Omotesando
Picks:
Western: Two Rooms (grill); Benoit (Mediterranean)
More meat: steaks and chops at Beacon; venison and boar at Tetsugen Nikusho; Basque-style pork at Lauburu
Japanese: Torimikura Chaya; Galali
Brunch: Beacon
Budget: Libre (California-style burritos)
Cocktails: Two Rooms bar, Beacon Bar and Den Aquaroom
More drinks: sake at Galali; wine at Two Rooms and Beacon
Dessert: Chinese desserts at The Sweet Dynasty; fruit parfaits at Berry Parlour; galettes at Le Bretagne; Hungarian pastries at Gerbeaud
Setting: fish tanks at Den Aquaroom; sculpture garden at A Piece of Cake; Japanese garden at Nezu Cafe; drinks with a view at Two Rooms terrace
This guide covers the area along Aoyama-dori between Shibuya station and Gaienmae. Omotesando Hills is in the Harajuku section.
Shibuya to Kotto-dori
This artsy bar and gallery space serves wines and cocktails, burritos and "fresh herb cuisine" in a colorfully decorated setting, with many parties and musical events during the week.   Shibuya 1-3-18, Villa Moderna. (directly across from Aoyama Park Tower) Open 5-11pm. Closed Mondays. | |
The large menu features unusual meats like rabbit, boar, deer, horse and frog as well as more common ones. You'll find a nice sake selection and over fifty kinds of shochu. Budget around Y5500. Shibuya 1-5-6. Open 6pm-1am (LO; 10pm Sun) daily. | |
Tasteful lighting highlights the sleek design at this sophisticated dining bar. Bizuri serves unusual drinks like shochu mixed with green tea and modern pan-Asian cuisine. Popular with the ladies. Shibuya 1-6-10. Open 11:50am-11:50pm. Closed Sundays. A small, friendly little bar that offers lots of live music and art events, including belly dancing. Shibuya 1-6-3. Open 11:30am-11pm. Closed Sundays. | |
Moyan offers a huge variety of tasty Japanese-style curries and ethnic-style side dishes, along with inexpensive wines and cocktails. [Go to branch review] Shibuya 1-7-5, Seven Heights 1F. Open 11:30am-2:30, 6-10:30pm (LO). Closed Sundays. | |
The smart interior here is a very Tokyo-exotic mix of baked-mud walls, heavy wooden furniture, and organic-looking extra-terrestrial lighting fixtures like something from the set of "Alien". But you're really here for the wine - over 100 different varieties, from all regions of Australia and New Zealand. [See FULL REVIEW.]  Shibuya 2-9-11, Aoyama City Bldg. B1F. Open 6pm-2am. Closed Sundays. | |
 Beacon (Steak house). 6418-0077 This swank dining spot from chef David Chiddo (Cicada, TY Harbor) bills itself as an "urban chop house" - basically a steak house, but with more seafood choices. The kitchen uses only top-class ingredients - long-grain-fed Angus beef, wild Aussie jumbo prawns, organic Scottish salmon - and the menu offers good value for money (budget around Y8500 for dinner and drinks). The wine list focuses on smaller New World vineyards, with some twenty choices by the glass. Shibuya 1-2-5. Open 11:30am-3, 6-10pm (LO) daily. | |
The front bar area of the popular Aoyama steak house is a worthwhile destination in its own right, with excellent original cocktails, a good wine list with many choices by the glass, a casual food menu and outdoor seating on the patio if you're so inclined. Shibuya 1-2-5. Open 11:30am-3, 6-10pm (LO) daily. | |
This tomato-centric Italian restaurant/cafe offers full-course dinners from Y3500, plus a la carte tomato salads, pastas and grilled meats. More than twenty different tomato varieties are featured, and various tomato juices are sold by the bottle. Tomato-based desserts are available during teatime. Shibuya 2-2-2, Aoyama Luka Bldg 1F. Open 11:30am-2:30, 2:30-5, 5-9:30pm (LO) daily. | |
Charcoal-grilled meaty snacks and good-value wine by the glass are the draw at this casual late-night bar. There's a selection of around ten decently drinkable wines from France, Italy and the New World for just Y500 a glass, along with a big selection by the bottle. The chalkboard menus list plenty of daily specials, along with simple vegetable dishes and grilled lamb, chicken, pork and beef. | |
A casual cafe where you can drop in anytime for a drink, a sandwich, or a full-course meal. The menu is California-style French, with both European and Asian touches. There's also a well-thought-out selection of wines at good prices. Jingumae 5-53-67. Open 11:30am-10pm (LO; 7pm Sundays) daily. International cuisine and drinks at this sprawling, tourist-friendly restaurant and cafe-bar. Jingumae 5-47-6. Open 11:30am-11pm daily. Good Hungarian pastries at this Old World-style cafe; the main branch opened in Budapest in 1858. Jingumae 5-51-6, Terra Asios Aoyama 1F. Open 11am-8pm daily. | |
Benoit (Mediterranean). 5468-0881 From French celeb chef Alain Ducasse, a Mediterranean restaurant covering the cuisines of Italy, Spain, North Africa and Greece. The dining room is comfortable and attractively laid out, with nice views of Aoyama-dori, Shibuya and Shinjuku. Service is professional without being stiff. The wine list has some nice choices for under Y9000, and wine by the glass is fairly reasonable. Prix-fixe dinners from Y8,000, lunches from Y4500. | |
Farm-fresh fruits and vegetables are on sale at the popular farmers market that pops up every weekend in front of UN University (across the street from Aoyama Gakuin). Besides the dozens of stalls there are also a few food trucks selling coffee, curries and other quick snacks. The hours are usually 10am-4pm, but they stay open until 8pm on the third Saturday of every month. Jingumae 5-53-70. Open 10am-4pm. Closed weekdays. | |
The former chef from the New York Grill (Park Hyatt) has teamed up with veterans from the Oak Door (Grand Hyatt) to create a glitzy new dining destination in central Aoyama. This international-style grill offers excellent fish- and beef-centered prix-fixe dinners (Y6500 and Y8500 respectively), with full-course lunches ranging from Y1750 to Y2950 (+10%sc). The spacious dining room has an open kitchen and comfortable booths looking out over the Aoyama-dori fashion parade; there's also terrace seating in the bar area. The walk-in wine cellar has some 1800 bottles to choose from. | |
Attached to the Two Rooms Grill, the bar and lounge area offers cocktails and a wide choice of wines from around the world in a lovely setting, with a big outdoor terrace looking out over Harajuku and points north. 10% service charge, but no table charge. | |
This tomato-centric Italian restaurant/cafe offers full-course dinners from Y4000-7000. The buffet lunch (Y2500; Y3000 on weekends) includes a three-juice tasting flight, a choice of pasta, dessert, beverage, and a mid-sized buffet full of vegetable-based dishes like stuffed cabbage, carrot salad and stewed eggplant. More than twenty different tomato varieties are featured, and various tomato juices are sold by the bottle. Kita-Aoyama 3-15-5, Portofino B1F. Open 11:30am-2:30, 2:30-5, 5-9:30pm (LO) daily. | |
Tasty, sometimes unusual pizzas and well-constructed pastas at this budget Italian cafe chain. Minami-Aoyama 5-10-1. Open 11:30am-11pm daily. | |
Hawaiian-style burgers and deli sandwiches, plus Kona microbrew beers from Hawaii. Minami-Aoyama 5-10-21. (on the corner of Kotto-dori and Aoyama-dori, across from Max Mara) Open 11:30am-10pm (LO) daily. | |
Chef Kenji Sugawara was one of Japan's pioneers in the art of California cuisine, and his "Tokyo international" style is unique and exciting. Menu descriptions include plenty of exotic Asian ingredients and spices, but they're handled delicately, adding subtle flavors that are skillfully balanced. The glassed-in open kitchen adds some energy and liveliness to the cozy dining room, which seats just 14. The wine list is small but diverse and reasonably priced; budget around Y6-7000 for dinner with drinks. Minami-Aoyama 5-12-6, Dai-ni Wada Bldg B1F. Open noon-2, 6-10pm (LO). Closed Sundays. | |
This elegant, very relaxed bar features gigantic fishtanks filled with exotic tropical fish from Okinawa and environs. The menu includes tasty original cocktails and light food items. There's a Y700 per person table charge. | |
Good, modern French cuisine and excellent service. Prix-fixes lunches from Y1750, dinners from Y3800, and wines (mostly French) from Y2800 per bottle. Minami-Aoyama 5-4-30, Casa Serena 1F. Open 11:30am-2, 6-9:30pm (LO) daily. If you're in the mood for a luxurious dessert, this gorgeously decorated basement cafe serves "haute couture parfaits" from fresh seasonal fruit (Y1400-) and fruit teas (Y950-). Upstairs is Comme Ca Cafe, the very artistic cake shop on the first floor. Open from noon on weekends. Minami-Aoyama 5-10-19, Masahiro Aoyama Bldg B1F. Open 2-10pm (LO) daily. | |
The Nezu Museum's cafe looks out onto a beautiful wooded garden - a lovely, serene setting for a cup of coffee or an afternoon snack. The menu offers coffee, matcha latte and desserts as well as light meals - pastas, sandwiches, meat pies and salad Nicoise. | |
Lauburu is dedicated to the art of serious eating - specifically, the serious consumption of pork. Billed as a French/Basque country-style bistro, the food here is prepared simply - no rich, complicated sauces or sculptural statements on the plate, just good honest country cooking. [See FULL REVIEW.] Minami-Aoyama 6-8-18. Open 6-10pm (LO). Closed Sundays. | |
East of Kotto-dori
Critically acclaimed curries in a pleasant little shop located on the little street parallel to Kotto-dori. The food is authentic and good, and Ghungroo even caters events at the Indian Embassy. Minami-Aoyama 5-9-6. Open 11:30am-10:30pm (LO) daily. | |
All kinds of sardine dishes, plus a number of beef-tongue items (perhaps for nutritional balance). Seating is a bit cramped, and customers are packed in like, um, fish in a can. (The main, more spacious, branch is in Higashi-Ginza near Tsukiji Fish Market.) Minami-Aoyama 5-9-9. Open 5-11:30pm (LO) daily. Organic coffee and cakes, sandwiches and soups; everything is vegetarian/vegan (so don't expect any latte in your cafe). From the owners of the popular Cafe 8 vegan hotspot. Minami-Aoyama 5-5-21. Open 8:30am-10:30pm daily. | |
This cute and very spacious cafe has big front windows looking out onto the fashion-shopping alley next to Kotto-dori. The menu offers sandwiches, galettes and assorted pastries for mid-afternoon snacking, as well as a diverse cocktail selection for later in the day. Minami-Aoyama 5-8-1. Open 11am-11pm daily. | |
Those with a fondness for cartoon-character dolls and action figures will find a kindred spirit in Yoshitomo Nara, whose paintings and sculptures of devilish children are as disconcerting as they are cute. A joint project with the Graf design firm, A to Z Cafe, with its original artwork, mismatched furniture, and liberal use of worn wood and corrugated iron, is a cool place to spend the afternoon. Those with a fondness for cartoon-character dolls and action figures will find a kindred spirit in Yoshitomo Nara, whose paintings and sculptures of devilish children are as disconcerting as they are cute.
A joint project with the Graf design firm, A to Z Cafe, with its original artwork, mismatched furniture, and liberal use of worn wood and corrugated iron, is a cool place to spend the afternoon. Nara's conceptual home on the range provides an interesting contrast to the fifth-floor view of the teeming metropolis outside.
The cafe offers daily lunch specials starting at Y800, in addition to the extensive menu of wafu-inflected dishes ranging in price from Y315-1000. Mentaiko nori toast makes an unusual salty snack; deep-fried baby squid and crispy rice cakes are almost too cute to eat.
Choose from a selection of coffee drinks or Chinese and Japanese teas to go with tempting desserts like kabocha and coconut cake. Cocktails, beer, shochu, and champagne are also available if you fancy something stronger. Drop in for one of the free artist lectures or just sit around and enjoy the atmosphere: the pretty people drift in and out as softly lilting ambient music floats in the air. [Show more] [Show less] | |
A relaxing, quiet space inside a museum devoted to the whimsical works of sculptor Taro Okamoto. Minami-Aoyama 6-1-19. Open 11am-7pm. Closed Tuesdays. | |
The excellent French kitchen attached to the Blue Note jazz club. Full-course dinners from Y5000 upstairs; tapas and lighter snacks down on the first floor. (If you're going to a show at the club, you can coordinate your dinner here with starting time for the performance.) Minami-Aoyama 6-3-16. Open 5:30-11pm (LO). Closed Sundays. | |
Minami-Aoyama 6-3-16. Open 5:30pm-1am daily. | |
Traditional Thai and Laotian cuisine; Cay also doubles as a nightclub and performance space. Minami-Aoyama 5-6-23, Spiral Building B1F. Open 11:30am-2, 6pm-midnight. Closed Sundays. | |
One of Tokyo's older French wine bar-restaurants (now relocated to newer quarters), with a decent selection of French dishes to go with your chosen bottle. Minami-Aoyama 5-1-25, Kitamura Bldg B1F. (on Aoyama-dori a few doors down from Andersen) Open 11:30am-2, 6-9:30pm. Closed Sundays. | |
This branch of the ubiquitous budget Thai chain has a larger-than-average menu, good food and take-out service. The decor is also a cut above the norm. Minami-Aoyama 5-1-25, Kitamura Bldg B1F. (on Aoyama-dori a few doors down from Andersen) Open 11am-9pm (lunch to 2) daily. | |
Danish-style stews and other main courses in the restaurant area above the bread shop, and European-style breakfast in the morning. [See FULL REVIEW.] Minami-Aoyama 5-1-26. Open 8am-9pm (LO) daily. | |
This particular branch is one of Tokyo's better bakeries, with many varieties of fresh bread and pastries, baked on the premises. They also sell premade sandwiches to go. Minami-Aoyama 5-1-26. Open 7am-9pm daily. | |
Excellent made-to-order sandwiches and salads in the basement deli area underneath the bread store. Minami-Aoyama 5-1-26. Open 9am-9pm daily. Spectacular chicken wings and other chicken specialties, and a tasteful, traditional Japanese interior. | |
Modern French cuisine, with a separate dining bar and a rooftop lounge area in addition to the main dining room. Budget around Y5,000-9,000 for food at dinnertime; lunch starts at Y2980, or Y3450 (+10% sc) on weekends (for a rather lunch-like brunch menu). The dining bar and patio are open until 12:30am (last order). Minami-Aoyama 5-3-2, The Jewels of Aoyama 4F. Open 11:30am-1:30, 6-10:30pm (LO). Closed Mondays. Late-night pastas at budget prices. Rin (Japanese regional). 6418-7022 Located upstairs from an excellent Japanese crafts store, by day this shop is a casual cafe, while at night they specialize in Japanese regional cuisines, with a good selection of small-brewery sake. Budget around Y4500 at dinnertime including Y500 table charge. Kita-Aoyama 3-6-26. Open 11am-11:30pm daily. | |
Kita-Aoyama 3-6-26, SI Bldg B1F. Open 5:30-11pm (LO). Closed Sundays. | |
The basement of Crayon House has an organic vegetable shop and two separate natural-food restaurants: "Hiroba", serving Japanese food, and "Home", with French cuisine. "Hiroba" offers an interesting buffet lunch for Y1,200. | |
The menu here features pastas, deli items, and a couple dozen wines by the glass. Free wi-fi access. Kita-Aoyama 3-9-2, Aqua 1F. Open 11am-10pm daily. | |
East of Omotesando
If the walls of Radio Bar could talk, they'd sing like Chet Baker and laugh like Marlene Dietrich. The indigo interior combines elements of traditional Japanese design with Art Deco ornamentation, and exudes an air of Hollywood in the fifties. The space is seductively dim, conducive to tete-a-tetes and true confessions. If the walls of Radio Bar could talk, they'd sing like Chet Baker and laugh like Marlene Dietrich. The indigo interior combines elements of traditional Japanese design with Art Deco ornamentation, and exudes an air of Hollywood in the fifties. The space is seductively dim, conducive to tete-a-tetes and true confessions.
Radio Bar serves some of the most elegant cocktails in town, expertly mixed by Koji Ozaki and his team of white-tuxedo-attired bartenders. The focus is on the classics, served in antique glassware. Ozaki's martini is crisp and succinct, with a note of vermouth hovering above the gin. The dry Manhattan is a grown-up affair - dark, smooth and not in the least bit cloying.
Original cocktails include the Dean Martin, an unlikely but delicious blend of Campari and Jack Daniels, and the Greta Garbo, a dry martini with a sherry kick. Prices range from Y1,300 to Y2,000, but note that there's a seating charge of Y1,000 per person. [Show more] [Show less] Minami-Aoyama 3-10-34. Open 6pm-1am. Closed Sundays, Mondays. Excellent charcoal-grilled yakitori and other chicken dishes are the specialty at this branch of the Aburiya Fudo group of restaurants. | |
Libre (Tex-Mex). 6459-2272 The chef at Libre hails from San Francisco, and his mission is to bring good Cali-style burritos to Tokyo. Indeed the food here seems to pack more oomph than what's on offer at some of the other burrito joints around town - it's assertively spicy (although a milder version is an option), with a solid dose of onions and garlic and just enough avocado for balance. The chef at Libre hails from San Francisco, and his mission is to bring good Cali-style burritos to Tokyo. Indeed the food here seems to pack more oomph than what's on offer at some of the other burrito joints around town - it's assertively spicy (although a milder version is an option), with a solid dose of onions and garlic and just enough avocado for balance.
There are four types of burrito (pork, chicken, beef, and vegetable), starting at Y700, and after 5pm they also serve quesadillas and nachos with a similar choice of filling. The "pop-up" building has a refreshing prefab aesthetic - it looks like it could have been fashioned from recycled shipping containers. There are a few chairs out front and some open-air seating upstairs, or of course you can take away. [Show more] [Show less] Minami-Aoyama 3-8-34. Open 11:30am-9pm daily. | |
A branch of the famous Hakata ramen chain, featuring thin, slightly chewy noodles in a pork-based broth ("red" or "white"), with or without extra chashu. You can add your own freshly grated garlic. Minami-Aoyama 3-8-37, Dai-ni Miyachu Bldg B1F. Open 11am-midnight (Fri, Sat -1am; Sun -10pm) daily. | |
Authentic Hong Kong-style desserts straight from the source, plus plenty of good dim sum, noodle dishes and other a la carte items at this very popular shop. Kita-Aoyama 3-5-14. Open 11am-10pm daily. | |
Full-course lunches are Y1500-1800. In the evenings you can have anything from a clubhouse sandwich to a full-course meal. Dinner main courses are in the Y2000-2500 range. Kita-Aoyama 3-5-15. Open 11:30am-10:30pm (LO). Closed Mondays, some Sun. | |
Live music, dancing, and a good deal of drinking. Open Mon-Tue 6:30-midnight (no music); Wed-Thu 6:30-1am; Fri-Sat 6:30-2am. Kita-Aoyama 3-5-2. Open 7pm-1am. Closed Sundays, Mondays. Excellent chicken and game bird dishes and seasonal grilled vegetables. Twenty kinds of sake and 100 varieties of shochu. Budget around Y5000-6000 per person. Kita-Aoyama 3-5-9. Open 11:30am-4, 5-10:30pm (LO) daily. Brazilian-style all-you-can-eat churrasco grilled beef and other meats; dinner is Y4500, weekday lunch Y3000. Jingumae 4-3-2, Tokyu Reit Omotesando Square B1F. Open 11:30am-2, 5:30-10pm (LO) daily. Sweet and savory Breton-style crepes, with hard cider to wash them down, in a pleasantly decorated open-air cafe. Jingumae 3-5-4. Open 11:30am-11pm (LO, 10pm Sun) daily. | |
Tokyo's second-most-famous tonkatsu restaurant, located in an unusually decorated former bathhouse. In addition to pork cutlets there's also a full menu of set meals and seasonal a la carte items. Jingumae 4-8-5. Open 11am-10pm (LO) daily. | |
Far off the beaten path, on a backstreet between Omotesando and Gaienmae, Nalu Cafe packs a little something for everyone into a tiny space. It's a smart cafe/art gallery that serves take-out during lunchtime, located above a groovy hair salon in the basement. You could, theoretically, pop in for a drink or a slice of cake while you're waiting for your perm to set downstairs. [See FULL REVIEW.] Jingumae 4-9-2. Open 11am-11pm daily. | |
This stylish little izakaya offers excellent food, a good sake selection, and an entire menu page devoted to different varieties of salt - 12 of them in all. Charcoal-grilled seafood and vegetables are among the food highlights. Budget around Y2500 without drinks. [Go to branch review] | |
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: Open late
