1. abura soba
the creamy, slippery, spicy empress of all japanese noodles. go to the hiroo or shibuya branch, follow these elaborate mixing and saucing instructions, and watch your world forever changed.
order: karamiso (spicy) with a side of toppings. add a swirl of the red bottle, a swirl of the white bottle, mix, swoon. add in onions halfway through if feeling feisty.
multiple locations, nearest stations: hiroo, shibuya
namaiki is the oft-overlooked little sister branch of famed high-end beef heaven yoroniku. both serve meltingly tender yakiniku (grilled japanese beef); yoroniku is more expensive and harder to reserve, but you can't go wrong with either one.
namaiki is roughly half the price of yoroniku (probably due to its location in slightly more rando akihabara), and will sometimes offer specials that yoroniku doesn't, like this truffled melting beef egg package dropped straight from heaven onto our tables.
[*disclaimer: this MAY have been a seasonal specialty over the summer. but even if they don't still have this, the rest will be worth it.]
and god blessed them, and god said unto them, put marbled raw japanese beef on top of rice and make beef sushi.
order: any of the course menus. if they offer truffle additions, DO IT.
nearest station to namaiki: akihabara
nearest station to yoroniku: omotesando
3. fuunji
disclaimer: below photo was taken from a previous facebook post of mine, since the phone i took it with is now broken.
this is why it looks like it was taken with a potato.
this is why it looks like it was taken with a potato.
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this is it - the holy tsukegrail. silk and velvet and umami, wrapped up into one sensuous bowl, each noodle coated in a satiny richness i have never before witnessed in tsukemen. like kissing a baby's downy-soft cheek, while being caressed by an early autumn tokyo breeze, while being tenderly kneaded by 12 balinese masseuses as an angels’ chorus swells overhead and daniel day-lewis gazes soothingly into your eyes, pledging his eternal love for you.
fuunji (風雲児): a 7-minute walk from shinjuku station, a 15-to-30 minute wait in line, a 950-yen ticket to heaven. |
order: tokusei tsukemen (特製つけめん), which comes with all the trimmings
nearest station: shinjuku
$$$$$, but i've found no restaurant on earth (so far!) to top narisawa. not so much a restaurant as a spiritual ayahuasca-esque journey which will have you questioning why your life path has not resulted in narisawa-san living in your kitchen and cooking for you daily.
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uni in some kind of citrusy magical sauce, garnished with forest flowers obviously brought to the restaurant by miyazaki-movie creatures or silvan elves. a little musical composition on a plate that made me believe in uni.
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more narisawa phantasmagoria. the center cup is literally soil water. they literally have you drinking dirt at narisawa. and it's all so incredible you will beg for more [maybe not of the soil water specifically but other things].
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the menu changes seasonally, but when last there, this was brought out to show us what went into the the sea-snake 'essence' soup. dan's tasting notes describe the soup's flavor best: "acrid, liquid evil, malevolent... implacable malice... cannot be diverted, cannot be bargained with. almost like licking a razor wire."
book WELL in advance, through their website or your hotel concierge. apparently you can sometimes get last-minute reservations through govoyagin.
order: you will have no choice, and you will love it
nearest station: omotesando
5. afuri
afuri, my love forever. simple, hearty yuzu shio (citrus salt) chicken ramen. order the tanrei (classic base). so beautiful. probably my most frequently eaten ramen when in tokyo (1x/week).
when you're feeling under the weather, this is the japanese answer to chicken noodle soup. when you're feeling not under the weather, you can ALMOST convince yourself this is healthy. and the egg is sunset-orange gooey perfection and the chashu is charred smoky perfection and everything about this bowl is perfection, and soul-nourishing.
order: yuzu shio ramen, tanrei/classic base
multiple locations - type 'afuri' into gmaps to see. nearest stations: nakameguro (for the most charming branch - can walk by the river after), roppongi (there's a v good branch right in the basement of roppongi hills/roppongi hibiya line station), ebisu, azabu-juban
6. butagumi
some like it lean, some like it fat. but whichever way you like it, butagumi (@nishi-azabu location) is fantastic, even for non-tonkatsu (deep-friend, breaded pork cutlet) lovers like me. bonus points for being easy to reserve and foreigner-friendly.
order: any of the ro-su options (super fatty roast), or lean pork if preferred; any of the excellent appetizers
nearest station: roppongi, hiroo (sort of in between both - 15-min-ish walk away from either)
order: any of the ro-su options (super fatty roast), or lean pork if preferred; any of the excellent appetizers
nearest station: roppongi, hiroo (sort of in between both - 15-min-ish walk away from either)
7. kagari
7. kagari
milky chicken broth so thick that asparagus could almost stand up on its own. delicate ramen lying coiled beneath like the most delicious loch ness monster. dangerously rich and silky - best for cool, rainy days or cold nights.
order: tori paitan soba, and get there on the early side to do it (nothing like getting towards the front of the line and being told they've just run out. but if this tragic fate befalls you, run to oborozuki nearby to drown your sorrows in fabulous tsukemen)
nearest station: ginza
8. BATTLE OF THE SUSHI JOINTS [see below for which fits your profile]
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FOR FOREIGN VISITORS, ESPECIALLY IN GROUPS umegaoka sushi no midori you will wait for it. you will take a ticket, go away for an hour, and come back to find you are still waiting for it. i actually rarely even go here anymore because the wait is so long and there are so many other good places. but if you want a.) foreigner-friendly for visitors (particularly bigger groups), b.) super central (right in shibuya), and c.) excellent value for yen, umegaoka sushi is your spot. (not pictured here, but get the MASSIVE eel.) order: oo-toro (super fatty tuna), chuu-toro (medium fatty tuna), ikura (salmon roe), eel, anything. they'll have english menus. nearest station: shibuya |
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FOR THOSE LIVING IN JAPAN WHO JUST WANT DELICIOUS, EASY SUSHI WITHOUT WAITING AN HOUR OR RESERVING THREE WEEKS IN ADVANCE
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maguro donya miuramisakiko megumi, shibuya hikarie located on the 6th floor of quirky-chic shopping center hikarie (on the other side of the station from the main scramble/hachiko statue). so convenient, so easy to stop in on a whim (rarely a line, and if there is one, it moves quickly), so fresh and delicious. sit at the bar, not the tables in the back area, and order directly from the sushi chef rather than picking up from the conveyer belt. order: aburi-salmon (torched salmon), chuu-toro (medium fatty tuna), oo-toro (fatty tuna), ikura (roe), tamagoyaki (sliced egg omelet) nearest station: shibuya |
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zouroku sushi high-end, but low-key enough that you can typically either pop in or call ahead for a same-night reservation. i'll usually pop in for just a few favorite dishes rather than doing the full course menu. the oo-toro (fatty tuna) at zouroku sushi is a revelation. dan in amazement: "it doesn't even taste like FISH." it's a delicate, velvety kiss on the tongue which is almost like a beef tartare. |
little toro: to me, you are perfect. and pretty enough to merit two pictures.
you have no bad angle. you are the candice swanepoel of sushi.
you have no bad angle. you are the candice swanepoel of sushi.
lightly yuzu-dusted anago (saltwater eel - softer and more delicate than the oilier, bolder unagi, freshwater eel).
disclaimer: when we first stopped by, this was the best anago i'd ever eaten period. when we next stopped by, it was slightly less mindblowing. proceed with caution, but with anticipation of potentially the best anago you will ever eat.
disclaimer: when we first stopped by, this was the best anago i'd ever eaten period. when we next stopped by, it was slightly less mindblowing. proceed with caution, but with anticipation of potentially the best anago you will ever eat.
don't forget the negi-toro (smashed fatty tuna and scallion rolls, laced with wasabi).
order: whatever your sushi standbys happen to be. for me: chuu-toro, oo-toro, ikura, anago, negi-toro. this review for their roppongi branch details more dishes
nearest station: hiroo
9. itasoba kaoriya
homey, thick-cut buckwheat soba noodles in a cozy little room right off ebisu station. will remind you of the japanese countryside childhood you never had. my faves: duck broth, tempura, tamagoyaki (succulent rolled-up omelette).
good review from tiny urban kitchen, with more photos
order: literally anything is good, but duck broth soba, tempura, tamagoyaki
nearest station: ebisu
10. GASP! non-japanese food: baked goods galore
10. GASP! non-japanese food: baked goods galore
here are any number of spots which could've rounded off this list. the delightful ukyo 200 sakes, a sake bar tucked away in sweet azabu-juban which serves up fabulous little plates heaped with uni, jewel-like ikura (roe), and truffled potato salad; sasano, a wonderful though pricey izakaya hidden away in the heart of roppongi, where crisp croquettes ooze with creamy crab and refreshing seasonal salads offset fresh fish caught right in front of you; and even the much-vaunted aronia de takazawa and ryugin, though they don’t (in this writer’s humble opinion) hold a candle or even a drop of candlewax to narisawa (above).
but if there’s one thing japan does really, really, really well (in addition to the other millions of things it does really, really, really well), it’s baked goods. thick-cut, milk-rich shokupan (fluffy, square white loaves) from virtually any bakery; impossibly light croissants encased in the most golden-crisp shell, with buttery dough that stretches out yearningly as you pull off a piece.
but if there’s one thing japan does really, really, really well (in addition to the other millions of things it does really, really, really well), it’s baked goods. thick-cut, milk-rich shokupan (fluffy, square white loaves) from virtually any bakery; impossibly light croissants encased in the most golden-crisp shell, with buttery dough that stretches out yearningly as you pull off a piece.
croissants from boulangerie burdigala in hiroo. pray that you receive one fresh from the oven, as i did after taking the above; walking out, i sampled what was originally meant to be a tiny bite, and was finished with the croissant by the time i'd reached the end of the block. (this required much dexterity, feverish pinches of croissant, and sneaking bites behind a concealing sleeve, as public eating is considered rude in japan.) HEAVEN.
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my no. 1 croissant weakness in japan (above): sticky little rose mini-croissants from la boutique de joel robuchon in roppongi hills. |
i once went on a croissant hunt through paris, trying all the winners of some croissant competition - none of them could beat japan’s croissants. lest this come across as blasphemy, just know that david chang agrees -
“Let me rattle off the reasons why Tokyo beats all other cities… I’d argue that some of the best French food and some of the best Italian food is in Tokyo. All the great French chefs have outposts there… The Japanese have been sending their best cooks to train in Europe for almost sixty years. If you look at the top kitchens around the world, there is at least one Japanese cook in nearly every one… Japan has taken from everywhere, because that’s what Japanese culture does: they take and they polish and shine and they make it better. The rest of the world’s food cultures could disappear, and as long as Tokyo remains, everything will be okay… They have the best fucking patisseries in the world. The best Pierre Hermé is in Tokyo, not in fucking Paris. You know why? Because of the fucking Japanese cooks.”
- David Chang, “Why Tokyo is the World’s Best Food City”
even dominique ansel’s revered kouign amann (the “DKA”, left) is better here.
and though it may not technically qualify as a “baked good”, clinton street bakery’s famed pancakes are MUCH better in tokyo than in their original home of new york.
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hit up gontran cherrier, too (branches in shibuya and shinjuku) for their massive glistening butterballs of croissants - perfect sliced in half at home and stuffed with oozing brie and thin ribbons of japanese ham, then toasted.
hit up gontran cherrier, too (branches in shibuya and shinjuku) for their massive glistening butterballs of croissants - perfect sliced in half at home and stuffed with oozing brie and thin ribbons of japanese ham, then toasted.
caters happily to foreigners with great, boisterous service and delicious excellent-value (~$35) seafood course menus. a little TOO foreigner-friendly for many residents, bordering on touristy; but for visitors, you'd be hard-pressed to beat this for a casual dinner in terms of location, ease (english menus!), and value for yumminess. perfect for meeting for dinner before going out in shibuya.
order: course menu
nearest station: shibuya
order: course menu
nearest station: shibuya
photo credit (and great review here): http://www.thatfoodcray.com/kaikaya-tokyo-japan/
creative, modern course menu full of yakitori (grilled chicken skewers) and a seemingly endless parade of other delicious grilled things on sticks, for a price that feels way lower than it should be (~$48 USD). ask for the private room, dark and sleek, which seats around four people.
order: course menu
nearest station: nakameguro
order: course menu
nearest station: nakameguro
photo credit: Time Out Japan
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