61 Best Restaurants in Tokyo, Japan

One of the culinary specialties of the Narita area is freshwater eel (unagi)—indeed, on the short stroll along Naritasan Omotesando, you'll see a number of places offering it. This one, close to Naritsan Shinsho-ji, is known for its chargrilled eel, slathered in a savory soy-based sauce and served over rice. Tradition says the dish is good at fighting fatigue, hence, it's particularly popular during the humid summer months. If you are a truly adventurous eater, try the eel-liver soup or the deep-fried eel bones. Takeout orders are an option.

Ramen is the quintessential Japanese fast food—thick noodles in a bowl of savory broth topped with sliced grilled chashu (pork loin)—and each neighborhood in Tokyo has its go-to ramen restaurant. In Ebisu, near Shibuya, the hands-down favorite is this branch of Afuri, where you choose and pay for your ramen at a machine, find a seat, and hand over your payment ticket to the cooks, who prepare your ramen then and there. There's limited seating, and the a line of customers might extend down the street, but the ramen is worth it. The signature ramen here is yuzu shio (citron and salt), but there are other options, including a vegan version.

Just south of the Shinjuku station, on a basement food level of Shinjuku's Lumine I department store, this branch of a ramen-house chain serves its noodles with a broth that has hints of citrus, turning what can be a heavy dish into something more refreshing (and even free of meat if you like).

An outpost of a New Zealand roastery, this small, friendly café serves excellent espressos, flat whites, and cappuccinos, plus simple snacks like cookies and toasted sandwiches. It occupies a repurposed wooden warehouse with indoor seating, but, if the weather is nice, grab a to-go drink and a slice of banana cake and walk a few minutes east to Kiba Park, a lovely green spot to while away an hour.

Situated along the monzen-machi approach to Jindai-ji temple, this traditional-looking spot has its own spin on soba dishes. Here, you don’t get soba noodles, but rather "soba bread"—basically, a steamed bun made with buckwheat (soba) flour, sugar, and rice flour that comes with your choice of fillings consisting of sweet red bean paste (anko), mustard greens (takana), daikon radish, or the very nontraditional keema, or mince-meat curry.

Located near the shops of Kappabashi-dori, the counter-only Aun specializes in tantanmen (tantan ramen), a Japanese take on spicy Sichuan dandan noodles. The lip-numbing dish, which routinely score high marks from reviewers, can be ordered here with spice levels that range from gentle to extreme.

Look for the cute neon bear sign to find what is possibly the neighborhood's best coffee shop, since, aside from some branded merchandise, coffee is the only thing that's sold. It's a tiny, low-key place with a simple design, including old wooden benches that make the place feel as if it's both in the now and from long ago.

Many long lines outside Shibuya's eateries are more about trendiness than quality, but Beard Papa makes a wide variety of genuinely good cream puffs. Pick up a single or a six-pack of freshly made pastries. It's in the underground Shibuchika shopping arcade, which is located roughly beneath the main crossing; head down some stairs, and follow the aromas of vanilla and butter.

Kushiyaki (grilled skewers), Vietnamese-style, are on the menu at the bustling restaurant that is the Tokyo branch of a popular barbecue chain in Hanoi. The skewers here include chicken thigh on or off the bone, chicken feet, and gizzards, as well as seafood, vegetables such as okra, and sweet treats like banana. The owners also run another no-frills Vietnamese restaurant called Chopsticks, serving excellent pho noodles, on the same block in Koenji’s north side.

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.

This Australian-style café near Coredo Muromachi is a casual hangout serving potent espressos and milky flat whites. For a quick bite to eat, try a meat pie, or stop by for the money-saving breakfast, which features a coffee and toasted sandwich for ¥650.

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.

Associated with the funky clothing shop just around the corner and part of an international chain, this bright, open café serves high-quality coffee, cakes, snacks, and gelato. It also has some Kitsuné-branded goods on hand.

Stop by and watch specialty donuts being fried before your eyes. They come in many flavors, and although they're on the "healthy" side, don't worry—they're still donuts. The giant cone outside reminds you that you can also get soft-serve ice cream, and there's coffee, too. Sit outside on the bench and watch the world go by.

This lively gastro-pub in the Coredo Muromachi complex specializes in local craft beers, with the 20 or so brews on tap covering a range of styles. Though you can stop by for just a pint, there's also a food menu featuring Japanese izakaya staples and lunchtime teishoku meals that are great value for money.

This basement-level ice cream store has become a Nakano Broadway institution for its soft-serve ice cream, which comes in flavors that vary from simple vanilla to matcha (powdered green tea), horse chestnut, and ramune (a popular citrus soda flavor). The specialty is the eight-layered, 20-cm (8-inch) tokudai sofuto, or extra-large soft serve, though small cups and cones are also on the menu. Next door, is the Daily Chiko udon (thick wheat noodles) shop.

Although a classic bowl of ramen is topped with slices of pork, here it's often topped with grilled vegetables. Other specialties to try include the tsukemen, with the noodles served in one bowl and the broth into which you dip them served in another, or the chilled noodles topped with vegetables and ham in a sesame dressing. The restaurant also serves gyoza and other goodies. Despite the focus on veggies, note that the soups and sauces are not meat-free.

Quick and easy plant-based food isn't always easy to come by in Tokyo, but this small spot serves up excellent vegan fast food—namely, falafel, veggies burgers, and plant-based brownies. Most customers buy takeout, but there are a few tables, plus craft beers and coffee on the menu, if you fancy lingering. There's also a branch in Shibuya.

At the northern end of the izakaya-lined Hoppy Street (a few blocks west of Senso-ji), this hip Scandinavian-style café serves up sweet and savory Norwegian waffles along with coffee made using single-origin beans. In the evenings, there are craft beers and cocktails on the menu, too.

Preparing wagashi (traditional Japanese sweets generally served with tea) since 1907, the main branch (out of six) of Fukagawa Iseya is less than a five-minute walk from Tomioka Hachiman Shrine. Popular choices include mitarashi dango (skewers of small rice balls covered in a sweet soy glaze) and daifuku (mounds of mochi filled with Hokkaido red bean paste). Unlike many other wagashi shops, Fukagawa Iseya has a small café next door.

Kamasho serves the area's traditional signature dish, Fukagawa-meshi—short-neck clams and green onion cooked in a miso broth and poured over a bowl of rice. You can order just a bowl of it or, if you're really hungry, a set meal with a side serving of pickles and miso soup or some sushi. Drinks ranging from beer and umeshu (plum wine) to shochu and nihonshu are also available.

Amid a sea of dilapidated buildings, thin-crust pizza specialist Garage 50 stands out for its retro camper van equipped with a brick-oven. Numerous toppings—from seafood to ham or chorizo—are available, and all the pies cost the same. The tomato sauce and wheat are imported from Italy, adding an extra layer of authenticity to the no-frills eatery. Seating is limited and all of it is outside, but takeout orders are also possible. 

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.

Having started as a street stall in Ogikubo in the late 1940s, Harukiya is now a ramenya (ramen restaurant) that often has patrons lining up along the street. The noodles are freshly made by hand every morning, come in a soy and niboshi (dried sardine)–based stock, and are served with a topping of chashu (roast pork).

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 strolling through the flower gardens of Hibiya Park on a hot day, stop off for a cold pint of beer here. There's no indoor seating, but with its view of Hibiya Park, you wouldn't want to be inside.

At Ueno Station is a branch of a raman restaurant chain that has an amusing way of servings its noodles. First, you select your seat and choose and pay for your meal, and then, after you sit down, like magic, a window opens and the food appears. All the seats are individual, in theory so that you can concentrate on the flavors, making this a place you come to for the food rather than for conversation.

Open from 11 am to 11 pm, this ever-busy ramen joint, now an international chain with almost 30 locations in Tokyo alone, is an ideal quick stop on or after a night out. The classic ramen is the Shiromaru, which features a creamy pork-based stock, thin yet slightly firm noodles, and a topping of chashu (braised) pork slices. Other options include the Akamaru, which has a little red miso mixed in the soup, and side dishes such as gyoza dumplings.

Offerings at this small café just to west of the Imperial Palace's Chidorigafuchi feature coffee beans from as far afield as Brazil, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea. There's also usually a decaf option available.