TOKYO: 15 SECRET Restaurants & ICONIC Dishes

TOKYO: 15 SECRET Restaurants & ICONIC Dishes

From underground ramen cults to century old tempura temples and everything in between. With over 160,000 restaurants in Tokyo, how do you find the real local favorites? As a food guide, I’ve invested hundreds of hours of research into making this list to make sure you uncover the true hidden gems from your average tourist spot. To keep it simple, I split these spots into three categories based on the vibe and how easy they are to get into. Let’s start with the most accessible options. Tokyo is Japan’s most expensive city. What if I told you that you can find incredibly good food here for under 2,000 yen, such as sukmen. Think of it like ramen but deconstructed. And the way they do it at Iaya, I swear you’ll wish you had more nights to keep coming back. Tucked away in a side alley, the place is small, just nine seats, no reservations. There’s usually line, but it moves fast because people don’t linger. If it’s your first time, press this beautiful button right here. And what happens next may possibly make you want to move to Japan. Let’s start with the noodles. Soft, chewy, made fresh. Wagyu sirloin simmered right in front of you in a dark, sweet, salty sauce before you plunge it into a bowl of beaten egg. Wow. But calling that the star of the meal wouldn’t be fair to the dipping sauces. Deep, rich, umami packed broth. the soul of the dish. Noodles in then slurp loudly with passion. And they say tukmen started as a meal for early ramen chefs who ate them like soba. A way to cool down between shifts in their hot kitchens. [Music] The next dish you should try is possibly the most quintessentially Japanese comfort food. Katsudon Suzuchin is a famous family restaurant tucked away in the relaxed local neighborhood of Yotssuya and Shinjuku. Stepping inside is like a trip back in time. The kind owner explained how he took over the business from his father and with his son now cooking the Katsudon. A delicious tender pork cutlet made with your choice of loin or filt coated in fluffy panko and fried to perfection. Then there’s the Japanese style scrambled egg. You can go classic with the egg cooked in or tried kake katsu style where the crispy tonkatu is served separately from the egg to keep that extra crunch. This is a super rustic katsudon. A bit like the shop itself, filled with quiet locals. It’s as if time stood still long time ago. Next up is possibly one of the most inexpensive, quick, and delicious meals I’ve had in my entire life. Udon. These silky, chewy wheat noodles are often overshadowed by their flashier, more popular cousin, ramen. But in true Udon fashion, the best places to enjoy them should be simple, reliable, and affordable. And one such place, Oni Yanma. [Music] By far the easiest spot in this entire list, or should I say spots, because it’s always near with eight shops throughout Tokyo. It’s always open from 7:00 a.m. for breakfast to 3:00 a.m. for a late night snack. It’s a stand-up style restaurant. I recommend the full monty. Handmade sanuki udon wheat noodles with a bouncy chew. The broth is delicate yet super tasty. The freshly fried tempura is the cherry on the sundae. Seasoned chicken, juicy shrimp, and sweet potato paired with that pickled ginger they put on the table, and you’ve got yourself a breakfast of champions. And it keeps on getting better. [Music] Unagi, or grilled freshwater eel, is a seasonal favorite in Japan. Foreigners don’t really talk about this dish, which is totally strange cuz it’s so good. It’s a rare seasonal ingredient and hence expensive. So many shops will import their eel from outside of Japan. But the best quality is Japanese freshwater eel which you can get without breaking the bank at Unacho near Kanda Station. It’s a local salary man who recommended this restaurant to me and that’s a good local tip. Now the star thick juicy fluffy unagi. It’s coated in a rich, smoky, sweet, and deeply savory tare sauce. Everything just melts in your mouth perfectly. The set comes with pickles, miso soup, and tea. I’ve never seen Japanese unagi at this price served anywhere else. These next restaurants are local neighborhood favorites and will thus require a little bit of effort for you to unlock. Sometimes that means taking the metro a little bit out of the center. Sometimes that means standing in line, deciphering a menu, sometimes all three, but every time it’s worth it. No trip to Japan would be complete without trying Wagyu. But by far the best way to enjoy it for me is yaki niku. Right. Imagine grilling these beautiful blocks of marbled meat right at your table. And if you’re craving a laid-back local feast that serves top-of-the-line A5, Yakiniki Buoya is a great move. The flagship store has been going strong for 20 years and buys whole cows, which means access to rare cuts you won’t find at just any yakiniku spot. You can reserve online and order the set menu. It starts with tong shaboo, flamese seared right in front of you and wrapped in flavor. Then comes a parade of cuts, sirloin, rib finger, skirt, and then eating it with a creamy tamago kake gohong. Flavor and texture overload. Yakiniku Booya nails the essentials. Exceptional beef, great variety, popular with locals, and chill, unpretentious vibes. Super healthy, stylish buckwheat noodles. You can have them served hot as kake soba or cold as seo soba. I recommend trying them here. Ita kurya ebisu. This restaurant blends rustic charm with sleek minimalism. Just like Soba themselves, locals love it and lines can get a little long, but the trick is to show up half an hour before. That way, you’re only waiting half an hour and as soon as they open, you’re in. It kicks off with seasonal appetizers and golden crispy tempura. And then comes the main attraction, thick or thin soba noodles. I recommend the thick, served cold with dipping sauces like sesame or walnut. The final touch is the soba, the warm starchy water the noodles were cooked in. You mix it with your leftover dipping sauce and drink it up. Healthy, satisfying, and full of delicate charm. And just to change gears, we’re now going to have the most intensely outrageous dish on this entire list. There’s so many different ramen styles, each one with their own lineage. If you’re hungry for a big bowl of intense flavors, stamina ramen. Spoiler alert, this ain’t your grandmother’s noodle soup. To find one of Tokyo’s best stamina ramen shops, you got to trek out to a low-key residential corner of Mitaka City. But trust me, the pilgrimage is worth it. You’ll find it tucked away underground like some secret society gathering underneath the sun sign. The line snakes out of the second door even before they open. Go for the non-spicy full set. So, here it is. Stamina ramen, soy sauce, tonkotu, slammed with pork back fat, dubanjang, and a mountain of onions. The noodles are thick, chewy, bouncy. If this was a secret society, I would join. Eat this everyday. I would die happy. But if you’re looking for something less explosive, maybe a little more romantic, more stylish, this next one’s for you. Robatayyaki was born at sea by fishermen who would grill their fish fireside on their boats. Today, skilled chefs masterfully manage the grill, creating different heat zones to cook a variety of meats and fish just right. Now, for local gem, there’s a restaurant called Oka Joi. It’s in a beautiful old wooden building. If you’re lucky, say on a late Sunday evening, you might have no weight at all and land the best seats. Counterstyle dining right at the hearth. I would start with the assorted sashimi platter. The freshness and texture is unreal. Then comes the showstopper, possibly the best fish I’ve ever eaten in my life. Sable fish. Rich, flaky, perfectly grilled, juicy, crispy. I mean, look at this. Unreal. You can take your time here and it’s a bit out of the center of Tokyo, but it’s totally worth it. If you’re looking for a traditional experience, a beautiful night out, maybe on a date, this is the way to go. So, we’ve covered a ton already. And if you want to eat your way through Tokyo without all the research burnout, check out my digital guide and map to secret Tokyo food. It saves you from digging through thousands of Google listings and overvisited food blogs by giving you 50 unique spots I’ve personally picked, including the ones in this video. No tourist traps, no hype, just the kind of places you’d want to keep to yourself. Each spot links to a quick profile with what to order, opening hours, how long the line usually is, reservation tips, and more. Everything’s fully searchable. Just type in something like Monday to see what’s open that day, your nearest metro station, whether a place requires a reservation. So instead of spending hours researching where to eat, you’ve got everything laid out for you, ready to go. What more is that all linked to the interactive map. You can just pull it up while exploring, see what’s nearby, pull up the profile, and get directions. I originally made this for my guests and friends, but after so many requests and positive feedback, I’m sharing it with my audience. So, grab it through the link below. First 100 people get 20% off with a code in the description. It supports the channel and helps you eat like someone who actually lives here. Oh my. Now, let me show you another epic meal in Tokyo. Here’s one of Japan’s greatest dishes that’s so rare to find outside of Japan. Tonkatu. Imagine a perfectly fried golden pork cutlet. The best spots are often in high demand and rather expensive. But Tonkatu Bamboo is the exception. It’s one of the highest rated tonkatu restaurants in the country without the crazy price tags nor lineups. The entire restaurant is run by one man. He does it all. cooks, cleans, serves, hosts, and still manages to deliver professional hospitality with zero stress in the air. He trained under Michelin star chefs in France, then came back to Japan to devote his entire life to making one dish. You got to appreciate that devotion. Japanese kare is a thing of its own. Rich, hearty, and full of spices. And it also comes in many different styles. Now, if you’re looking for a creamy, almost silky European style curry, then Bondi is your spot. It’s in Jimbo, Tokyo’s book town. Out of 500 curry spots in this area, Bondi ranks number one, and it even won the Kanda Curry Grand Prix. The curry is creamy, spiced just right, and the beef is fall aart tender. Locals love it. So, yes, there’s a line, and a hell of a line. So, bring a book. Let’s move on to the next dish. A super healthy meal that’ll warm you up on a cold day. Oden is a classic winter comfort food in Japan. It’s a lean, high protein dish made up of various simmered ingredients. For really local, delicious, and authentic experience, I would head to Otaco at Shimbashi. This longestablished Oden restaurant has been around since 1932. Otaco has an old school calm Japanese vibe. It’s perfect for a quiet dinner after work or a cozy winter gathering. The Odin here is top tier flavorful, perfectly simmered and deeply satisfying. You choose what you want and it’s served in a hot flavorful broth. All right, it’s time to decompress, get some drinks, and some smoky delicious yakitori. So, yakitori is also having a bit of a glow up, showing up in fancy omakazi joints, drawing in the upscale crowds, but it didn’t start there. It’s a humble dish made by using all the parts of the chicken and grilling it to perfection for the working class. And that’s what you get at T Chan. I got lucky. No line. You walk in and bam. That smoke is a telltale sign. You know it’s going to be good. And it also keeps the wrong people out. This place is like the opposite of these new sterile minimalist cafes popping up everywhere. It’s alive, loud, grounded, and filled with locals. Service is fast, and friendly. Just order the eight course full set and relax. Yakitori is all about texture. They start you off slow. thigh, meatballs, a skewer of ginko nuts, and then the real stuff starts rolling out. Skin, gizzards, liver, heart. Every skewer is charred just right and kissed with a sweet smoky glaze. The perfect meal to share with friends, cold beer in hand, seated at the counter, at a tiny table, or tucked into a tatami room. [Music] These final restaurants aren’t just good. They’re dedicated to another level. But getting a table in these next ones isn’t always easy. It can take time, patience, planning, and let’s face it, sometimes a small pile of money. But when everything lines up, trust me, the experience is pure gold. So wander north of Asakusa, far from the tourist territory, and you’ll find a restaurant that’s been serving tempura since the Miji period. A bowl of tendon or tempura rice bowl so good people line up for hours just to get a taste. The large assorted tempura set fried in sesame oil the old school way. A legendary mix of juicy prawns, colorful vegetables, and the precious anago or conger eel held live on site for peak freshness. All of this is served with the famous bowl of tendon. Crispy, chewy, umami. Unbelievably satisfying. It’s one of the best meals I’ve had in Japan. And I know I’m saying this a lot, but I mean it. and I’d stand in line for it any day. Before we get to the final grand prize of sushi, there’s still one ultimate test. In Japan, tuna and puffer fish often steal the spotlight. Yet, there’s a third contender quietly celebrated by locals, the monkfish. It looks terrifying, like something that could stay in the deep sea. But, as we all know, appearances can be misleading. In fact, there’s a whole restaurant dedicated to it. People come here for one thing and one thing only, the anko nab or monkfish hot pot. Every part of the fish is butchered in-house and served with care. Liver sashimi, that’s the star of the show. Imagine like the fuagra of the sea. This isn’t your average meal. I mean, it’s a bold dish with a bold ingredient and bold flavors. I recommend it for adventurous eaters who want to taste something uniquely Japanese. Okay, sushi time. It starts with a nighttime walk through the quiet streets of Higashi Mojima. At the end of a narrow lane, you’ll find it, Uo Toku, a tiny sushi shop that has been around for 50 years. You step inside and you’re in for one of the most intimate, quietly, mindblowing meals that you can imagine. A whole seasonal journey through Japan’s many different cooking styles that we’ve seen so far. There are six seats, one counter, and the man behind it, Chef Kamiya. Calm, sharp, and with a dry sense of humor. Dinner kicks off with a glass of dry, elegant takas sake. You start chatting. You start meeting the people next to you. Then the food starts rolling out and it just keeps coming. Each one completely different to what you’ve had in your life. But not because it’s marinated or transformed. No, it’s Japan. Minimalist intervention. It’s just freshness and precision knife skills. This was rustic and elegant and refined at the same time. No pretention. I hope this video was useful to you and helps you dive deeper into Tokyo’s incredible food scene. If you’re hungry for more, make sure to check out the gourmet guide to Tokyo that I’ve linked in the description below. And also, if you’re heading to Osaka next, you have to check out all these incredible recommendations that I’ve included in another video, let me know which places you end up trying, and make sure to share your own personal recommendations in the comments below. Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you on the next adventure. [Music]

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00:00:00 Intro
00:00:39:10 Tsukemen @ Aida Ya
00:01:47:09 Katsudon @ Suzuchin
00:02:42:01 Udon @ Oniyanma
00:03:49:02 Unagi @ Unasho
00:05:04:23 Yakiniku @ Bouya
00:06:06:18 Soba @ Ita Soba Kaoriya Ebisu
00:07:07:15 Stamina Ramen @ Suzuki
00:08:08:04 Robatayaki @ Okajoki
00:09:12:20 Secret Tokyo Food Guide & Map
00:10:32:24 Tonkatsu @ Bambou
00:11:27:15 Kare @ Curry Bondy
00:12:01:17 Oden @ Otako Shimbashi
00:12:48:12 Yakitori @ Take Chan
00:14:24:14 Tempura @ Doteno Iseya
00:15:18:22 Anko Nabe Hotpot @ Isegen
00:16:07:03 Sushi @ Uwo Toku

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