7 Best Restaurants in Harajuku, Tokyo

Founded by American Bryan Baird in 2000, Baird Brewing has become one of the leaders in Japan's booming craft-beer movement, with a range of creative seasonal beers as well as such year-round brews as the hop-heavy Suruga Bay IPA. The Taproom combines Baird's excellent lineup of microbrews with Japanese izakaya (pub) fare like yakitori (grilled chicken skewers). There are other branches in Naka Meguro, Takadanobaba, Kichijoji, and Yokohama.

Carnivores flock here for the all-you-can-eat Brazilian grilled chicken and barbecued beef, which the efficient waiters will bring to your table until you tell them to stop, so be sure to pace yourself at the impressive, self-serve salad bar. With drinks (including, perhaps, Brazilian cocktails), dinner can easily run ¥10,000 per person, but the weekday lunch buffet offers largely the same selection at a fraction of the price. Hardwood floors, lithographs of bull motifs, warm lighting, and salmon-colored tablecloths provide the backdrop. Look for the entrance just off Omotesando-dori on the Harajuku 2-chome shopping street (on the north side of Omotesando-dori), about 50 yards down on the left. There are also branches of Barbacoa near Tokyo Station and in Roppongi, Shibuya, and Shinjuku. 

Inside Neal's Yard Green Square, this laid-back café has all-natural wooden interiors and a menu of dishes that will make the health-conscious happy. While shopping along Omotesando, it's a great place to stop for a snack or a lunch that might include a Japanese teishoku set, vegetable curry, tofu lemon cake, or other vegan fare.

Sushi restaurants can be expensive, but a rock-bottom alternative is an assembly line–style kaiten-zushi, where chefs inside a circular counter put sushi on plates color-coded for price onto a revolving belt, you choose what you'd like as it passes, and a staffer counts up the plates and calculates the bill when you're done. It's all about the fresh fish—and clearly not about the interior design—at this bustling branch of a kaiten-zushi chain opposite Omotesando Hills. The cheapest prices are reserved for staples like tuna and squid; you'll pay a bit more for delicacies like high-grade toro cuts of tuna and sea urchin.

After a short walk down a narrow alley from Omotesando Crossing, diners squeeze into this cozy bistro, perch on tiny antique school chairs, and order from the daily recommendations (mostly in Japanese) chalked onto blackboards—ignoring the ever-changing printed menu. Specials lean toward French-accented comfort food. Dinners can be pricey; lunches are about a third of the price.

The Roastery serves up some good single-origin coffee. Tucked away along Cat Street, a shopping street connecting Omotesando to Shibuya, it offers outdoor seating, giving you a place to watch the shoppers stream by.

At this restaurant specializing okonomiyaki (a savory pancake made with egg, meat, and vegetables), you choose the ingredients and cook them on the teppan (grill) yourself. Flipping the pancake can be challenging—potentially messy but still fun—and, fortunately, you're not expected to wash the dishes. Unlike at most Okonomiyaki joints, you can experiment with your own recipe or opt for one of the house specials such as sakurayaki (with pork, squid, and onions).