Eating & Drinking in Tokyo
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If you're hungry in Tokyo (or central Yokohama), you'll find listings here for more than 1000 restaurants, cheese shops, wine bars and bakeries. We've got fresh reviews, food and wine news, and full listings browsable by neighborhood, cuisine or feature.

Try our exclusive restaurant locator by distance to find the nearest restaurant, cafe and bar listings within a specified distance of your home or office. There are also preset maps for dozens of Tokyo landmarks.

Chilling in Tokyo


Find hundreds of Tokyo's coolest spots. Newest: Hong Kong-style weekend dim sum.
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Satisfying dim sum that gets an A for authenticity
Cheesecake and retro-chic at this dog-friendly cafe
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Sponsored by American Airlines.

Newest Reviews


Old Vine Cellar Door: Nishi-Azabu
Lovers of Australian wine mourned the loss of Roppogi's L-Vino in 2008, but owner Jiro Kinoshita has found a stylish new home for his formidable 2000-bottle collection at Old Vine in Nishi-Azabu. Autographed bottles featuring personalized "Kinoshita" labels are displayed at the entrance, pointing the way to the restaurant's Cellar Door wine bar. [Show more]
Nagamine: Ginza
Vegetable kaiseki is the unusual specialty at Nagamine, a relatively new restaurant in Ginza that's run by a long-established vegetable wholesaler based in nearby Tsukiji. With no meat or seafood to distract one's attention, the vegetables really stand on their own merits, and Nagamine showcases the most beautiful and most flavorful produce of the season. At Y5250, the vegetable menu offers a chance to experience a different take on kaiseki at a very reasonable price. [Show more]
L'Osier: Ginza
L'Osier's chef Bruno Menard moves through the restaurant with the self-assured ease of a man who has been cooking since the age of fifteen. Known for his creativity and attention to detail, the Michelin-starred French chef produces dishes that are complex, vivid and gorgeously presented. [Show more]
Souten (Minami-guchi): Otsuka
Tokyo has no shortage of good yakitori shops, but Souten really stands out from the the crowd thanks to the quality of both their chicken and their craft sake. The entrance sports an extra-large sugidama (cedar ball) - always a promise of good sake within - and the list here doesn't disappoint. Nor does the food - they serve only the finest free-range chicken and other birds in season, prepared by a master of the grill. [Show more]

Food and Wine News

Riedel Tasting News
03/01-03/31
Beaujolais for spring at the Riedel Wine Boutique

This month's tasting at the Riedel Wine Boutique features the 2007 Pierre Andre Moulin-a-Vent wine from France's Beaujolais region. Weightier and richer than the youthful style the greater Beaujolais region is known for, the wine reveals black cherry and currant fruit on the palate along with hints of cocoa, fig and minerals. The recommended glass is designed to soften the acidity and bring out the wine's sweetness and complexity. Tastings are Y525 per glass.

The boutique also offers four-wine tastings and mini-seminars starting at Y4,200. Seminars include a glass (worth Y3,465-3,675) for guests to take home. Please call 03-3404-4456 to make reservations for the mini-seminars. [Address and more information]

03/17, 6:30pm. Leonetti Cellar Winemaker Dinner
Washington State's boutique winery Leonetti Cellar has built up an almost cult-like international following, with a waiting list of two to five years to purchase some of their wines. Father and son winemakers Gary and Chris Figgins will be in Tokyo for the first time to pour some of their world-class wines at a luxurious wine-centered dinner at Mitsuwa Ginza restaurant. Wines will include 2006 Sangiovese Walla Walla Valley, 2007 Merlot Walla Walla Valley, 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley, and 2006 Reserve Walla Walla Valley. The price is Y28,875, which includes wines, tax and service charge. Call Mitsuwa Ginza at 03-3561-3200 to reserve.
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Dining Diary

Yamafuji: Hiroo
Organic grocer Daichi wo Mamoru Kai supplies this smart Japanese bistro with organic fish and meat, pesticide-free produce, and even organic alcohol.

Lunch (Y900 - ) is a great value here. A fillet of grilled mackerel himono - fish that's been gutted, salted and then dried overnight - is juicy and rich in umami, and comes with an assortment of small side dishes such as soy-simmered potatoes, savory pickled greens tossed with chirimen baby sardines and smoky dashi-steeped spinach. One of the highlights is the free-range short horn beef croquette, a golf-sized ball of tender but lean minced beef mixed with Japanese leeks and fried. map
Elements: Kamiyacho
Modern international cuisine in a stylish setting. The Y1700 cold appetizer buffet is a good deal, offering about a dozen cross-cultural starters like Hakkin roast pork, mushroom terrine, and roast beef with black olive tapenade and toasted garlic.

The buffet lunch also includes dessert and coffee, or you can upgrade to the Y2500 lunch which adds a main dish. The dinner menu features wood-fired grilled meats like dry-aged US beef; roast lamb with Asian ratatouille; and a grilled Hakkin pork chop with pineapple chutney and tomato gravy.

Service is attentive, and the ambience is very international, kind of like an upscale hotel in Hong Kong. Running the kitchen is veteran chef Masakatsu Kato, formerly of Spago and Mako restaurants in Roppongi. Budget around Y12,000 per person for dinner and drinks. map
Esogie: Shinjuku
Esogie's owner Lucky Isiwe has recreated a little slice of Lagos in Shinjuku San-Chome.

Nigerian funk plays on the bar's powerful sound system, and there's always something good cooking on the stove - deep-fried Akara bean cakes served with creamy cabbage slaw, fiery Jollof rice pilaf with chicken and peppers, chewy sweet and savory slices of fried plantain with a side of red beans.

Sit back and enjoy the chicken stew flavored with mildly bitter egusi seeds with a thickly concentrated (and potent) Nigerian-brewed Guiness. Budget around Y3500 for dinner and drinks. map
Spice Magic Calcutta: Nishi-Kasai
On weekends, this casual restaurant fills up with Indian expats who come for the Southern Indian specialties such as coconut-simmered Chettinad chicken curry, donut-shaped fried vada breads and tamarind-scented sambar vegetable stew. The Masala Dosa -- a paper-thin, buttery crepe made from rice flour, stuffed with spiced potatoes and served with fresh coconut chutney and piquant tomato puree -- is highly recommended. map

New Openings

Eat: Gaienmae
Gourmet burgers, sandwiches and upscale American diner fare at this tiny burger cafe. It's run by Chef Michi, formerly of Michi's Manhattan Beach near Los Angeles.

The Kobe beef burger is their flagship sandwich, but we love their Cajun lamb burger with roast paprika (Y1300 for a double burger) even more. There are lots of fantastic salads, hearty soups, and appealing vegetarian options (like the eggplant, zucchini and avocado sandwich). Daily specials abound. Everything is ready to take out, and the menu is in English. map
Icepan: Gaienmae
An import from southern California, Icepan serves up artisanal custom-made ice cream in flavors like brown rice (our favorite), sesame, fresh banana and kiwi. Choose your grade of milk - whole, low-fat or non-fat (there's also soy milk) - then watch them make your ice cream from scratch in a couple of minutes over a freezing metal pan that's chilled to -12°C.

There are no artificial flavors, colors or preservatives, and prices range from Y390 (2 scoops) to Y570 (4 scoops). The counter is located in the Abbraccio cafe, inside the HH Style furniture shop next to Gaienmae station. map
Restaurant J: Hiroo
The very talented Chef Ueki serves up contemporary international cuisine with a French base; it's the kind of place where the staff lovingly describe every ingredient on each plate as it arrives at your table. The beautiful organic vegetables are especially impressive.

The dining room is elegantly decorated and quite spacious, with plenty of light at lunchtime. Lunch starts at Y1500, with prix-fixe dinners from Y4800. The separate bar area is open till 4am (except Sundays); Y500 table charge. map
Chez Olivier: Ichigaya
Excellent-quality modern French cuisine at this elegant bistrot-restaurant. Chef Olivier was a veteran of La Tour d'Argent in Paris and the Cordon Bleu cooking school in Tokyo before opening his namesake restaurant.

Prix-fixe dinners are Y5800 and Y8000 (or order a la carte), and the wine list offers some reasonably priced options under Y6000. Budget around Y10,000-12,000 with drinks. Lunches start at Y1575; no lunch on Saturday. map

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Reference


Brews News

Beer news from Tokyo by Bryan Harrell
Minoh Double IPA, Beer Rock (Shimo-Kitazawa)
Hitachino Nest XH, Iwate Kura Oyster Stout
Fujizakura Rauch, Cooper's Ales (Shimbashi)
Sankt Gallen Yokohama XPA
Shinshu Osake Mura (Shimbashi), all-malt beers
Brusca (Kagurazaka), IPAs at Popeye
Berg (Shinjuku), Grand Biere report
Yebisu Silk, Gotemba Kogen Weizen
Houblon (Ginza), chocolate beers
Barge Inn (Narita), Gotemba Kogen Pils
Cafe Flower (Yokohama), Kobe part 2

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