I think I have the best job in the world. I spent around 4 years living in Tokyo and Kyoto and although currently based in Sydney I'm constantly back and forth - as I have been for the last 35 years! I now host small tours, , to Tokyo and Kyoto, providing guests with in-depth food and cultural experiences - we eat at amazing places including local traditional joints, stylish fine-diners, secret restaurants and in people’s homes. It’s ever changing and I’m always on the hunt for top new spots. I'm sharing with you my current hit list for where I like to splurge for a night out in Tokyo.
I know - everyone has a list of where to eat! With the 2020 Tokyo Olympics looming, development is moving at a cracking pace - so don't be disappointed if a ramen joint your friend has recommended is no longer there - more than likely, another equally tasty shop has popped up in its place.
Truth is, it's impossible to go hungry in this city. However, if you, like me, are a keen eater, you want to make every meal count - especially if you only have a limited number of days in this megalopolis. You probably want to up from three meals a day to five smaller meals, too, to allow for the sheer variety of snacks and places you'll stumble across.
I like to dot my day with casual dining as I take in and explore Tokyo's neighbourhoods, but I always put on my itinerary at least two or three of the following fancier Japanese restaurants, worth getting frocked up for!
And if you ever get homesick or in need of non-Japanese flavours, there's a wave of Australian restaurateurs making their excellent mark on Tokyo, led by Sydney's and (Ginza), and more recently opened this year Sydney's (Omotesando) and (Ebisu) and (Shibuya) - a concept dining space, by Melbourne restauranteur, David McIntosh, which brings together one dish (truffle pasta), one wine and one artist (the one and only Zeppelin).
Join host Jane Lawson on her - a 15-day luxury cuisine and culture tour taking in electric Tokyo and blissful Kyoto, from 24 January to 7 February 2018.
For SBS readers who book and pay a deposit by 21 November 2017, Lawson is offering a bonus package of her three books: and cookbooks and - just make sure to mention this article when booking.
Jane's Tokyo restaurant hit list
The superb, reasonably priced, set-course menu of kappo- (counter-) style restaurant Shirosaka showcases the creativity of Chef Ii, whose style is fresh and captivating while remaining deeply rooted in elegant tradition. Though the chef is certainly accomplished, he is considerably relaxed and friendly, and with a solid command of the English language, having worked overseas, he’s happy to explain each cracking dish. The staff offer the warmest of welcomes and impeccable service. At Shirosaka it’s easy for a foreigner to enjoy the kind of Japanese food to which they might not have access otherwise, and with a total of fifteen seats you’d better book … now!
Respected Australian Chef Mathew Crabbe ensures the ‘American Grill’-influenced menu is perfectly executed, from the crab cakes to roast chicken and teppan-grilled local pork. Simple dishes, done really well with just a smattering of traditional Japanese aromatics are a great way to introduce local flavours and ingredients to uninitiated palates. An outdoor terrace with a Manhattan-esque view of Tokyo calls for sipping one of their excellent shiso mojitos! Their Mont Blanc is a top-notch rendition—this dessert, even in its most simple forms, enjoys cult status all over Japan.
This is one of the most interesting and fun restaurant experiences in Tokyo. What makes Den most intriguing is that each spectacular offering from cheeky young chef Zaiyu Hasegawa possesses the kind of magic emotional element one might only expect from a much older, experienced and seriously learned chef. Hasegawa san appears to have been born with an inherently deep, almost spiritual understanding of the truest Japanese cuisine—however, his youthful sense of humour and interpretive culinary dance style elevate things to a whole new level. The hospitality is warm and seemingly casual—but faultless.
The usual hushed tones of a Japanese restaurant serving food of this level are interspersed with laughter and groans of appreciation. All the seemingly mismatched facets of Jimbocho Den combine to form a wonderfully infectious dining experience—you crave to return even before you’ve finished your meal. Their two signature dishes give a good indication of what to expect on the menu: a starter monaka—usually a wafer casing for sweet bean confectionery, sandwiched with, for example, foie gras, dried persimmon and smoked daikon pickle; and their Dentucky Fried Chicken—perhaps filled with shiso, sesame and umeboshi seasoned rice, which comes in a takeaway box. It’s more than finger-lickin’ good. Just go. Some English spoken.
Most hotel restaurants tend to leave me cold, but Yakitori Seo, underneath the beautiful Tokyo Station Hotel, is the real deal despite its relatively fancy setting. Perfectly grilled chicken and all of its parts, from fatty, delicious bonjiri (tail) to slim, full-flavoured seri (neck) can be ordered by the stick or as a course menu, with accompaniments such as chicken sashimi, pickles, grilled rice balls and a savoury chicken broth. The service is friendly and not as intimidating as it might be to venture to an under-track yakitori shack on your own. They won’t scowl at you if you only order breast and thigh! Vegetarians take note—there are seasonal non-chicken sticks too! English menu available.
Takazawa, Akasaka
This tiny, upmarket restaurant run by a sophisticated husband and wife team is tucked away behind a quiet door in a sometimes rowdy food and bar district. You’d never stumble across it in a fit. I’ve been fortunate enough to have eaten here on several occasions over a ten-year period, and witnessed the highly creative and technically perfect food, and the restaurant’s profile, blossom and boom. Much in the same way as each course in a traditional kaiseki meal is an ode to the season or a certain celebration, each modern dish at Takazawa has a story behind it. Once explained (in perfect English), this makes the already visually pleasing food and marriage of flavours and textures even more impressive. It’s hard to get into these days so do book well in advance. Sip a pre-dinner drink at their new bar around the corner—it also serves glamorous ‘snacks’ from the restaurant if you only have time or budget for a small taste of the master’s cuisine.
One of Tokyo’s most internationally famous contemporary restaurants promises diners the kind of performance you’d expect in a grand, albeit cutting-edge, theatre. You need to dedicate at least four hours to this feasting extravaganza and may in fact walk away shell-shocked by an almost over-abundance of beauty, drama and pizzazz. Set in a simply appointed, spacious room with views into the kitchen to witness Chef Narisawa’s magic, it will make you feel pampered from the moment you are seated and giddy with excitement from start to finish. From the bread that rises and cooks in a stone pot at your table to the small-batch, hard-to-find sake and freakish list of French wines, through the Okinawan sea snake soup (snake presented on request) and lobster tail with pretty petals or squid with ‘smoking’ ash dressing, all the way to the post-double-dessert trolley laden with petits fours that are displayed as though they’ve grown naturally in a forest setting—there’s never a dull moment in Narisawa’s playground. (Yes, they bring you two desserts before they roll out the trolley!) An ‘only in Tokyo’ experience.
Tempura Motoyoshi
A Zen-like tempura experience. Sit at the counter as each morsel of premium ingredient is cooked individually in front of you. The base ingredient is the hero. The batter, although so perfectly light and fragile, without a hint of residual oil, is almost inconsequential, which is what makes it so amazing. Every tempura chef has their own coating style. I often prefer the more robust, full-flavoured batter common in a casual tempura joint like Tempura Takenawa (in Kappabashi), but this is from ‘another mother’. It’s one of those quiet, appreciative, contemplative Japanese dining experiences. You’ll start with sashimi before working your way through seasonal land and mountain vegetables and fruits of the sea. The oil is changed halfway—even though there are less than ten people dining at any time. As is tradition, the meal ends with rice, pickles and soup, but here the rice component is in the form of a petite donburi (rice bowl) topped with seasonal kakiage (tempura fritter) and thickened dashi sauce, and the pickles are ginger—but not as you know it. The lovely, humble chef and his staff make you feel like part of the Motoyoshi family. A little English spoken.
Having worked in some of France’s most esteemed and cutting-edge restaurants, quiet but quirky Chef Yamamoto and his gorgeous, smart partner who works the floor serve up what they describe as ‘popular gastronomy’—a contemporary French/Japanese menu. The dishes gradually escalate in creativity and intensity throughout the meal, like the stages of a flower blooming. The chef is a fan of murasaki (the colour purple) and you won’t be able to miss his influence in the décor! The service is friendly and English is spoken.
A firm favourite among Tokyoites, this upmarket grill-your-own-wagyu joint books out months in advance. Jumbo serves a selection of fine and curious cuts, and excellent kim chee. The service is fast and efficient, and they’ll have turned your table over before you’ve paid, but the pace is what keeps up fun levels, the frosty beers a-coming and the folk returning. You’ll reek of garlic for days, but that’s all part of the enjoyment! Some English spoken.
There are as many places as you have days to eat - these shouldn't be missed either: (Aoyama), (Aoyama), (Roppongi) and (Nakameguro).
