I absolutely love Japanese cuisine, so I was really looking forward to trying out different restaurants and local eateries during my business trip to Tokyo.

These are the top 5 restaurants that I loved the most. I'm adding one more bonus at the end, where I'm sure you'll have a great meal too!

Do you have any tips on the best places to eat in Tokyo? Share with us and travelers from around the world in the comments section below this article. Thanks for helping to build the travel community!

10 best hotels in Tokyo

Prices in restaurants

Tokyo may be the most expensive city within Japan, but you can still eat relatively cheaply here.

These are typical prices at local restaurants:

• Curry - from 1 250 jpy in cheap eateries
• Ramen -
• Sushi - approx. 2 500 jpy at a "running sushi" restaurant
• Okonomiyaki - from 2 000 jpy

Restaurant map

For ease of reference, I'm adding my map of restaurants visited in Tokyo at the beginning.

1. Hinoya Curry

The first restaurant I visited was a small eatery in a side backstreet of the bustling Akihabara district.

It was my first day in Tokyo after arriving from Europe, and I had a terrible craving for a typical Japanese curry.

I did a Google maps search for curry restaurants with good ratings and went randomly to the nearest one.

Hinoya Curry is a tiny one-room eatery around the bar and kitchen that you can see right into from the tables.

You order your food from a machine at the entrance, which is also in English and with pictures, and you can pay with a card. After you pay, you take a slip to hand to the staff. She sits you down and in less than 5 minutes your food is on the table.

Each place has one large thermos of free cold water.

I have nothing to complain about the food. Traditional Japanese curry with raw egg. Properly spicy, well seasoned, quickly prepared. Cheap.

Tip: Most people are here between 6pm and 8pm, when you can wait up to 20 minutes for a free seat.

• 📍 A short walk from Akihabara Station - map
• 💴 Price category: cheap eatery (I pay 1 350 jpy)
• 🕒 Daily 11:00-21:00
• ℹ️ What makes Akihabara a famous neighborhood? Find out in our guide

2. Ippudo Ginza East

Ippudo is a chain of Japanese restaurants specializing in ramen.

The company has a large number of branches across the country, and the reviews are generally very good, so I visited one near one of the world's biggest shopping districts, Ginza.

I order my food via a tablet in English, and the order comes directly to my seat. You pay by card or cash at the checkout when you leave.

Ramen is good, a free thermos of water is available as well as various small snacks that you can pick up at the counter next door.

There is a queue to get in, especially on Fridays and Saturdays, for up to 20 minutes. I didn't even wait 5 minutes on Sunday night.

• 📍 A short walk from Higashi-Ginza subway station - map
• 💴 Price range: cheap eatery (I pay 1 600 jpy)
• 🕒 Daily 11:00-22:30 (Wednesdays only until 15:30)
• ℹ️ Where are the best shops on Ginza? Find out in our guide

3. Gyukatsu motomura

For the last two days of my stay in Tokyo, I moved to the western part of the city, looking for a restaurant that specializes in beef cutlets, one of the main Japanese dishes.

In Google maps I find a small restaurant called Gyukatsu motomura with great reviews just a few minutes walk from Shinjuku station.

It is a chain of restaurants. The Shinjuku branch is in the basement and on Monday nights I wait in line there for about 15 minutes before a seat opens up.

I'm lucky though, a much longer line has formed behind me for an estimated 30-40 minutes.

I order from the printed menu while still in line. I quite appreciate that there is actually only one dish to choose from - beef chops - in three size options.

I also get a great salad, a bowl of rice, miso soup and a small dessert to go with the chop, which I fry myself in a small pan.

The beef is absolutely fabulous and I can highly recommend this restaurant!

You can pay by card and cash at the checkout when you leave.

• 📍 A short walk from Shinjuku subway station - map
• 💴 Price category: medium-priced specialty restaurant (I pay 2 710 jpy)
• 🕒 Daily 11:00-22:00
• ℹ️ Tip: combine your visit with a free view of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building

4. Tsukishima Monja Okoge

I go to this restaurant with a great Google rating (4.9) for lunch because it's located just steps away from the Shibuya intersection where I stay at Hotel Indigo.

I wanted to try Tokyo's traditional monjayaki, a kind of pancakes based on flour, vegetables and various other ingredients (meat and whatever else).

The monjayaki at this restaurant are prepared by the staff on a griddle right on your table, which is a great experience for me.

The food is great, but the whole impression is pretty much spoiled by a lot of pushy forcing me to write a good review. So that's why the restaurant has such a high rating on Google...

And you can only pay in cash.

• 📍 A short walk from Shibuya Junction - map
• 💴 Price category: medium-priced specialty restaurant (I pay 2 500 jpy)
• 🕒 Daily 10:45-23:00
• ℹ️ Where are the best vantage points for Shibuya Junction? Find out in our article

5. Gyopao Gyoza Roppongi

Roppongi is a neighborhood known for its nightlife and many restaurants, so I wanted to try one of the dinners here.

I sought out one of the most popular restaurants that focus on traditional Chinese Gyoza dumplings or dim sum, but they are also extremely popular in Japan.

I visited the GYOPAO Gyoza restaurant on a Friday night and spent around 35 minutes in the queue to get a seat.

However, the restaurant also allows reservations via tablecheck.com.

Food is ordered via a QR code at each table, and you pay directly to the server at the end - you can pay with cash or card.

I end up having dim sum dumplings and a small dessert. They are really great and if I were staying in a hotel somewhere nearby, I would consider coming here again.

• 📍 Right in the centre of Roppongi - map
• 💴 Price range: medium-priced specialty restaurant (I pay 2 300 jpy)
• 🕒 Daily 11:00-24:00
• ℹ️ I went to the restaurant after visiting the Tokyo Tower

Bonus: Tsukiji fish market

The Tsukiji fish market place definitely deserves its place in this article.

While I can't name one specific restaurant, the whole area around the market is literally a paradise for fish lovers and local dishes like mochi or okonomiyaki, as well as curries and beef cutlets!

I only had oysters and tuna nuggets here and then just wandered the aisles and took in the smells.

• 📍 South of downtown near Tsukijishijo subway station - map
• 🕒 Most stalls open around 8:00am and close between 3:00pm and 4:00pm
• ℹ️ For detailed info see our article on Tsukiji Fish Market