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Where to eat in Tokyo

Tokyo has more restaurants than any city on earth, which is exactly why people end up eating badly here. This is how the eating works, and the 7 categories I get asked about most.

How eating out here actually works

Most of the best food in this city comes from a counter with about nine seats, run by one person who has cooked the same thing for twenty years. There is no host, no wine list and often no English menu. You sit, you order the thing they make, you eat, you leave. The whole visit takes half an hour.

Three things trip people up. Ramen shops usually take your money at a vending machine by the door before you sit down. Izakaya bring a small dish you did not order, called otoshi, which is a seating charge and not a mistake. And tipping is never expected, the price on the menu is the price you pay.

You do not need to speak Japanese to eat well here, but you do need to be willing to walk into a place with no English sign. That is where the good food is.

By what you are hungry for

Where to eat, by neighbourhood

Eating in Tokyo is a neighbourhood decision more than a restaurant decision, because the good places cluster. Roppongi & Toranomon, Ginza, Shibuya, Asakusa and Shimbashi & Shiodome carry the most in the guide.

The full names, the nearest exit and what to order at each open in the full guide, that specificity is the whole product.

Eating in Tokyo: frequently asked questions

Do I need reservations to eat in Tokyo?

For most places, no. A huge share of the best eating here is counters and walk-ins, and turning up alone at an odd hour is normal. Reservations matter for sushi counters, anything with a chef doing a set menu, and for groups of four or more.

How do the ticket machines outside ramen shops work?

You pay the machine first, it prints a ticket, you hand the ticket over the counter and sit down. Most have photos or an English button. If you get stuck, the person behind you will help, this happens all day and nobody minds.

Is it rude to eat alone in Tokyo?

Not at all, it is the default. Counters are built for one person, some places have single booths, and nobody will look twice. Eating alone here is easier than almost anywhere else.

What is the small dish I did not order?

That is otoshi, a seating charge at izakaya that arrives as a snack. It is normal, usually a few hundred yen, and it is not a mistake or a scam.

Can you eat well in Tokyo without speaking Japanese?

Yes. Pointing works, photo menus are everywhere, and the ticket machines remove the conversation entirely. Learning "sumimasen" to get attention and "gochisousama" on the way out covers almost everything.

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