9 Best Restaurants in Ginza, Tokyo

In business since 1948, Café de l'Ambre is a legendary haunt for Tokyo's coffee aficionados. The retro decor provides a snapshot of an older Tokyo, and the caffeine-fix options include a dozen or so single-origin beans, including some that have been aged for years.

This lunch-only restaurant not far from the Kabuki-za Theater has received a Michelin Bib Gourmand for its subtle take on ramen. The key is the soup, which foregoes soy for a light broth that takes inspiration from consommé, using vegetables, duck, chicken, and sea salt. The noodles are then topped with juicy slices of chaa-shu pork.

The appeal of Ajioka's seasonal specialties like fugu (puffer fish) and suppon (Japanese turtle) lies as much in the unique texture and experience as in the subtle, nondescript taste. Licensed chefs prepare these in every way imaginable—raw, fried, stewed—using the fresh catch flown in straight from Shimonoseki, a prime fugu-fishing region. Try the house specialty of suppon (Japanese turtle) and fugu nabe, fugu sashimi, or fugu no arayaki (grilled head and cheeks). Menus change by season and reservations must be made two days in advance to order fugu.

If you're going to splurge on crab in Tokyo, do it at this exclusive restaurant. Chefs serve a choice of kaiseki-like crab courses, featuring in-season delicacies such as red king crab served in a variety of ways—from sashimi to shabu-shabu. For more comfort, select the room with Western-style seating, although the two Japanese-style rooms with tatami mat flooring and sunken seating are more atmospheric.

This world-famous spot proves that a high-end sushi restaurant doesn't have to be solemn to be refined. In addition to having excellent knife skills, many of the chefs speak English and are happy to chat with you about the food, making Kyubey a great choice for a first-time high-end sushi experience.

Japan enjoys a special reputation for its lovingly raised, tender, marbled domestic beef (Wagyu), and if your budget can bear the weight, Rangetsu serves excellent dishes with this beef as a star ingredient. Try the signature shabu-shabu or sukiyaki course for a primer. Although dinner can damage the wallet, there is also a good variety of lunch sets available for a third of the price.

Satisfying the need for light, healthy food that is neither raw nor fried, this airy but rather nondescript bakery and café in the ultra-trendy Dover Street Market serves up a tasty selection of salads, quiches, vegetables, and other deli-style dishes. Although the interior's rows of tables and blank white walls can feel a bit too much like a hip reinterpretation of a school cafeteria, Rose Bakery is a good bet for a quick lunch or pastry while out wandering the Ginza area.

With more than 100 varieties of sake from all over Japan, Sake no Ana (literally, "the sake hole") has a sake sommelier who can help you make a selection. Though most sake-specialty restaurants are open only for dinner, this one is also open for lunch, and the food is classic izakaya fare. At lunchtime there are hearty donburi dishes, large bowls of rice topped with seasonal sashimi or beef simmered in a sweet soy broth.

This yakitori (grilled chicken) restaurant is an ideal place for a short stop inside Ginza. Skewered chicken breasts, small salads, and sausages are sure to put a smile on the face of even the weariest shopper. There's also beer, whiskey highballs, and sake on the menu.