Wana Tedome: Partake in a feast on the wild side
Wana Tedome doesn't mess with any ordinary meat. "Deer, not cow. Boar, not pig," the illuminated street-level sign outside proclaims in Japanese. "Grilled venison, grilled boar and grilled pheasant." Welcome to where the wild things are. To emphasize the point, that same sign shows a stag's ...
Lature: Wildfowl and game meat worthy of a Michelin star
As you head to your table at Lature, don't be surprised if you spot your dinner curled up on the counter by the kitchen. It might be a mandarin duck, a mallard or a pheasant from Okinawa, resplendent in its plumage. At this time ...
Yuu: Relaxed kappō dining worth crossing town for
It is not hard to track down the very best of Tokyo's high-end Japanese restaurants. After all, there are plenty of guides and websites to point you on your way. At street level, too, it's easy to locate good noodle joints, yakitori counters or ...
Ibrew Shinbashi: Craft beer fits fine in salaryman territory
The cheap, cheerful, crowded, smoke-patinated dives that populate the lower floors of Shinbashi's Ekimae Building are an enduring time capsule of old-school, after-work salaryman drinking culture. Ibrew's craft beer pub has only been open there for a year, but its no-frills, low-budget approach makes ...
Vaner: Norwegian-style sourdough rises in Yanaka
The old-school, low-rise district of Yanaka boasts tree-lined streets, temples aplenty, fresh air and a sense of connection with Tokyo's past that has long been paved over elsewhere. What it lacks — and this is a plus, not a minus — is a subway ...
Toridoki: Old-school yakitori near new Toyosu market
There are plenty of reasons to mourn the closure of Tsukiji's legendary wholesale market, and many more to bemoan its successor in Toyosu. Not least is the dearth of good, established restaurants out on that sterile landfill location. So it is comforting at least to ...
Iyaiya Sanbai: At the contemporary edge of izakaya
A generation back, the average izakaya tavern was noisy, cheap, smoky and the clientele overwhelmingly male. There would usually be one brand of beer; two choices of sake, warmed or room temperature; and food that ranged from reliable to rough and ready. Things have changed. ...
PST Roppongi: Pizza Studio Tamaki's natural evolution
PST: The large neon letters shining in the evening gloom spell out a very familiar welcome. And once you're inside, so do the sizzling pizzas with their rough-formed, carbon-flecked rims being pulled from the squat, no-nonsense, gunmetal-black, wood-fired oven. Anyone who has eaten at ...
Los Tacos Azules: Traditional tacos defying preconceptions
Marco Garcia is a man with a mission that is at once modest and radical. At Los Tacos Azules, his bright, cheerful little restaurant, his aim is simply to serve the staple food of his homeland, Mexico. But along the way, he is likely ...
Tandoor Bar Kamalpur: Comfortable as your local izakaya
No prizes for guessing what's on the menu at Tandoor Bar Kamalpur. The familiar, beguiling aromas that greet your nostrils as you arrive are much the same as you'd expect at any other Indian eatery in Tokyo — or anywhere else in the world, ...
Kerala no Kaze II: South Indian specials with a Japanese touch
"Tiffin" and "meals." "Uppma," "vada" and "idli." The vocabulary of South Indian cuisine conjures up images of spices, swaying palm trees and fragrant ocean breezes. In Tokyo, the locations tend to be rather less exotic. But the ride to suburban Omori repays you well, ...
Eneko Tokyo: Basque-inspired, truffle-infused cooking
It was one of the major restaurant openings of last year — a renowned, award-winning European chef at the top of his game, launching his second self-named overseas offshoot. And yet, when you arrive at Eneko Tokyo, hidden away on a quiet Nishiazabu side ...
