What makes Matsubara-an so popular — in both Harajuku and Kamakura — is the extensive menu of side dishes to delve into before your noodles arrive. Traditionalists will be happy to find classic sobaya (soba shop) snacks, from sashimi and chilled tofu to itawasa ...

Pinsa de Roma is self-service. You line up at the counter, checking out the display case to see what the choices are. There are usually a dozen to choose from, with colorful combinations that would be unthinkable in a true-blue Neapolitan pizza shop: Smoked ...

This stylish little hole-in-the-wall at the northern end of Harajuku opened last October but is really coming into its own, now the weather is warming up. Like its sister operation, the excellent Tass Yard cafe, the cooking is vegetable-centric, using organic produce and no ...

The interior of Eatrip is comfortably homespun, with simple, rustic accents, exposed ceiling timbers and an assortment of secondhand tables and chairs. There’s a short counter on one side looking into the small open kitchen. The dining room itself is split into two, with a ...

The vegetables, prominently arrayed by the entrance, come from contract farmers or its own market garden (there's a link on its Web site) and for the most part are organically grown. Each month Yasaiya Mei has a special feature.

You can't call it a bistro; the dining room looks way too chic, and the food is several notches too sophisticated. By the same measure, it's not a wine bar either, despite the prominence of the glass-fronted cellar. So is it a full-fledged restaurant? ...

Because it's prepared each day and takes so long to cook, the brisket is not offered at lunchtime. But with the chicken, the meaty back ribs or the chopped pork ("It's given a vinegar rinse, in the South Carolina style"), there's still enough choice.