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If you're hungry in Tokyo (or central Yokohama), you'll find listings here for more than 1000 restaurants, cheese shops, wine bars and bakeries. We've got fresh reviews, food and wine news, and full listings browsable by neighborhood, cuisine or feature.
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Home-style cafe lounging
Cafe Ano: Harajuku
 Many Tokyo cafes have succeeded in creating a laid-back, Bohemian-style atmosphere, but none quite so literally as this charming Old World-inspired Czech cafe. Hanging from the walls are antique clocks, carved wooden marionettes, posters for local theater events and a well-used bulletin board. An old piano stands in one corner; above it a chalkboard lists upcoming musical events held here. Each of the solid, well-scuffed wooden tables is supplied with a deck of cards - there's no need to bring your own.
If the weather is nice you can sit by one of the big open windows looking onto the street and enjoy a Czech beer. Choose from any of eight varieties from Staropramen, Bernard, Budvar and Urquel breweries, or a fresh-tasting draft microbrew pilsner made by a Czech brewmaster in Ishikawa (Y750). Wines are from vineyards in Czech and neighboring Slovakia. There's also an impressive selection of fourteen herbal teas - ten single-flavor infusions like sage and lemongrass, and four custom blends.
In the evenings, Cafe Ano turns into Tokyo's foremost and only Czech restaurant, serving down-home fare like roast pork, pork cutlets and Czech-style risotto. Don't miss their delicious bramborak - thick, garlicky potato pancakes served with ingredients like sausage and sauerkraut; spinach and hard-boiled egg; or smoked salmon. Sekana - a garlicky pate described on the chalkboard as Czech meatloaf - makes a good starter, and the goulash is rich and meaty.
Budget around Y3500-5000 for dinner and some drinks; prix-fixe menus run Y2700-4800. Lunch is Y950-1500 (for a three-dish special lunch menu), and is served until 3pm.
A small shop upstairs sells children's books, toys, wooden crafts and DVDs of Czech animation. Czech cooking classes (in Japanese) are held on Tuesdays, presided over by the cafe's two native Czech chefs. [ Show more ]
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Sakura: Harajuku
 Harajuku doesn't offer a lot of options in the izakaya category, so we were happy to discover this stylish spot in the architecturally ambitious b6 shopping mall. The dining room is buzzing, service is friendly and efficient, and the food and sake are consistently good.
Sakura's menu covers the bases of the modern izakaya/ dining bar - premium ingredients sourced from around the country, simple charcoal-grilled meats and seafood, plus creative original dishes. The specialty of the house is an excellent pork shabu-shabu, made with three different cuts of a small-farm-bred pork (Roppaku-buta) from Kagoshima. Instead of boiling water, the thinly sliced pork is quick-cooked at the table in a soy-milk based broth, then dipped in a light but flavorful sesame-herb dipping sauce.
Gourmet vegetables are big these days, and Sakura does up a fine platter of grilled vegetables carpaccio-style - a basket of ten market-fresh vegetables lightly grilled and served with olive oil, salt, and a dash of vinaigrette. The grilled broad beans were also simple but effective, served in the shell and accompanied by a coarse dipping salt. There are several other grilled vegetables, tempura-fried vegetables and organic-vegetable stews, all varying with the season.
A few more favorites include the gindara saikyo-yaki (miso-grilled black cod); ebi tempura made with big, plump prawns; and a rolled omelette (dashi-maki tamago) bursting with garlic chives. The sashimi assortment is beautifully laid out and visually appealing, but unfortunately it was one of the weaker dishes we've had here - perhaps we should spring for the deluxe assortment next time.
Drinks include nine house sakes plus a few daily specials, and the staff are happy to make recommendations. There are also eight wines by the glass, starting with budget-level Fetzer from California.
Customers here are a mix of different ages - couples and groups of friends rather than office coworkers. The spacious main dining room looks out over Meiji-dori and the Audi Building across the street. There's also a lovely outdoor terrace area that's perfect for parties and a string of cute private nooks beside the long entrance corridor. Dinner with drinks averages around Y5000-6000 per person. The English menu seems up-to-date, and helpfully includes descriptions of the various sake selections. [ Show more ]
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Lobros: Jiyugaoka
 If you're having a busy afternoon in Jiyugaoka, perhaps shopping for designer napkin rings and artisanal salt, Lobros is the perfect spot for a refreshing tea break. Located inside Trainchi, the very tasteful housewares shopping complex alongside the Tokyu tracks, Lobros is airy and spacious, with a big outdoor terrace. The music is bouncy vocal jazz, and the decor is California casual, with an open kitchen, candles on the tables and lots of plants.
The food menu is simple and health-oriented - organic vegetables, fresh-baked breads, pastas, risotti, sandwiches, grilled meats. The organic vegetable platter (Y1200) is a huge helping of raw and steamed vegetables fresh from the garden, with a mild bagna cauda-inspired sauce for dipping. The healthy theme continues with organic-veg ratatouille, warm-vegetable salad, ten-vegetable minestrone soup and a grilled-veg platter.
If you want something meatier, the sauteed free-ranged chicken (Y1850) is a respectable-sized portion served with roast potatoes and vegetables and artistic drizzlings of pesto sauce. Fruit-juice and vinegar cocktails, with or without alcohol, are refreshing and not overly tart. There's a very diverse wine list, covering the New World, France, Spain and Japan, with seven wines by the glass from Y600. Bottles are priced Y3,200-9,000 (for a Havens Merlot from Napa Valley). You can also choose from more conventional cocktails, microbrew beer, herbal and regular teas, and coffee. [ Show more ]
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Le Gaulois: Gaienmae
 Le Gaulois turns out impressively accomplished French cuisine, but despite the serious kitchen it maintains the warm, down-to-earth feel of a neighborhood restaurant. The dining area is comfortable and spacious - bigger than it looks from the outside - with an expansive view out over Gaien-Nishi-dori. (The architecturally adventurous Raysum Building, home of the local Jaguar dealership, is just across the street.)
At the back is a wide, rough-hewn wooden counter where you can sit and watch Chef Otsuka and his staff hard at work in the open kitchen. The custom-made tables - roughly shaped slabs of wood that match the counter - also add a homey touch, and the service is friendly and personal.
The food here is creative but unpretentious, relying on impeccable ingredients and painstaking attention to detail. The four-course, Y6800 prix-fixe menu represents good value for money, although you can order a la carte if you want something lighter, or go all out and spring for the chef's omakase menu for Y8400. The wine list is also well put together and reasonably priced, with plenty to choose from in the Y6,000-10,000 range and some nice choices at higher budget levels.
Most of the starters seem to be accompanied by big mounds of assorted greens and seasonal vegetables - during a recent visit we especially enjoyed our gigantic green asparagus spears, just lightly cooked to a nice crunchy texture. The pork terrine was meaty and flavorful, and the prawn and scallop salad was well-balanced and very appetizing. The bread on the table was an excellent, slightly sweet home-made buckwheat roll.
After the voluminous appetizers came a light, almost-dessert-like palate-cleanser course - choices included a tasty carrot mousse, served in a cocktail glass and topped with a sherbet-like tomato coulis, and a rich, creamy, refreshingly chilled asparagus vichyssoise.
Arriving next was some of the best duck confit we've ever experienced. Intensely meaty in flavor, it was moister and juicier than the usual confit, although the outer shell of the skin was still as crisp and crunchy as anyone could desire. It came with a complex orangey sauce, with lightly pickled vegetables and a wonderful tempura-fried fiddlehead fern, a pleasant springtime surprise.
Although the duck seems to be a specialty of the house, other main dishes were equally good. The grilled pork was close to perfect, with an array of herbs and an excellent mustard-based sauce. The venison (Ezo deer from Hokkaido) was skillfully prepared, not the least bit tough or dry, and the braised beef cheeks were rich and fully flavored.
Among the desserts the parfait is worth a special mention - an haute cuisine version of a children's favorite, with fantastic home-made ice cream. The tea selection includes a fresh herbal blend with mint and lemongrass and lots more; hojicha (roasted green tea); and dattancha, an especially healthy type of buckwheat tea.
The wine list includes seven bottles from Alsace as well as the usual Burgundies and Bordeaux. If you're driving or just a light drinker there's a good selection of half bottles, and the by-the-glass choices start at Y1050, peaking at Y1680 for a lovely white Burgundy. Budget around Y3000-4000 at lunchtime.
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07/03, 7-9:30pm. Wine Tasting Dinner at the Sheraton Miyako
As part of the Pinot Noir Celebration 2009, a seven-wine tasting dinner featuring Pinot Noir from top producers will be held at the Sheraton Miyako Hotel. Wines will include 2007 Drew Family McDougall Ranch Vineyard Sonoma Coast, 2001 Neudorf Moutere, 1990 Huber Spaerburgunder QbA Reserve and 2001 Bertagna Vougeot Clos de la Perriere Monopole. Seats are Y18,000 per person, limited to eighty people. To reserve, download the form on their website at http://www.pncj.jp/html/gala.shtml (in Japanese). The Sheraton Miyako is at Shiroganedai 1-1-50, 03-3447-3111.
07/04, noon-2:30pm. Pinot Noir Tasting and Seminar in Aoyama
Explore the effects of terroir on the wine world's fickle darling, the Pinot Noir grape. Four renowned winemakers from Burgundy, California, New Zealand, and Germany will give presentations on the subject, and guests will have the opportunity to sample and compare two wines from each producer. The seminar will take place from noon-2:30pm at the Aoyama Diamond Hall. Tickets are Y6000 and entry is limited to 180 participants. To apply, download the form from their website (http://www.pncj.jp/html/world.shtml) in Japanese and fax it to 03-3257-4939. Aoyama Diamond Hall is located at Kita-Aoyama 3-6-8, 03-5467- 2111.
07/08-07/13. Jean Georges chef at New York Grill.
Chef Mark Lapico of the renowned Jean Georges restaurant in New York will be manning the kitchen at the New York Grill for one week, bringing his vision of contemporary French cuisine to a Tokyo audience. Prix-fixe menus will include some of Chef Lapico's signature dishes like Egg Toast with Caviar and Dill; and Yellowfin Tuna Ribbons with Avocado, Spicy Radish and Ginger Marinade. Menus are Y14,000-22,000 (+10%sc); call 03-5323-3458 for menu details and reservations.
07/09, 7:30-10:30pm. Washington wine party at the Pink Cow.
Orca International wine importers will celebrate their ten-year anniversary with a grand party at the Pink Cow bar in Aoyama. Y6000 admission includes an open bar with premium wines from Washington and Oregon, a lavish food buffet, live music from the Moonshots band, and a bottle of wine to take home. Mail events@orca-international.com or phone 03-3803-1635 to reserve your place.
07/21-08/31, 6-8pm. Microbrew beers at Park Hyatt Deli.
It's an open bar on the outdoor terrace of the Park Hyatt Deli, with unlimited beers plus a Chef's Appetizer Platter for Y2500 per person. The beers are a fragrant blond ale and a fruit ale brewed with oranges, both from Sankt Gallen Brewery, one of Japan's pioneering microbreweries. Call 03-5323-3635 for reservations. Not available August 10-14.
BBQ and Blues on Mondays at Beacon.
Beacon, everybody's favorite Aoyama steakhouse, is now serving a barbecue menu on Mondays accompanied by a Blues soundtrack. The menu includes Bourbon BBQ Pork Ribs; Pulled Pork in a Vinegar and Pepper Baste; BBQ Beef Brisket, and Smoked Chicken, with side dishes like fried okra, corn muffins and corn on the cob. A la carte plates are Y1900, and there are also large platters to be shared by groups of three or more. Call 03-6418-0077 to reserve.
Azari Matbach: Shinjuku
The name means "Azerbaijani kitchen", and chef Davoud provides an excellent introduction to his native cuisine, including fantastic giant meatballs made with beef, lentils, nuts and raisins. Also recommended are the garlicky stewed zucchini and eggplant and the various charcoal-grilled kebabs. The dining room is cozy - just three tables and a counter seating five. Budget around Y3500 for a meaty dinner with drinks; the lunchtime kebab set is Y980.
Two Rooms: Omotesando
The former chef from the New York Grill (Park Hyatt) has teamed up with veterans from the Oak Door (Grand Hyatt) to create a glitzy new dining destination in central Aoyama. This international-style grill offers excellent fish- and beef-centered prix-fixe dinners (Y6500 and Y8500 respectively), with full-course lunches ranging from Y1750 to Y2950 (+10%sc). The spacious dining room has an open kitchen and comfortable booths looking out over the Aoyama-dori fashion parade; there's also some terrace seating in the bar area. The walk-in wine cellar has some 1800 bottles to choose from.
Beer Signal: Nishi-Shinjuku
It's yet another Belgian beer specialty bar in Nishi-Shinjuku, this one with plenty of space (90 seats) and Maredsous and De Koninck beers on tap. There are inexpensive Spanish tapas - starting at just Y300 per plate - to nibble with your beer, along with tasty Belgian-style mussels steamed in either beer or white wine.
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