Hi there! I'm staying in Tokyo for a week with friends in May and would like to thank them by taking them out for dinner in the city, but I have NO idea of where to go.

They live on the outskirts of the city, so we'll take the train in... any nice neighborhood is fair game. They eat everything. I guess I'm looking for someplace that they wouldn't already have been... ideally someplace that's unique and on the high end (but not so high that it'll cost me as much as the hotel!).

Thanks so much!

You may want to find out which "outskirt" your friends live in, and what terminal stations are convenient for them. It would be less practical to suggest a restaurant on the eastern part of central Tokyo (eg Ginza) if they have to take the train home from Ikebukuro or Shinjuku, while it is not so convenient to find a restaunt in Shibuya if their home is in Chiba. (Though public transportationlinks are fantastic so nothing is impossible.)

Do you have preference for food--Japanese/Chinese/"ethnic"/western? Also what's your budget? Kaiseki, tempura, shabushabu, banquet-style Chinese, high-end Italian or French are all considered good venues for special meal out or client entertainment. How formal/casual do you want to go?

Also do you want someplace with a view? If so, there are restaurants in high-rise shopping compounds. I'm not a big fan of hotel restaurants--not a good value as they have service charges and you can find similar quality food outside.

W9London - thanks so much for your help. Here are some more specifics:

Really any location in central Tokyo will do - they're very mobile.

I think we would prefer Japanese or French, but any unique ideas are welcome.

A view would be wonderful, but I totally agree - I'd rather steer clear of hotel restaurants.

We're fairly flexible on price - $80 per person would be ideal, but we could go as high as $150 per person.

And they're fairly casual people, so nothing too formal (though I think they could be persuaded to wear a jacket & dress).

Thanks again for your help!

OK. Thanks for clarification/specs. A few suggestions just top of my head.

There is a very nice Japanese restaurant called Momiji-ya near Tipness and Tsutaya bookstore just west of Roppongi intersection. Look for a water tank with live lobsters/fish. Probably JPY10,000 per head. You can go a la carte or set menu. They can do kaiseki-style or shabushabu/steak style. Good sake selection.

Shabu-shabu at Serina in Roppongi. Slightly more expensive, more like JPY120-150k for kobe beef menu.
Or Gin-no-kura in Ginza, which is another Japanese dining place with good sake.

For French, my favourite place used to be Petit Point in Hiroo though I haven't been there for several years so not sure if they're still around. They are very accomodating to create your own course meals. More contemporary one is Cinquent-Neuf in Ginza, which is a kaiseki-style French restaurant, with only fixed menu.

Japan has no shortage of restaurants, with some closing and new ones opening all the time. There will likely be some very fine places near the place where they live that you can drive to (assuming they have a car) or take the train/bus/subway to, or even walk. I would honestly ask them where they would like to go. They may well have a favorite place they'd like to take you to, or a place that they know is perfect for a special meal that is very nearby.

An average price for a nice dinner would be around ¥10,000 per person. You can spend less for amazing food, and much, much more as well. When you say high end and Japanese/French, you are really talking about more than $150.00/person for dinner. These places tend to be exclusive and quite formal, so you might want to lower your criteria a bit to stay within budget and to get a more relaxed atmosphere.

Central Tokyo...there isn't really a central Tokyo, unless you mean everywhere inside the Yamanote line...which is a huge area that can take more than an hour to get around/across/from place to place. For this reason, I say go near their home, as the trip to the restaurant should not be a long commute...it takes away some of the the enjoyment. After a nice meal, it would be nice to just walk home or take a quick subway or taxi rather than spend an hour or more.

One alternative, if you wanted a real splurge night, would be to stay one night in a good hotel with them and have a nice dinner in the hotel. Japan is a place where hotel restaurants are excellent....not the cheap hotel coffee shops, but the good hotel restaurants. This option would cost a lot though...¥100,000 or more for 2 rooms and dinner. Might be fun though.

We had a wonderful meal at Joel Robuchon. This is a highly rated Parisian chef. There are two restaurants and we ate at the lower priced one, La Table. It was, I think, our best meal and a great value. There is a set course meal for Y5000, which is a bargain for Tokyo standards. A beautiful room, excellent service and wonderful French food. I upgraded to the Y7500 meal and had foie gras and an extra two courses. I think this would be a wonderful venue for hosting locals, very impressive. It is located in Ebisu a glittering, beautiful suburb.

How about something like Gonpachi?

http://www.gonpachi.jp/en/casual/home/index

They have a variety of locations and a range of prices. A fun, not too formal atmosphere. I took my Japanese host there andthey liked it well enough.

Check this site out for literally hundreds of places to eat in Tokyo

http://www.bento.com/tokyofood.html

Also check out my recent trip report in Japan section for some of my favorite places to eat in Shinjuku

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34981470

Aloha!

I was in Tokyo last March and my friends (we are all Japanese) born and living in Tokyo took me to the following restaurant one night. The name is "Kamikura" and it is located in Kagura-zaka area, by Iida-bashi JR station on Chuo-line, between Shinjuku and Tokyo Station (but closer to Shinjuku) so really in the middle of the city. Their trademark is "French cuisine with chop sticks". The old house used be a Ryokan, that they transformed into a restaurant recenlty and they use the guest rooms of Ryokan days as dinning rooms, maybe a large one upstairs, otherwise mainly smaller ones on the ground floor. Ours was only with two tables, one was taken by 4 women, the other by 3 of us. You sit on the the tatami floor with cushion but there is a large hole under the table so it's actually like you are sitting on the chair and easy for your legs. Food was interesting and original. They expect you share all the dishes so small plates are ready for this. Sitting on the floor, eat with chopsticks and share all, So this place is no formal French at all. Their multi-course menus start from 5000yen. Maybe the most expensive was 10000 yen. We chose to order a la carte with a bottle of French red wine that costed perhaps 4000 yen that was the 2nd cheapest on the menu, from le Pays d'Oc, tasted of southern wine, that I like. Not bad at all for the price (nice surprise) so we continued with the same bottle when we emptied the first one. My friends were slightly unhappy of our waiter not well informed of each dish, maybe he was new, possibly he did not have much French cuisine background to start with. No problem for me. It was especially an occasion for me to get together with my old friends.

The area itself was interesting. I had never been there when I was living in Tokyo, been close to but not right in the Kagura-Zaka area. Mostly short buldings, many small neigbourhood buisnesses (shops and restaurants), at least two local (small) shinto shrines, overall, a bit reminded me of Asakusa but still different. Off the main street, some alleys with many tiny bars, noodle shops. According to my friends, kagura-zaka has recently been a sort of trendy area, where while tradtional small commerce continues, there are those Japanese - European fusion places open here and there. I felt quite comfortable with the restaurant and with the area. Oh when you enter the restarant, you have to take off your shoes. Decor is Japanese sober, nothing flashy, lots of dark wood, perhaps our room had one or two ikebana vase.

After all I've written above, this may not be much of a help to you. The site is only in Japanese. Are your friends Japanese or can any of you read japanese ? If so, maybe you want to look into the site and if interested, call and reserve a whole room for your party.

http://www.kamikura.info/top.html

We had fabulous meals at Gonpachi and Seryna (both great, neither new, both recommended above by other posters). Check out the Tokyo section of my trip report for details.

http://tinyurl.com/32jm4q