Best of Tokyo
November 4, 2007 by nicoeats
The website where I work–a Tokyo word-of-mouth review site–is up and running. It’s still a beta version, and some features like forums are not available yet, but, with what it’s available, there’s more than enough to guide people around Tokyo. They are having an introductory campaign and you can win an iPod touch or a Nintendo DS. The url is www.sunnypages.jp
As for me, I visited more than 80-90 restaurants in the process. Here’s my own premature list of the best of Tokyo. It’s by no means exhaustive, but here are my recommendations:
Best Italian: Trattoria Pinosalice
This Italian eatery in Shibuya set the tone for all my other Italian meals. The food was unpretentious, yet so tasty it was unbelievable. I still dream about the bruschetta and the creme brulee. They get extra points for letting you try the wines before buying them by the glass.
Runner Up: Belvedere
Best date restaurant:Belvedere
Belvedere sits on a 42nd floor and has four tables for two that overlook straight out the window. I can’t imagine a better date spot than this. The food is superb, there’s plenty of good wine in the cellar and the view is awsome.
Runner up: L’Amitie
Best Cafe: Chatei Hatou
Chatei Hatou seems to be suspended in time. This cafe could have existed in the 1920s, the 60s or now and nothing would have changed. Getting coffee in 70-year-old porcelain cups is already enough of an experience, but the care with which they brew their coffee sets them apart from most other coffeeshops.
Best beers (and other alcoholic drinks): Cafe Hoegarden
Cafe Hoegarden blew me away with their selection of beers from around the world and good food to match. The location is a bit out of the way, but it’s well worth the walk.
Runner Up: New York Bar
Best Izakaya: Uogashi Fukuchan
Uogashi serves portions fit to satisfy a hungry team of basketball players after practice. The menu has no prices, and the portions change in size depending on how many people are in the group. Yet, it’s still affordable and the portions are just massive. Come here to drown in seafood (there’s only seafood).
Runner Up: Shinobu Tei
Best Okonomiyaki: Kiji
Be prepared to wait in line for approx. 1 hour to get inside this small Okonomiyaki restaurant close to Tokyo station. The waiting time though is definitely worth it to try some of the best okonomiyaki in Japan. I lived in Osaka for a year, and this beats every okonomiyaki I had over there.
Runner up: Yukari
Best Organic: Le garcon de la vigne
The owner of this tiny French restaurant is a Japanese sommelier who used to work at an organic winery in France. Upon returning to Japan, he set up this place to showcase organic wines together with some excellent French food. They have a working relationship with a few local farms, and the menu changes according to what is on season. Make reservations as the space is quite small.
Runner Up: J’s Kitchen
Best Sushi: Tsukiji Tamasushi
Admittedly some of the sushi were not the best I have had. But, the ones that were awesome were off the hook. I may have had the best tuna ever at this place, together with the most tender piece of unagi ever.
Runner Up: Tsukiji Honten
Best Yakiniku: Jojoen
Other than serving some top-notch meat, Jojoen invested in the best grilling equipment I’ve ever seen. These grills are set at the exact temperature to caramelize the meat, but not burn it.
Best Soup: Ginza Fukusuke
The crab-miso broth will blow you away. The sushi is not bad, but come for the soup.
Runner Up: Tinun
Best cakes: Aigre Douce
These cakes pack multiple flavours, and are off this planet. The shop is cute, and the only thing lacking is more tables. Definitely try the Cassoulet, which is one of the best cakes on offer (It’s like a creme brulee with bananas and a puff pastry casing).
Runner up: Pierre Herme
Avoid these places: Sol Amigo
This might be the worst Mexican food I’ve ever had. The place is tacky, the food is bad, and I can only advise you not to come here.
Runner up: Homeworks (the most over-rated burger in Tokyo)
I definitely agree that everyone should stay away from Sol Amigo. The salsa there consists of ketchup with bits of corn in it.
Drop by Chabelito’s in Hisai (久居), which is now a part of Tsu City (津) if you want decent Mexican. It’s a bit of a trek from Tokyo, but if you’re heading to Ise (伊勢), Shima (志摩), Toba (鳥羽), Matsusaka (松坂), Suzuka (鈴鹿), etc., for sightseeing, it might be fun to drop in. Of course, around here you can get the tastiest beef, pork, vegetables, and seafood in Japan, so I recommend eating that first.
Are there any really good Mexican restaurants in Tokyo?
Bikkuri and Justin — there’s one Mexican restaurant I recommend that I didn’t include in the list. Find the details here: http://www.sunnypages.jp/contacts/detail/513
I also got a couple of comments in the Serious Eats website where they wrote a small note on this post (thanks a lot!!!!) that my list was too tilted towards Western fare and there wasn’t enough on Japanese food. This was a conscious decision. At some point through my job I decided to think of Tokyo as a global cosmopolitan city rather than a Japanese city. I did eat my share of Japanese food, but on the whole the city boasts food from all over so I tried to cover most styles without tilting too far in any direction.
But, I do agree that I left some important categories out. Some of them I left out because I had already covered them in my blog before (for a traditional Japanese yakitori bar, look here http://nicoeats.wordpress.com/2007/09/02/one-of-my-favourite-tokyo-spots/); for Chinese look here: http://nicoeats.wordpress.com/2007/06/06/din-tai-fung-dumplings/), but others didn’t make it because I either forgot about them or because I didn’t go to any restaurants that would make it worth adding them.
For the best Indian, look for Marhaba in Ikebukuro (http://gourmet.yahoo.co.jp/0000970537/0002968640/) and as runner up look for Dharmasagara in Ginza (http://www.sunnypages.jp/contacts/detail/260)
For Ramen, I recommend this place (http://www.sunnypages.jp/contacts/detail/637)
what dish is that tasty looking pic from the izakaya one with the smashed boiled egg on top?
Ayesha — it was a massive pile of crab salad…lettuce at the bottom, crab meat and mayo on top, and runny boiled eggs at the end…it was quite tasty!