Travel Guide - Tokyo Restaurants

Part II - Restaurants in Stop #1

A comprehensive list of some of our best bites, notable neighbourhoods, and our first impressions of Tokyo.

Breakfast

Bricolage bread & co - This bakery was right across the street from our hotel in Roppongi and offered everything from fresh baked goods to a full service eggs and French toast. We ate here every morning, either to sit, or to grab and go. By the end of our time in Tokyo, we had tired of being tourists. We were ready to move to a little flat in Ebisu or Roppongi and start each day with an Americano and bite from a local shop. Bricolage bread & co helped us to feel like the locals we certainly were not.

Lunches

Menchirashi - The questions you ask yourself while travelling and looking for food - If there’s a line, should we join it? If it’s on TikTok, should we avoid it? Menchirashi falls to the latter and admittedly I sought it out after seeing the handmade udon noodles come up frequently on my aforementioned countless hours of vlog watching… It was the best adult mac and cheese I have ever had and the 15 minute line was well worth it.

Tsujki Tokyo Fish Market - We later learned that this market is a bit of a rip off and that there is another, better fish market if you want a more authentic experience. We were also told to start at the Market early, to avoid the crowds; but instead we joined the bus loads of tourists for lunch in the 30 degree heat. Bon-sweaty-appetite! We enjoyed crab, had a cute sushi roll for lunch, a cucumber on a stick, coffees at John Lennon’s cafe - and then we found this piece of Waygu for $50. Torched on a cooktop (I have a video for anyone dying to see) - this was the best bite of the trip hands down.

Tokyo Midtown Plaza - The lines at the grab and go counters at the basement food court of Tokyo Midtown Plaza were surprising. In a flash pang of “you-have-made-me-walk-too-much” hanger, we decided to get a bunch of bites from the various shops (a grocer, a yakitori shop, a smoothie place, and a French chocolatier. We avoided the Dean & Deluca. Can confirm $17 grocery store sushi is better than most restaurants in Toronto.

A Happy Pancake - We knew we had to try the fluffy Japanese style pancakes at some point. They were good, not great, we get the hype. At this point in the trip we had decided we would export anything great from Japan - Who has the license to this?! We would frantically search midway through our meal. Turns out we were never the first to have this idea. A Happy Pancake’s competitor Flippers has just opening in Toronto after it’s success in New York.

Snacks & Coffees

Alain Ducasse - We are suckers for good chocolate, or a pre-dinner ice cream, or a post-lunch mousse. It was a holiday after all.

The Matcha Tokyo - The well-recommended matcha stop has it all - ice cream, lattes, bars, and goods to bring home.

7 Eleven - Can recommend an onigiri (personal favourite is tuna and mayo). Do you need to buy frozen grapes or a the egg sandwich? Probably not, but when everything is $1-$6 you might as well take the lot. Got an absolute kick out of the energy drinks that equate required calories to a serving of rice.

Dinners

Sushi Yuu - When we said we were going to Tokyo, most people responded with, “The Sushi!” - and then melted into their seats, tossing a chef’s kiss dramatically into the air. The stakes were high. We had already booked Sushi Yuu when it came out as the Number 1 spot on the BBC, so we were nervous that it would be full of tourists and a bit of a grab. We were pleased when the couple beside us were regulars from Hong Kong, and to the other side, a family of four who clearly knew chef Shimazaki. For ~$200 per person, this +20 course meal with incredible service was well worth it and a nice introduction to Japanese fine dining.

LDH Kitchen - I told a friend that we were considering a couple of the more expensive Omakase restaurants, to which she said - book them all..! To me, being handed my sushi each night would be like only going to Michelin star restaurants in France; it is an incredible experience, but there is no need to fill up on the finer things. We had Sushi Yuu booked, but figured one more sushi experience would not hurt - or break the bank.

Our second pick was 3110NZ by LDH Kitchen. World renowned Sushi Saito opened a restaurant in an art gallery, in partnership with Nanzuka Underground. By day you can see the art, by night you are served some of the finest sushi in a Japan by Sushi Saito’s #2. It was only us and one other couple for the early seating, we felt spoiled in every way.

Shima Steak - A family run restaurant in the basement of an office building in Ginza. Full of families, businessmen, and a couple tourists, this spot felt like Sotto Sotto (Toronto) or Giovanni’s (Ottawa). We sat at the bar to watch Chef make the steaks, and his wife sat beside me at the bar doing the restaurant’s accounting. When she caught a glance of my cell phone background, she asked if we had just been married, and I enthusiastically (or embarrassingly, depends who you ask), said yes. She then brought out a cake and candles and insisted on many deserts. The bags we left with our leftovers were printed with a drawing by their son (who was also working that night). For $85 we could have added a steak sando to our goodie bag - we probably should have.

Sushi Ebisu Hana - Incredible sushi in a little spot, a $75 Omakase or a la cart. For English diners, you pick your food off an app and it is delivered to your table. It was like conveyor-belt dining, but with some service. The food was good, but we were so enchanted with Ebisu we would have praised anything from this neighbourhood.

Cocktail Bars

Imperial Bar - There are so many cocktail bars in Japan; and many advised that the best are in the hotels. Avoiding the more touristy spots, we went for a recommendation from his grandmother - the Old Imperial Hotel. Originally designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, and then torn down, and then built again, this hotel is a designer’s dream. I have never seen a FLW carpet before and I took many selfies in the wood paneled bathroom.

Co.Flamingo - It is tough to translate, “Give me something funky - something orange? Natural? Yes please” from English to Japanese but this little wine bar in Ebisu (the trendiest neighbourhood) offered fantastic wines from New Zealand and France.

THESE - Upon arrival you are shown a bowl of fruits and herbs and toppings. After pointing to three ingredients, you are given a “personal cocktail”. I had a margarita, he a chocolate espressso martini. The upstairs is cosy and the location good.