Tokyo – Cheap, Fast, and Delicious…Mostly

This post is a about some of the more casual places I ate at on a recent trip to Tokyo. There is a wide variety of food from ramen to desserts. For each place, I will rate it go (if I would return) or skip.

Tsukiji Market

Tsukiji market has become much more touristy than when I was first there almost 7 years ago. Its still a good place to walk around and have some food. I went early in the morning and hit up the following places:

Tsukiji Itadori Unitora – I had two types of uni – Bafun and Murasaki. It was nice to be able to do a tasting which allowed me to really taste the difference between the two types. The tuna and ikura was good too. The only drawback about this place was that they should of provided more nori to eat everything with. Also, I was not sure if they were using real wasabi. GO

Tamagoyaki Shoro –I had a really delicious tamago sandwich. The only thing is I wish they had toasted the bread more. GO

Tomi Sujahta Silk Ice – Delicious matcha ice cream. GO

Unagi Haibara – Unagi is freshwater eel. I got some grilled eel. The only thing I didn’t like was that the eel was sitting under a display case and then reheated when ordered. I would of preferred grilled fresh to order. SKIP

Kanimatsuri Crab – We had the crab tempura and king crab legs. They were both delicious but when paying I asked about the origin of their food and they told me – Canada and Russia. Nothing was from Japan! Based on this alone, I would not return even though everything was delicious. SKIP

Ginza

Kyoraku? – I’m not sure if this is the name though the restaurant is in the area of this one (if its not the name) and specialized in soba. Overall, the broth was ok, but the noodles were not the best I’ve had and the tempura was soggy. SKIP

CREMIA (various locations) – This was ok, but there are better soft serves in Tokyo. SKIP.

Morry Ramen – We went around lunch and there was no line. However, at dinner, we observed a line when we walked by. Overall, its good and I would go if in the area.

Nakamura Tokichi – This is a famous dessert and tea place. There was a long line. Overall, the tea was really good, but the desserts were overrated. We bought some tea to take home from the store after, but would skip dessert.

Hokkaido Dosanko Plaza – This is a place with various food from Hokkaido. We ended up here because we were looking for Hokkaido Ice Cream which to me, is one of the world’s best. We tried the milk and melon flavors. They were OK, but not as good as what you could find in Hokkaido made with Hokkaido milk.

Roppongi

Menya Musashi – This is a ramen shop and I went when it first opened and there was no line. Shortly after, it became busy. I didn’t like the size of the noodles, but everything else was good. The broth was delicious and the char siu was one of the best I’ve had. Really good flavor. GO.

Matsunari – Good coffee but desserts weren’t good. A sort of mochi but very difficult to eat and too much syrup. SKIP.

Lobby Bar at the Ritz Carlton – This is a gorgeous bar, with nice views of the city behind the bar, and good service. The barman was very passionate about his creations and they were unique and delicious. GO.

Yakiniku – I am not sure about the name of this place but I posted the sign of the place below.

We went because it was one of the only restaurants in the area of Roppongi we were in that was open late. The beef was pretty good though the menu is a bit limited. Overall, if you are looking for something open late in the area, GO.

Azabu-Juban

Imagawa – This was literally a hole in the wall with a guy making these bread like desserts fresh with various fillings. I tried the custard one. It was nothing special and I would not get it again. SKIP.

Sugi Bee – This place specializes in all things honey. I had a soft serve with Manuka honey. It was ok but nothing special. They also didn’t have any Japanese honey so there was nothing actually special about the place. SKIP.

Shinjuku

Yakitori Place – I’m not sure about the name of this place because its in Japanese. I put the google listing screenshot below.

We had various pork and chicken yakitori, karage and gyoza. Everything was pretty good. The skewers had a good binchotan flavor. If you are in the area and craving yakitori, its worth a visit.

Akihabara

Tsujita – This place had a really think broth which was fish based and I believe was bonito. It was good, but I prefer miso or pork ramen. If you like seafood GO. If prefer meat, SKIP.