3 Best Restaurants in Suginami, Tokyo

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.

Koenji has many culinary bases covered, and with this izakaya it delivers Okinawan food and drink as authentic as any you’d find in Japan’s southern islands (you can thank the Okinawan owner for that). Dachibin, whose name refers to a portable ceramic container for sake, specializes in regional classics such as goya champuru (a stir-fry of bitter gourd, spam, and tofu) and soki soba (noodles with pork sparerib meat), which can be chased down with a pint of Orion Beer or a shot of Okinawan firewater awamori. Like many Koenji venues, it opens late and stays open later, from 5 pm to 5 am.

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).