genomecop

Morning all. Now that my hotel is finally set I'm trying to sort through the huge selection of places to eat. I'm open to two and three stars as well as local..I love Maru. Are there favorites here on the site? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

basscadet75

Yo! Tekko-ya in Odaiba is an unsung little ramen place, but I've eaten at many, many ramen places in Tokyo and around the world that are both famous internationally and among locals, and I've never had better. That's the one place I make sure to go to on every trip, and I've been going for the last 10 years or so. It's pretty far out of the way, which is probably why it's not more famous, but Odaiba's a fun place to visit anyway for other reasons, so you should go there if you visit for anything else.

Yo! Tekko-ya is a chain with other locations, but like a lot of small chains in Japan, it's really a chain in name only. I've eaten at one or two of the other locations and they were 100% different. The one in Odaiba is the one you have to go to.

You may as well eat sushi at either Daiwa sushi or Sushi Dai at Tsukiji Fish Market. I'm sure somebody here will say they're overrated but I trust my wife, who's from Tokyo, and she was almost literally knocked to the floor by several of the pieces she was served. She was talking about it for weeks afterwards. To be honest I don't 100% remember which one we went to, but I think it was Daiwa. They are both right next to each other and both typically have long lines, but they move quickly. You sit down, you eat, you leave. So you shouldn't be waiting too long.

genomecop

Great thanks.
Here's what we have booked so far....

Makimura
Antica Trattoria Nostalgica
Fukamachi
H O N M U R A A N Oghikubo, Tokyo

Pickles

Asking about where to eat in this forum is like ordering the fish in a steak restaurant... can be done but is not the brightest idea. You should check out www.chowhound.com for the view from the food experts, as experts as the people here are about hotels and travel.

genomecop

My bad

shuigao

Tabelog is your friend: http://tabelog.com/tw/bestrst/2014/tokyo/

For me Sushi Dai is "ok" for a 1-ish hour queue if you show up super early. If you show up later in the morning it can go up to a frankly ridiculous 3-4 hours. I'd say the sushi there is amazing given the price since other top tier sushiyas are easily 3x-8x more expensive.

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basscadet75

I don't know how that's even possible - I've looked at pics of the lines online, and the longest pictures I've seen are about as long as when I went, which was about 12:30PM. We waited maybe 30 minutes. Maybe we just got super-lucky and had the right crowd, but everybody pretty much seemed to be ordering the chef's selection or whatever it's called, and they just ate each piece as it was served and then left. I guess some people might sit and linger, but the place just doesn't seem conducive to that - I feel like you'd really have to be tone deaf to what's going on around you to do that.

shuigao

I've visited twice, first visit was 1.5hr, second visit 4.5 hours (not even joking the slightest bit). What totally confused me was the 2nd visit queue wasn't much longer than the 1st visit. The only reason I can think of was it was April i.e. Sakura i.e. peak tourist season and so the diners were full of tourists extending the dining time by 2 minutes each piece for photos

bmwe92fan

I have a place close to Tsukiji and yes the majority of the issue is in fact tourists - both international and from within Japan - especially during Sakura festival time... I personally much prefer some other places close by and out of the market. The best sushi in Tokyo is IMO not really at restaurants - there are these "private" sushi establishments that are really out of this world. I've been to two of these places and the quality, preparation, and attention to detail blows your mind...

slawecki

since you seem to be interested in michelin2&3* places, get a michelin guide, even a 1 year old, note the pages of the places of interest to you. take the guide and the list to your concierge the day before you wish to go, and have her call for reservations. have her ask what to expect for wait time.

we get into about 1 or 2 out of the 5 i choose. ask the concierge to make instructions for the cab.

a used, one year old micheline works just fine. a new one, if you can find an english version, will cost over $200us.

Aventine

Narisawa, Takazawa should be prerequisites if you're a foodie.

Pickles

Right. Especially if you're using "foodie" as an insult.

jib71

Spoken like a true right foodie.

Gradfly

What is your basis, specifically in regards to Takazawa? I've read mostly good things and a friend in Tokyo highly recommends it.

Pickles

I like Takazawa. Problem is everybody likes Takazawa, and it's on the "foodie" circuit, which means hard to book and your fellow diners are likely to be kind of person you'd rather not be, but are.