Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
is to serve it
ochazuke
style - you pour green tea over the
meat and rice to make a kind of savoury porridge. The bill
will be around ¥2000.
Daily 11am-10.30pm.
Ì
Tsunahachi
ͭͳീ
3-31-8 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku
T
03 3352 1012,
W
tunahachi.co.jp; Shinjuku station;
map pp.118-119.
The main branch of the famous
tempura restaurant almost always has a queue outside,
though you're likely to get seated quickly if you settle for
the upstairs rooms away from the frying action (or ask for
the non-smoking section). Everything is freshly made, and
even the smallest set (¥1300, including soup, rice and
pickles) will fill you up.
Daily 11.15am-10pm.
IKEBUKURO AND THE NORTH
Akiyoshi
ळ٢
3-30-4 Nishi-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku
T
03 3982 0601,
W
akiyoshi.co.jp;
Ikebukuro station;
map p.130.
Unusually large
yakitori
bar with a good
atmosphere and a helpful picture menu. You might have
to queue at peak times for the tables, but there's generally
space at the counter. Most dishes are around ¥400 for five
skewers.
Daily 5pm-midnight (Sun till 11pm).
Canal Café
ΧφϧΧϑΣʔ
1-9 Kagurazaka,
Shinjuku-ku
T
03 3260 8068,
W
canalcafe.jp; Iidabashi
station; map pp.128-129.
This is a surprisingly tranquil
and appealing waterside spot, particularly romantic at
night when the old clapperboard boathouses sparkle with
fairy lights, or during the blossom-heavy
sakura
season.
The café-restaurant has particularly good-value set pasta,
panini or curry meals, starting at ¥1300.
Tues-Fri
11.30am-11pm, Sat & Sun 11.30am-9.30pm.
Han Sarang
ϋϯαϥϯ
1-16-15 Ōkubo, Shinjuku-ku
T
03 5292 1161; Shin-Ōkubo station; map pp.128-
129.
On the second floor above the Korean Culture Center,
this is a good place to get acquainted with the diversity
of the cuisine. Inside it's designed like a Korean farmhouse
with wooden beams and intimate booths. Various set
courses, served with multiple side dishes (
banchan
) start at
¥1500.
Daily 11am-midnight.
Ì
Isomaru Suisan
үؙਫ࢈
3-25-10 Nishi-
Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku
T
03 5953 2585;
Ikebukuro
station; map p.130.
This fantastic seafood
izakaya
is
heaving all evening, every evening - in fact, it's so popular
that it never shuts. There's no English menu, but there are
plenty of pictures and live sea creatures to point at - try
their colossal
sazae
(sea snails).
Daily 24hr.
Kōrai Samgyetang
ߴྷࢀܲ౬
2F Lisbon Bldg,
2-32-3 Ōkubo, Shinjuku-ku
T
03 3207 3323,
W
samgetang.co.jp; Shin-Ōkubo station; map pp.128-
129.
Whether you come for lunch or dinner the meal is
always the same - ginseng chicken stew
samgyetang
(¥2800). They take eight hours to cook the broth here,
which accounts for the accolades from local media
plastered on the walls outside.
Daily noon-11pm.
Le Bretagne
4-2 Kagurazaka, Shinjuku-ku
T
03 3235
3001,
W
le-bretagne.com; Idabashi station; map
pp.128-129.
Attractive French-run restaurant, down a
little dead-end street with tables outside, offering authentic
crepes and buckwheat
galettes
. Also serves salads, lunch-
time sets (from around ¥1500) and daily specials.
Tues-Sat
11.30am-10.30pm, Sun 11.30am-9pm.
14
Malaychan
3-22-6 Nishi-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku
T
03
5391 7638,
W
www.malaychan-satu.jp;
Ikebukuro
station; map p.130.
Tiny, unpretentious Malay restaurant
dishing up decent food, from grilled fish on a banana leaf
and
mee goreng
(fried noodles) to winter steamboats (the
Malay equivalent of
sukiyaki
). Weekday lunch menus start
at ¥850, and in general you'll eat well for under ¥2000.
Mon 5-11pm, Tues-Sat 11am-2.30pm & 5-11pm,
Sun 11am-11pm.
Ì
Mutekiya
ແఢՈ
1-7-1 Minami-Ikebukuro,
Toshima-ku
T
03 3982 7565,
W
mutekiya.com;
Ikebukuro station; map p.130.
Rāmen fans should head
straight to this joint, where the queue often stretches a
full 40m from the door - don't worry, since it moves along
fairly quickly. While you wait you can decide on the size
of your helping - bowls start at ¥680 - its flavour and
whether you want extra toppings and so forth. It's all
delicious.
Daily 10.30am-4am.
Nobu
ϊϒ
2-14-3 Minami-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku
T
03
5396 2697;
Ikebukuro station; map p.130.
Cosy little
Italian restaurant and wine bar, with the must-eat dish
being the
tonkatsu
spaghetti, made up of a piece of fried
pork over spaghetti topped with a spicy tomato sauce
(¥900). It's only on the lunch menu, but you can ask for it at
night too.
Tues-Sun 11.30am-3pm & 6pm-midnight.
Saigon
αΠΰϯ
3F 1-7-10 Higashi-Ikebukuro,
Toshima-ku
T
03 3989 0255,
W
saigontokyorestaurant
.com;
Ikebukuro station; map p.130.
Friendly, unpreten-
tious place serving authentic Vietnamese food, down to
the 333 beer.
Banh
xeo
(sizzling pancake with a spicy sauce)
or
bunh bo
(beef noodle soup) are recommended, with a
side dish of
nem
(spring rolls) if you're really hungry.
Weekday lunchtime sets are excellent value, starting at
¥780.
Mon-Fri 11.30am-2.30pm & 5-10.30pm, Sat &
Sun 11.30am-10.30pm.
Shinjuku Pojangmacha
৽॓ϙδϟϯϚνϟ
1-2-3
Hyakunin-chō, Shinjuku-ku
T
03 3200 8683,
W
s-pocha.com; Shin-Ōkubo station; map pp.128-129.
Also known simply as “Pocha” this rustic
yakiniku
(grilled
meat; from ¥1000 per head) restaurant is painted with
colourful cartoon scenes of Korean life, and has featured on
Japanese TV. It serves the rice beer
makgeolli
the traditional
way, in big wooden bowls with a ladle. If you like the drink,
also check out the bar
Maccoli
(see p.172) further down
the same street.
Mon-Thurs noon-midnight, Fri-Sun
noon-3am.
