84 Best Restaurants in Tokyo, Japan

Founded by American Bryan Baird in 2000, Baird Brewing has become one of the leaders in Japan's now booming craft-beer movement, with a range of year-round brews, such as the hop-heavy Suruga Bay IPA, and creative seasonal beers that use local ingredients such as yuzu citrus and even wasabi. The Harajuku Taproom combines Baird's excellent lineup of microbrews with Japanese izakaya (pub) fare like yakitori (grilled chicken skewers), gyoza (dumplings), and curry rice. The Taproom's rotation of 15 beers on tap, plus two hand-pumped ales, as well as its quality food and friendly atmosphere make it a must for beer lovers and dispel any notion that all Japanese beers taste the same. There are other branches in Naka Meguro, Takadanobaba, Kichijoji, and Yokohama.

Offering up high-end Mediterranean cuisine in an incredibly stylish setting, Cicada's resortlike atmosphere feels a world away from Omotesando's busy shopping streets. In the warmer months, the outdoor patio is especially relaxing. The menu ranges from Spanish tapas and Middle Eastern mezze to hearty grilled meats and seafood. An expansive wine list and craft beers complement the range of cuisine, and the outdoor bar makes a great spot for a nightcap. Though spacious, this popular restaurant fills up quickly, so dinner reservations are recommended.

The Park Hyatt's 52nd-floor bar and restaurant may have come to international fame thanks to Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation, but expats and locals have long known that it's one of the most elegant places to take in Tokyo's nighttime cityscape over a steak or cocktail. The restaurant menu showcases excellent steaks and grilled seafood in the evening, and has one of the city's best lunch buffets during the day. If the restaurant is out of your budget, come instead to the bar when it opens (before the ¥2,200 evening cover charge is added to your bill) and enjoy a drink as the sun sets over the city. The cover charge for the bar starts at 8 pm every day but Sunday, when it starts at 7 pm.

Anyone looking to experience Japanese haute cuisine in a more relaxed atmosphere should look to this kappo-style restaurant, where diners order and eat at the counter. Third-generation chef—and 2002 Iron Chef champion—Kimio Nonaga displays his artistry in every element of Nihonbashi Yukari's menu. Dinner here is a multicourse affair, with each dish showcasing the freshness and quality of the seasonal ingredients. To witness him at work, and get the full kappo dining experience, be sure to request a counter seat when making reservations. As a bonus, Nihonbashi Yukari also offers a lunch setting for a fraction of the price of dinner, which is unusual for this kind of restaurant.

The exclusive specialty here is tofu, prepared in more ways than you can imagine—boiled, steamed, stir-fried with minced crabmeat, served in a custard, or wrapped in thin layers around a delicate whitefish paste. Tofu is touted as the perfect high-protein, low-calorie health food; at Ume no Hana it's raised to the elegance of haute cuisine. Remove your shoes when you step up to the lovely central room. Latticed wood screens separate the tables, and private dining rooms with tatami seating are available. Prix-fixe meals, from ¥5,000 to ¥8,000 at dinner, include a complimentary aperitif, while lunchtime is very budget-friendly considering the quality (courses from ¥2,100). Ume no Hana shops in Ueno and Ginza are also worth visiting.

Ramen is the quintessential Japanese fast food: thick Chinese noodles in a bowl of savory broth topped with sliced grilled chashu (pork loin). Each neighborhood in Tokyo has its favorite, and in Ebisu the hands-down favorite is Afuri. Using the picture menu, choose your ramen by inserting coins into a ticket machine, find a seat, and hand over your ticket to the cooks, who prepare your ramen then and there. There's limited seating, and at lunch and dinner, a line of customers extends down the street, but as expected, the ramen is worth it. The signature ramen here is yuzu shio (citron and salt), but there are other options, including a vegan ramen.

Just south of the Shinjuku station, this chain ramen house serves up ramen with hints of citrus in the broth, turning this often heavy dish into something more refreshing. It's located on a basement food level of Shinjuku's Lumine I department store, so you can have the nearby Thai food instead should you peek in and change your mind.

For his Michelin-starred contemporary French creations, chef de cuisine Shintaro Miyazaki sources the finest Japanese beef, poultry, seafood, and vegetables from around the country. Served on the 45th floor of the Ritz-Carlton, the resulting prix-fixe lunch courses (from ¥5,800) come with a choice of four or five dishes from a changing monthly menu. For dinner there are chef's tasting menus, which are paired with wine selected by the hotel's sommelier. The dining room, decorated in soft beige, white, and black, and crowned with a city skyline view, provides the appropriate tony setting.

Yakitori, Vietnamese-style, is on the menu at the bustling restaurant that feels it could have been transported from the streets of Hanoi. The skewers here include chicken thigh on or off the bone, chicken feet, and gizzards, but also 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.

Run by Neal's Yard Remedies, this laid-back café has all-natural wooden interiors and natural produce on the menu. If shopping in Harajuku, it's a great place to stop for a healthy Japanese teishoku set, vegetable curry, tofu lemon cake, or other vegan fare.

Connected to a natural-foods store, and with natural airy wooden interiors to match, Crayon House serves Japanese and Western dishes with a common theme—it's all very healthy. Ninety-five percent of ingredients are organic, and the mixture of curries, pastas, salads, and other dishes are all wholesome. The lunchtime buffet is good value. The desserts taste as if the notion of health has been thrown out the window.

Daikokuya, in the center of Asakusa's historic district, is a point of pilgrimage for both locals and tourists. The specialty here is shrimp tempura, and the menu choices are simple—tendon is tempura shrimp served over rice, and the tempura meal includes rice, pickled vegetables, and miso soup. Famished diners can add additional pieces of tempura or side dishes such as sashimi for an additional fee, or opt for a multi-dish course. When the line of waiting customers outside is too long, head to the shop's annex (bekkan) just around the corner.

The classic bowl of ramen is topped with slices of pork, but Darumaya, in the fashion district of Omotesando, has a slightly different take, topping its noodles with grilled vegetables. In the summertime be sure to order the hiyashi soba, a bowl of chilled noodles topped with vegetables and ham in a sesame dressing. Another shop specialty is the tsukemen, where the noodles and broth are served in separate bowls. Dip (don't drop) the ramen into the broth. Despite the focus on veggies, vegetarians should note, the soups and sauces are not meat-free.

With a focus on South India cuisine, Dhaba has built a reputation as having some of the best Indian flavors in town. A specialty here are the dosas, a kind of stuffed crepe, but the curries, whether the spicy coriander mutton or the fragrant lemon shrimp masala, are just as good. It can get very busy with office workers from noon to 1 on a weekday, so it's best to come before or after that.

No surprise that eggs are the thing at this convenient diner on the first basement floor of Roppongi Hills Mori Tower. Eggs are organic and available every which way, including in egg tarts, eggs benedict, pancakes, and a fried breakfast.

On top of the Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi, there’s a Michelin-starred restaurant serving contemporary French cuisine with a twist. Est presents eco-conscious, seasonal menus with 95% of ingredients locally sourced in Japan. With a focus on reducing food waste, Chef Guillaume Bracaval crafts innovative and singular dishes that can be traced from source to plate. 

Kamasho serves the signature dish of the old Fukagawa area, 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 Fukagawa-meshi or opt for a set with a side serving of pickles and miso soup. If you are really hungry, the largest set also comes with some sushi. There’s beer and sake on the menu if you want something to wash it all down with.

Located in Shibuya's Tokyu Department Store, Tenichi is an accessible and relaxed tempura restaurant. The best seats are at the counter, where you can see the chefs work and each piece of tempura will be served piping hot, directly from the oil. The restaurant's simple, brightly lit interior keeps the focus on the food itself. Choose from a selection of ten-don (tempura served with sauce over a bowl of rice) or tempura sets. The more expensive tempura meals are available at the counter only.

Having started as a street stall in Ogikubo in the late 1940s, Harukiya is now a ramen restaurant that often has patrons lining up down the street. The noodles here come in a soy- and dried sardine-based stock and are served with a topping of chashu (roast pork) with the noodles being handmade every morning.

If you needed proof that Koenji caters to all sorts of tastes, the cute Moomin-like drawings on the walls of this popular café, not to mention the lattes with cute cartoon faces drawn in the foam, show that Koenji has a soft side too. If you are hungry, try the pizzas or desserts, which include a pumpkin Mont Blanc.

A short walk from the Imperial Hotel, the Hibiya branch of one of Yokohama's oldest and best Chinese restaurants commands a spectacular view of the Imperial Palace grounds from 28 floors up. Call ahead to reserve a table by the window. Much of the clientele comes from the law offices, securities firms, and foreign banks in the building.

Often, a meal of sushi is a costly indulgence. The rock-bottom alternative is a kaiten-zushi, where it is literally served assembly line–style: chefs inside the circular counter place a constant supply of dishes on the revolving belt with plates color-coded for price; just choose whatever takes your fancy as the sushi parades by. A cheerful, bustling example of this genre is the Heiroku-zushi chain's branch opposite Omotesando Hills; it's all about the fresh fish here (and clearly not the design). When you're done, the server counts up your plates and calculates your bill. The cheapest prices are reserved for staples like tuna and squid, and you'll pay a bit more for delicacies like high-grade toro cuts of tuna and sea urchin.

Perched on the 46th floor of the Carretta Shiodome Building overlooking Tokyo Bay, this seafood-focused izakaya is a nice escape from the chaotic frenzy below. Specialties include grilled fish and house-made tofu. As the name suggests, Suntory's highly rated Hibiki whiskey is also on the menu, along with wines and sake that pair well with the food.

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

Every so often, even on foreign shores, you've got to have a burger. When the urge strikes, the Swiss-and-bacon special at Homework's is an incomparably better choice than anything you can get at one of the global chains. Hamburgers come in three sizes on white or wheat buns, with a variety of toppings. You also find hot teriyaki chicken sandwiches, pastrami sandwiches, and vegetarian options like a soybean veggie burger or a grilled eggplant sandwich. With its hardwood banquettes and French doors open to the street in good weather, Homework's is a pleasant place to linger over lunch. There is also a branch in Hiro.

At Ueno Station is a branch of an amusing ramen chain. Ichiran serves tonkotsu (pork broth) noodles. Rather than sitting at a table and ordering off the menu, you'll choose and pay for your meal and your seat at a machine. You then use the order sheet at your table (it has English on it) and choose how you'd like it served. You'll hand that and your order tickets through a window. Like magic—presto!—the curtain rises and made-to-order steaming bowls appear.

Soba noodles, which are made with buckwheat, are a signature of the restaurants near Jindai-ji. That's apparently because buckwheat was traditionally easier to grow here than rice. This place along the temple’s Monzen-machi approach serves handmade soba in a variety of ways, including in warm broths and cold with a dipping sauce.

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 pork slices. Other options include the Akamaru, which has a little red miso mixed in the soup, and side dishes such as gyoza dumplings.

Soba, thin buckwheat noodles often served chilled in summer and hot in winter, are available everywhere, even convenience stores. The family-run Matsuya serves authentic soba in a rustic atmosphere. A simple soba meal can be quite inexpensive, or, for a bit more, get noodles topped with tempura or other goodies.

The ever-popular Kanda Yabu Soba, located in a recently built but traditional building that replaced the original 130-year-old restaurant after a fire in 2013, is one of the oldest and best places to sit down and savor freshly made soba—be that on tatami or at one of the tables. Soba, thin noodles made from buckwheat flour and quickly dipped into a hot broth or cold dipping sauce, are the lighter cousin of udon.