowned Kikunoi to ensure his dashi soup stock is always perfect. In this tranquil, secluded setting, it’s almost possible to imagine you have left the metropolis far behind.
Know before you go: Lunch is more affordable than dinner, and the menu includes several seasonal dishes served on beautiful dishware.
6 Chome-13-８ Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tōkyō-to 107-0052, Japan
Inside Kikunoi Akasaka.
Kikunoi Akasaka
Bar Gen Yamamoto
Open for: Drinks
Price range: $$$
An L-shaped counter made from a 500-year-old Mongolian oak tree sets the stage for an omakase flight of craft cocktails at Bar Gen Yamamoto. The eponymous proprietor returned from New York specifically to work with the Japanese palette of ingredients. The drinks, made with spirits and sake, are all low in alcohol to highlight the flavors of seasonal produce, both fruits and vegetables, including items like fava beans or sweetcorn. They’re presented in a variety of eye-catching glassware on trays decorated with flowers or greenery. With only eight seats, this ultra-quiet bar is a place to study the art of imbibing.
Best for: The bar opens at 3 p.m. and the cocktails are small and low in alcohol, so it makes a great pre-dinner spot.
Japan, 〒106-0045 Tokyo, Minato City, Azabujūban, 1-chōme−6−４ アニバーサリービル 1F
Gen Yamamoto at work.
Yukari Sakamoto
Sumibiyakiniku Nakahara
Open for: Dinner
Price range: $$$$
Owner Kentaro Nakahara sources the finest wagyu and knows all the best cuts to grill over the charcoal burners set into your tabletop at Sumibiyakiniku Nakahara. Besides his seven-item yakiniku (grilled meat) tasting menu, don’t miss the beef “prosciutto,” the tartare, or his self-styled legendary grilled tongue. Yakiniku is always fun, but it’s rarely as chic, clean, and smoke-free — both from cigarettes and the grills — as it is here.
Know before you go: If you want to try that legendary grilled tongue, you must reserve it in advance.
4-3 Rokubanchō, Chiyoda-ku, Tōkyō-to 102-0085, Japan
Grilled tongue at Sumibiyakiniku Nakahara.
Sumibiyakiniku Nakahara
Maz
Open for: Dinner
Price range: $$$$
The team behind Central in Lima, Peru — named the No. 1 restaurant in the world in 2023 by the World’s 50 Best group — opened Maz in 2022 in the Akasaka district. Chef Santiago Fernandez oversees the menu; like Central, Maz explores the vast biodiversity of locally sourced ingredients, with about 80 percent of the ingredients sourced from Japan. Fernandez has defined his cuisine as “based on the respect for nature.” In Japan that means unique ingredients like junsai (watershield, a type of water plant), sea vegetables including hijiki and umibudo (sea grapes), and a colorful variety of seafood including uni, octopus, and shellfish. Dessert is an exploration of different expressions of cacao.
Must-try dish: Maz excels at vegetables, both from the land and sea.
Japan, 〒102-0094 Tokyo, Chiyoda City, Kioichō, 1−１−３ 東京ガーデンテラス 3F
A dish at Maz.
Akiko Sato
Ishikawa
Open for: Dinner, with the addition of lunch of Saturdays
Price range: $$$$
The former geisha district of Kagurazaka is worth exploring at any time, but especially as evening falls on the atmospheric narrow alleys. Even more so if you’ve booked yourself into Ishikawa for an extended, multicourse kaiseki dinner. Hideki Ishikawa’s impeccable cuisine, superb quality ingredients, and gracious welcome have won him three well-deserved Michelin stars and a host of admirers around the world.
Know before you go: Chef Ishikawa used to work at a tableware company so dining here is a delight for the palate and the eyes.
神楽坂5-37, Tokyo, Tōkyō 162-0825, Japan
A course in the kaiseki dinner at Ishikawa.
Ishikawa
Tenko
Open for: Lunch and dinner
Price range: $$$$
At Tenko, vegetables and seasonal seafood from Tokyo Bay are battered and fried into tempura, a specialty of Tokyo. The restaurant is on the quiet backstreets of Kagurazaka in a former geisha teahouse. Second-generation chef Hitoshi Arai is a master at creating delicate and lacy tempura, serving each one as it comes out of the oil, and it’s worth trying some of the tempura with salt instead of dipping sauce to preserve the crispy covering.
Vibe check: Part of the experience is listening to the tempura as it bubbles in the hot oil.
3 Chome-1 Kagurazaka, Shinjuku City, Tokyo 162-0825, Japan
Outside Tenko.
Tenko
Azabudai Hills
Open for: All day
Price range: $$
Apartment and retail complex Azabudai Hills opened in the heart of the city in 2023 with more than 100 food shops and restaurants, along with the Teamlab Borderless museum. There’s a meal here for everyone, including two-Michelin-starred Florilège and a second location of Sushi Saito, giving diners a chance at a seat despite the fierce competition for reservations at the original. Other standouts include Arabica Kyoto for coffee, Kawamura for tonkatsu, Pelican Café for ham katsu sandos, Sembikiya fruit parlor for over-the-top parfaits, Shogun Burger for wagyu burgers, and Sobamae Yamato for soba and sake-friendly small plates.
Best for: Finding something for everyone, at any time during the day.
麻布台1-2-8 (麻布台ヒルズ ガーデンプラザC), 港区, 東京都
Bar Meijiu
Open for: Drinks
Price range: $$
Music and cocktails intersect at Bar Meijiu, where Keisuke Matsumoto crafts bespoke cocktails to suit each customer’s whims. After a quick conversation about flavors and vibes — Are you in the mood for something fruity or sparkling? Or perhaps something caffeinated made with house-roasted beans? — Matsumoto works like an alchemist in a compact booth at the heart of the space to concoct the ideal beverage. The non-alcoholic drinks are also worth a try.
Vibe check: While serving customers, Matsumoto also spins items from his record collection, which includes a variety of genres but mainly jazz.
富士見2丁目7-2 (プラーノモールCゾーン 1F), 千代田区, 東京都, 102-0071
A cocktail from Bar Meijiu.
Bar Meijiu
Tofuya Ukai
Open for: Lunch and dinner
Price range: $$$
Built around a beautiful traditional garden, Tofuya Ukai’s low-rise complex of private rooms offers a glimpse of how Tokyo used to look and dine before the modern high-rise city developed. Multicourse meals include elaborate appetizers — like the specialty artisan bean curd served in hot pots in winter or chilled in summer — and culminate in servings of fish or meat.
Know before you go: Lunch is a good value and a nice time of day to take in the garden.
芝公園4-4-13, Tokyo, Tōkyō 105-0011, Japan
The dining room at Tofuya Ukai.
Tofuya Ukai
Tachigui Sushi Uogashi Yamaharu
Open for: Lunch and dinner
Price range: $$
Yamaharu, one of the top seasonal seafood wholesalers at Toyosu Market, has opened its first restaurant in the Toranomon Hills T-Market. Uogashi Yamaharu is a casual stand-and-eat, or tachigui sushi, shop that is fun for both solo diners and small groups. Lunch is an excellent value and popular with locals. If you want to linger, come for dinner and order sake and a few otsumami small bites to start off, such as monkfish liver or cod milt, before finishing with seasonal sushi.
Know before you go: Order by tapping on a tablet.
Japan, 〒105-5504 Tokyo, Minato City, Toranomon, 2 Chome−6−3 ヒルズ ステーションタワ B2F
Sushi at Tachigui Sushi Uogashi Yamaharu.
Yukari Sakamoto
Kagari Ramen
Open for: Lunch and dinner
Price range: $
Tori paitan (creamy chicken broth for ramen) is rich and comforting, like grandma’s chicken soup. The broth clings to the thin straight noodles as one slurps. At Kagari, seasonal and colorful vegetables such as watermelon radish, snap peas, and kabocha squash top the dish and rotate throughout the year. Use the side dish of grated ginger and fried garlic, along with a bottle of vinegar from the counter, to brighten up and adjust the umami-rich soup to your liking.
Know before you go: The main Ginza shop is on a quiet pedestrian back street, but the sister shop at the Roppongi Hills complex isn’t as crowded.
6-chōme-4-12 Ginza, Chuo City, Tokyo 104-0061, Japan
A comforting bowl of chicken-based ramen.
Dan Castellano
Wagashi Kunpu
Open for: Afternoon to evening
Price range: $$
Sachiko Tsukuda creates her unique wagashi (confections) to be paired with sake. Located in the hipster Yanesen district, the salon has earned a cult following among both wagashi and sake aficionados. Tsukuda’s signature is a modern take on dorayaki; she augments the traditional pancakes, typically stuffed with sweet azuki bean paste, by utilizing seasonal jams such as rhubarb or kumquat. She also incorporates vegetables into some of her sweets, such as jelly cakes made with burdock root or red turnips.
Know before you go: Wagashi aficionados will love Tsukuda’s hands-on baking class on nerikiri confections.
2-chōme-24-5 Sendagi, Bunkyo City, Tokyo 113-0022, Japan
Dorayaki.
Wagashi Kunpu
Est
Open for: Lunch and dinner
Price range: $$$$
For his contemporary French cuisine, chef Guillaume Bracaval sources 95 percent of his ingredients locally. Set in the Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi, Michelin-starred Est features a variety of tasting menus, including items such as monkfish with house-made yuzu kosho, kombu-cured flounder, corn flan gazpacho, and pickled zucchini with tomato paste and nasturtiums. Wine aficionados will want to explore the Japanese bottle list, which is a study on unique grapes like muscat bailey A and fruity koshu, though the sommeliers can also include sake as beverage pairings. The meal finishes with sweets by pastry chef Michele Abbatemarco, including friandises utilizing honeys from various regions of Japan.
Best for: Est offers a fabulous vegetable-focused menu, a great primer on Japan’s wide variety of produce.
大手町1丁目2-1 (フォーシーズンズホテル東京大手町 39F), 千代田区, 東京都, 100-0004
A dish at Est featuring uni.
Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo
Shabusen
Open for: Lunch and dinner
Price range: $$
Shabusen’s simple menu is sukiyaki or shabu shabu with thin slices of marbled wagyu beef, sliced by staff into thin sheets, or pork with vegetables. Seated at a casual counter, each diner gets their own hot pot to cook their own meal — think New York diner meets high-end hot pot. Once cooked, the meat and vegetables are dipped into a nutty sesame dressing, tart ponzu, or, in the case of sukiyaki, a raw egg. Aficionados of mingei, or traditional folk crafts, will cherish the tableware and noren curtain at the entryway.
Best for: Top-quality sukiyaki and shabu shabu, but in a quicker and more accessible format.
A spread at Shabusen.
Yukari Sakamoto
Ekibenya Matsuri
Open for: All day
Price range: $$
Part of the ritual of riding a shinkansen (bullet train) is enjoying a bento and green tea (or sake if you like), while taking in the view. Located inside of Tokyo Station, Ekibenya Matsuri offers about 170 regional ekiben (“eki” for station and “ben” short for bento box) brought in from throughout Japan, an excellent chance to enjoy a range of regional Japanese flavors. The colorful selection includes rice topped with sashimi, wagyu beef, or yakitori grilled chicken skewers, and there is even a gyutan beef tongue bento that contains a warming device activated by a pull-string, allowing you to enjoy a hot meal on your journey.
Know before you go: The shop opens at 5:30 a.m. for anyone catching an early train.
JR Tokyo Station, 1-chōme-9-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda City, Tokyo 100-0005, Japan
Sézanne
Open for: Lunch and dinner
Price range: $$$$
British chef Daniel Calvert’s resume includes time at Epicure in Paris and Per Se in New York, and most recently the position of head chef at Belon in Hong Kong. His elegant, modern French cuisine skillfully incorporates Japanese ingredients such as sake lees, Hokkaido scallops, and hotaru ika (firefly squid). The tempting dishes include osetra caviar with avocado and sudachi citrus, as well as kinki (thornyhead fish) with crispy skin and saffron bouillabaisse. The restaurant, located at the Four Seasons Marunouchi just next to Tokyo Station, has exquisite service and an extensive wine list.
Know before you go: Sézanne is number one on the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list.
７階, 1-chōme-11-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda City, Tokyo 100-6277, Japan
Hotaru ika (firefly squid).
Four Seasons Marunouchi
Higashiya Ginza
Open for: Daytime
Price range: $$
No one has done as much to give Japan’s green tea culture a boost as interior designer Shinichi Ogata and his Higashiya wagashi (confectionery) shops. At his flagship store, a tranquil, capacious oasis above the madding crowds of central Ginza, the traditional wabi-sabi tea ceremony aesthetic has been given a contemporary makeover. Settle in for contemplation over premium teas, seasonal desserts (including kakigori ice in summer), and even light multicourse meals. You will emerge fully recharged.
Know before you go: Reservations required, though there’s also a takeaway counter for some of the sweets.
Japan, 〒104-0061 Tōkyō-to, Chūō-ku, Ginza, 1 Chome−7−７ ポーラ銀座ビル2階
The confections at Higashiya Ginza.
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Godaime Hanayama Udon Ginza
Open for: Lunch and dinner
Price range: $
Hanayama is famous for its oni himokawa udon noodles, which are thin and flat, and served in a tanuki raccoon-shaped bowl. The fifth-generation shop is from Gunma, a region famous for flour, but better known for silky, thin udon than himokawa. Hanayama also excels at tempura, so be sure to get some meaty maitake or shrimp.
Know before you go: Hanayama also has a new restaurant at Haneda Airport.
3-chōme-14-13 Ginza, Chuo City, Tokyo 104-0061, Japan
Udon with all the fixings.
Yukari Sakamoto
Il Ristorante - Niko Romito
Open for: Lunch and dinner
Price range: $$$
On the 40th floor of the Bvlgari Hotel Tokyo, Il Ristorante - Niko Romito’s long dining room, decorated in carnelian orange and boasting a vaulted ceiling, feels like a chapel to haute cuisine. Chef Mauro Aloisio’s modern Italian takes advantage of seasonal seafood like amberjack sashimi or the collagen-rich kue longtooth grouper steamed and smoked with sakura chips, while the wagyu beef tongue is braised until it falls apart under a beetroot sauce.
Know before you go: Niko Romito is in a hotel so it’s open all-year long, including on holidays (it was a lifesaver for me over the New Year holidays when most of Tokyo was closed).
2 Chome-1-1 Yaesu, Chuo City, Tokyo 104-0028, Japan
The dining room at Il Ristorante - Niko Romito.
Bvlgari Hotel Tokyo
The Pizza Bar on 38th
Open for: Lunch and dinner
Price range: $$$
Since 2014, Roman chef and pizzaiolo Daniele Cason has been serving Roman-style pizza made from a blend of five organic Italian flours and 80 percent Italian water. The dough is fermented for 48 hours, resulting in a delicate and airy crust. The restaurant is on the 38th floor of the Mandarin Oriental hotel in the quiet Nihonbashi district, with only eight seats at the marble countertop overlooking the open kitchen and pizza oven. Dinner is omakase-style with two seatings, and diners try eight different pizzas. The set meal begins with a pizzino of mascarpone, fior di latte cheese, olives tapenade, and truffles, but if you go at lunch be sure to order it as an appetizer. Toppings change throughout the seasons, drawing from Japan’s diverse offerings such as sansai (mountain vegetables), Nagano prosciutto, and Sado Island fresh figs.
Know before you go: The pizza has been voted third best in Asia on the 50 Top Pizza list, and Cason was named the 2022 pizza-maker of the year by the Italian awards body.
2-chōme-1-1 Nihonbashimuromachi, Chuo City, Tokyo 103-8328, Japan
Pizza omakase.
Mandarin Oriental Hotel
Tsukishima Monja Street
Open for: Lunch and dinner
Price range: $
You’ll find dozens of shops lining this street in the Tsukishima neighborhood all serving monjayaki, a local dish similar to Osaka’s okonomiyaki. The setup at every shop is essentially the same: Diners select fillings such as mentaiko (spicy pollack roe), mochi, and cheese, and cook the monja themselves on a large iron plate set into each table with the help of a tiny spatula. The trick is to spread the mixture out thin and wait for it to crisp up (the staff will gladly show first timers the proper technique). Paired with an icy mug of beer, it’s a fun meal.
Know before you go: The street is blocked off at night for pedestrians, letting visitors peruse the shops and giving the whole scene a festive atmosphere.
1-chōme-３-丁目 Tsukishima, Chuo City, Tokyo 104-0052, Japan
Obana
Open for: Lunch and dinner
Price range: $$$
Nowhere serves unagi (freshwater eel) like Obana. The recipe for its kabayaki — fillets of eel that are steamed, charcoal grilled, and basted with a thick, rich, sweet-savory glaze — dates back to the times of the shoguns. Expect hour-long lines (especially on weekends) for the pleasure of sitting on a hard floor (thin cushions provided) at low communal tables, with a further wait while they dispatch the eel and slowly cook it to order. The anticipation is worth it, though. Obana’s unagi is widely agreed to be the best in the city.
Must-try dish: Unagi, of course.
５丁目-33-1 Minamisenju, Arakawa-ku, Tōkyō-to 116-0003, Japan
Koffee Mameya Kakeru
Open for: Daytime
Price range: $$
This spacious warehouse is a sister shop to the original Koffee Mameya Kakeru, a popular boutique in Omotesando. The cafe specializes in flights of coffee, which might include a pour over, an espresso, a latte, and one or more mocktails, all showcasing different expressions of the same bean. You can also order drinks a la carte, including spiked coffee cocktails in the evening. The interior is sleek, with contrasting wooden chairs and a U-shaped limestone counter, and the knowledgeable staff wear white lab coats and bowties — though they’re perfectly friendly.
Know before you go: Reservations are required.