Restaurants - The Rough Guide to Tokyo - page 144

Ì Little Okinawa Ϧτϧԭೄ 8-7-10 Ginza, Chūō-ku
T 03 3572 2930; Shimbashi station; map p.48. The
welcome at this cosy Okinawan restaurant is as warm as it
would be in the southern islands. Try Ryūkyū dishes such as
goya champuru (noodles with stir-fried bitter melon, ¥880),
and the strong rice liquor awamori . There's an English menu,
but the Japanese one has photos. Bookings recommended.
Mon-Fri 5pm-3am, Sat & Sun 4pm-midnight.
Matsumotorō দຊ࿖ 1-2 Hibiya-kōen, Chiyoda-ku
T 03 3503 1451, W matsumotoro.co.jp; Hibiya station;
map p.48. On a sunny day it's a pleasure to sit on the
terrace of this venerable restaurant, as old as Tokyo's
first Western-style park in which it's located. The food is
pretty standard, along the lines of omu-raisu (rice-filled
omelette, ¥1050), hamburgers, croques and other Western
“favourites”. Daily 10am-9pm.
No-no-Budō ໺ͷ෤ಒ 3F Tokia Building, 2-7-3
Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku T 03 3215 7320; Tokyo
station; map p.48. Avoid the peak lunchtime rush
(11.30am-1pm) if you don't want to queue at this café-
style “natural foods buffet”, where you can fill up on a good
spread of salads and Japanese dishes, including some
organic foods. Lunch costs ¥1600, including soft drinks,
while dinner is a pretty reasonable ¥2600. Daily 11am-
4pm & 5.30-11pm.

The Oyster Shack ͔͖খ԰ 1-6-1 Uchisaiwai-chō,
Chiyoda-ku T 03 6205 4328, W jack-pot.co.jp;
Shimbashi station; map p.48. One of the city's most
atmospheric oyster bars, snuggled under the train track
arches north of Shimbashi station. They've an all-you-can-
eat oyster special for ¥2980, and a whole aquarium's
worth of other stuff to slurp down - scallops from ¥250,
or huge sazae (snail-like turban shells) for ¥350. Mon-Fri
4-11.30pm, Sat & Sun noon-11pm.
Sakyō Higashiyama ࠨژͻ͕͠΍· B1F Oak Ginza,
3-7-2 Ginza Chūō-ku T 03 3535 3577, W sakyo
higashiyama.com; Ginza station; map p.48. Refined
kyō-ryori (Kyoto-style cuisine) is served at this rustic
basement space, decorated with bamboo and with an
open kitchen that feels a million miles from Ginza's bustle.
The lunch set (¥2100) includes six delicious, seasonal
courses. Mon-Sat 11am-2pm & 5.30-9pm.
Taimeiken ͍ͨΊ͍͚Μ 1-12-10 Nihombashi,
Chūō-ku T 03 3271 2463, W taimeiken.co.jp;
Nihombashi station; map p.48. Tokyoites love the
nostalgia of one of Tokyo's original Western-style restaur-
ants, whose omu-raisu (fried rice wrapped in an omelette,
¥1650) featured in the cult movie Tampopo . Waiting staff
bustle about the cheap and cheerful downstairs section,
serving large portions of curry rice, tonkatsu and noodles.

14

the additional ingredients vary. It's not unusual for long lines to form outside hit rāmen stalls
and there are scores of blogs devoted to the quest for the best bowl - English ones include
W www.ramenadventures.com and W ramentokyo.com.
OKONOMIYAKI, MONJAYAKI AND ODEN
Savoury okonomiyaki are fast gaining currency outside Japan. Restaurants specializing in
this pancake-like batter dish have tables featuring hot plates; sometimes the batter and
ingredients are brought out for you to cook yourself, and sometimes staff will do the work
for you behind the scenes. Fillings can vary, but seafood, noodles and veggies are popular
choices. Tokyo has its own variant, known as monjayaki ; with a far looser consistency than
okonomiyaki , this is always a DIY job, though staff will do the necessaries for you if you ask.
A popular winter dish (though available all year round) is oden , large chunks of
simmered tofu, daikon ( radish), root-vegetable jelly, seaweed, hard-boiled eggs and
fishcakes, traditionally eaten with a smear of mustard; oden is best eaten in izakaya , though
convenience stores also sell it.
GRILLED MEATS, CUTLETS AND TEMPURA
Yakitori are delicious skewers of grilled chicken (or sometimes other meats, offal and
vegetables). Traditionally seen as something of a non-gourmet, working-class meal, it has
recently undergone a popularity explosion; inexpensive places to enjoy it include the
atmospheric stalls under the tracks at Shimbashi and Yurakuchō. Similar to yakitori are
kushiage : skewers of meat, seafood and vegetables, coated in breadcrumbs and deep-fried.
If your tastes turn to pork, then you'll not want to miss out on tonkatsu , larger cuts of
meat also coated in breadcrumbs and usually served on shredded cabbage with a brown,
semi-sweet sauce. This forms part of the king of comfort foods - katsu-karē , a breaded cutlet
(usually pork) served with Japanese-style curry, sometimes served on a bed of rice.
Lastly, there's tempura , a series of battered, deep-fried comestibles which include okra,
shrimp (particularly tasty) and sweet potato; some restaurants serve a few varieties on a bed
of rice ( tendon ).