Tokyo Food Guide: Must-Try Restaurants

Tokyo surprises people, the more you understand, the more you feel rushed, rushed to see, rushed to shop, even rushed to eat. When you think you've found the best, you'll quickly discover there's even better. If you have a year to slowly enjoy Tokyo, it's a lucky thing. But if you only have a 'brief glimpse' of one week, then from these stores, experience the miniature Tokyo ‘food’ culture.

Store 1: Oumi

Maru-yu

Located in Shimboyama, Maru-yu Udon, originating from the (Sanuki Udon) county of Kagawa, though there are countless similar shops in Tokyo, Maru-yu is recognized as one of the best.

Every noon, the shop door is always crowded with long queues, with an average waiting time of 30 minutes. The owner, Mr. Tani, is from Kagawa and was born in Maru-yu before, he studied at a famous Udon shop in Kagawa, sharpening his skills.

△ Maru-yu’s simple fried tofu Udon

As the name suggests, this Udon specialty shop’s menu almost includes all kinds of Udon, as well as seasonal limited-time dishes, and the price is cheap.Address:3-16-15, Chidako-cho, Kamishiba, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

Miyazaki

This super popular steamed udon shop was founded in 1984 in Kumamoto, and its Tokyo branch is located on a quiet street in Shimboyama.

△ Just out of the pot, a lot, satisfying.

Steamed Udon is one of the ways to eat noodles. When poured onto a hot iron plate, chopped white radish is added, along with sauce and noodles, then stir-fried, and finally added with meat or eggs according to your preference.

A bar-style seating, the menu only has two flavors of sauce and salt, steamed Udon shop is still very popular every day.

Address:2-24-3, Kamishiba-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

Store 2: Tomato

From the main street of Mejiro Station, you can see Tomato a little further.

Founded in 1939 and still running after 78 years, it attracts generations of Tokyo people with authentic fried pork cutlets.

△ Ordinary fried pork cutlet set meal

The store has two floors, the first floor is a U-shaped bar seat, the second floor is a private room, in the first floor, you can eat authentic fried pork cutlet, you can also see the process of making fried pork cutlet.

△ Busy kitchen and waiting customers‘Tomato’s owner must create a miracle between people and humanity, he must believe this when operating. The skilled and busy silhouettes, the silent and tense atmosphere, have inherited generation after generation.Address:

1-2-2, Nihonbashi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

Yamide

Family Noodles, originally refers to boiling eggs and chicken meat together, finally adding rice, this is family noodles. There are many sayings about family noodles, and the person who created family noodles is Mrs. Yamada of the 5th generation owner of Yamide in 1891.

△ Most authentic family noodles set meal

Yamide was founded in 1760 and has always been a specialty shop for noodles. The shop door is also crowded every day. If you want to eat the oldest and most authentic family noodles, this is a must-try.

△ Special chicken soup potAddress:

17-10, Nihonbashi-horigotacho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo

Store 3: Zushi

As Japanese food becomes more and more popular, Japanese sake has also received more attention. After tasting Japanese sake invited by friends, High, a actor, fell in love with this ancient and distant flavor, Zushi is High’s Japanese sake tavern.

With Edo-style bar and table, High, who believes that drinking Japanese sake should wear kimono, will dress in kimono when in the store. Besides pairing with sake, High also prepared 6 sets of main dishes, all are warm home-cooked meals. Whether it’s a dedicated drinker or someone who just wants to have a meal, you can find your favorite pairing here.

Address:

7-1, Yozawabashi, 2F, Shibuya-ku, TokyoNori-oh

Nori-oh is an old skewer shop, established in 1949, and it's still bustling and noisy even at night. Although the name sounds like chicken, it is not a chicken skewer shop. It’s a shop selling skewers of various meats and vegetables.

Here you can roast any skewers, one of them is grilled pork belly, not smelly, and with the shop’s homemade sweet and spicy sauce, the taste is very good.

△ Nori-oh’s special green pepper and pork skewer, the most popular.

There are also green pepper and pork skewers and miso noodles. The broth of miso noodles here is chicken broth. The whole shop has two floors, with tables sitting opposite each other and small rooms, but skewers at the bar are most popular, especially the third generation head chef's skewers at the second floor bar, which are always full.

Address:2-6-5, Daitenmaji, Shibuya-ku, TokyoStore 4: Shokudo (Restaurant)

This is a traditional hot pot shop, located in the old shop district of Nihonbashi. Founded in 1923, it has always maintained the salty and sweet flavor of traditional hot pot, using crab and seaweed, sugar, and soy sauce to make the soup, which is the source of the delicious flavor.

As you enter, you can see four corners of hot pot arranged in order, including tofu from 1907’s Shimboyama, the soft and chewy texture makes you unforgettable, and it sells more than 300 sets every day.

Address:

2-3, Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku, TokyoStore 5: Tomato (Curry Restaurant)

One of the three famous curry shops in Shinjuku's Ogikubo, and still not open, there's already a long queue in front of the door. Since opening in 1982, it has a history of 35 years, an European-style curry shop, with a rich curry flavor, with 36 spices, and a generous portion.

There are 50% of curry and stew in the menu, curry has 9 flavors, tomato curry has beef, which is Wagyu beef, with a visible texture, and with the curry, it is very flavorful, often topping the curry branch of Japan’s No.1 food website.

Address:

5-20-7, Gyodaibashi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo5-20-71