Job Discussion Forums

[southofreality]

Lots of crowing on the morning news programs here in Tokyo about this:

[Quibby84]

I can never find anything in Tokyo, I am sure that they have lots of good resturants but it is so big that I can never find one and we always end up eating at some really small resturant that is usually Italian.

Is there a list of the resturants that make Tokyo the culinary captial?

[japanman]

What a load of utter nonsense. This list has the top 50 restaurants in the world and not one is in Japan.

http://www.theworlds50best.com/2007_list.html

The food in Japan is good when you've got cash but the average standard place is way below European standards Maybe those Michelin men had their eyes diverted by all the girlies and forgot about the food.

[Apsara]

Quibby, you can never find a restaurant in Tokyo? That's the funniest thing you've said yet. Next time you are Harajuku, try Fujimamas. Many of the staff even speak English.

[Quibby84]

Sorry..lol..I cant find anything exceptionally good in Tokyo. I could find resturants blindfolded because they are at practically every corner..but nothing really super...
Everytime we go to Tokyo I always want to try something that is not Japanese...the only things we have really found so far is Chinese (in china town) and Korean (in Asakusa)...the korean places wasnt that good...Oh, and I saw a subway once....lol. I would love to find greek, or really good authentic mexican, or an Olive Garden, or country cooking (like Cracker Barrel in the states), or anything that is not japanese...so far, no luck..

[Mothy]

I haven't been in Japan that long so maybe I just don't know where to find places but I'd have to say that Tokyo as the culinary capital of the world is full of... well I can't think what it might be full of that won't be censored. The best restaraunts in Tokyo I've been to so far would have barely been average back home. I'm sure there's some excellent stuff out there but that there is so much junk (and lack of variety) would have to drag down the score. I'm no world traveler but of the cities I have been to I'm not sure Tokyo would even be in the top 5. Like I said, I'm not a long termer yet so maybe others would disagree, but I'm not convinced Tokyo is even the best in Japan. I really enjoyed my culinary experiences in Kyoto.

[azarashi sushi]

There are lots of fantastic restaurants in Tokyo... You just need to know where to look. Unfortunately there are so many nasty restaurants that the good ones seem to get lost in the crowd.

You mentioned Asakusa, Quibby... Eeeewww! Asakusa is a very traditional area so you won't find anything nice there. If you're in Tokyo and if in doubt, head for a big building because they invariably have a few floors of restaurants. The Marunouchi and Shin Marunouchi buildings near Tokyo station have wonderful restaurants. We recently went to the Mango Tree (Thai food) on the 35th floor of the Marunouchi building... Unquestionably the nicest Thai restaurant and best Thai food I've ever eaten. Dinner is pricey but they have a lunch buffet for 2650 yen.

The skyscrapers in Nishi Shinjuku are also good to try.. Most of them have restaurants on the top floors. The Sumitomo Triangle building has great restaurants and amazing views. There's also Roppongi Hills and Tokyo Mid Town. They are good because there are a lot of restaurants on the one place.

The New York Grill on the 52nd floor of th the Park Hyatt has a fantastic buffet brunch for about 5000 yen.

Shiodome City Centre and Caretta Shiodome also have a lot of great restaurants. ANd again, handy because they are in the one place.

Here's a great website. Do some research before you complain!

http://www.bento.com/tokyofood.html

[azarashi sushi]

I forgot to mention... OAZO in Marunouchi also has some great places.

[markle]

I have no doubt that it is true. The fact that so few here can belive it is more of a reflection of their gourmet abilities (or lack of) than a true guage of what's out there. Price is certainly a factor, I'm sure I can't afford to go to many places listed but then I've been to enough to places to know that there is some really good cuisine in this country. I has a lot to do with attitude, many Japanese take food very seriously and are very discering especially local cuisine and are willing to pay for it. On the other hand much 'commercial' cuisine is pretty ordinary and the standard home fare is pretty limited. It's kind of the inverse of say Thailand which at the street level has some excellent food on offer but really hasn't developed a proper 'haute cuisine'.

[southofreality]

I, too am surprised by the lack of affirmative responses here. I won't say that Tokyo is the best in the world because my travel experience is quite limited; however, for dinner and a drink or two at around ￥5000 yen per person, there are some great places around. Check out Mori Tower in Roppongi Hills; you'll find a few reasonably-priced, well-known places with great views of downtown. Of course, there are some top-notch restaurants that'll run you￥20,000 or more per person, but even once in a while it's worth it to hit one of those places, too.

There are some great hole-in-the-wall places around town, as well.

I'll admit that it's much easier to have places recommended to you first, rather than just going out and popping in to restaurants to see what they're like.

[ohahakehte]

problem with eating non-japanese food in tokyo (or in many parts of japan in my experience) is that the food doesnt have to be good. it seems to be enough for many japanese that the food is foreign and "exotic." and as a result you pay a novelty tax for food that usually isnt that great and it ends up being too expensive. i find that japanese have a real italian food fetish. whether the italian food is good is another story...

[ironopolis]

Would it be too cynical to wonder if the Michelin Guide's findings here had something to do with boosting sales of the newly launched Japanese version of their guide?

Tokyo is undoubtedly a very good place for food, as it damn well should be given its size and world status. But culinary capital of the world? I'd certainly not go that far. Obviously, opinions on food are unavoidably subjective and there'll always be people disagreeing whatever the findings. For me, I'd probably rate Tokyo about the same as what azarashii sushi said above - some really great restaurants, but sadly so many dire ones spoiling the picture.

Incidentally, I've found the bento.com site linked above is also pretty handy for the Kansai area.

[jademonkey]

I'd actually tend to agree with Tokyo's food being excellent. Go with locals and people who actually know the area well (eg, my wife knows Ginza like the back of her hand) and you'll find a billion fantastic places.

I've been to a lot of amazing restaurants in Tokyo, many of them don't advertise and/or have a plain front that is easily missed.

[ohahakehte]

[TokyoLiz]

While there are lots of good places in Tokyo, I haven't seen anything that draws me back. I have a few favorite places in Harajuku, Marunouchi, but all low end places I like for the service and homey fare.

Best sushi I've had in Japan was in Shikoku. Best kaiseki, too.