Top 10 Tokyo Restaurants - 2-1 14.05.08
2. Tsukiji Fish Market
The business end of the list starts with Tsukiji Fish Market. Not actually a restaurant but a collection of restaurants and the biggest wholesale fish market in the world. If you like sushi and you’re in Tokyo you’d be a bit of a fool not to come here.
I’m told the market itself is quite a spectacle if you get there before 8am or so, but despite numerous attempts on my part, the early start has meant I’ve never been able to verify this. Either way I’ve been to the restaurants there a few times in the afternoon to eat sushi and it’s been superb every time.
Tsukiji Fish Market
4-13-15, Tsukiji, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
www.tsukiji-market.or.jp
1. Gokirakutei
With hundreds of brilliant chefs in Tokyo it would seem a little odd to claim the best restaurant in Tokyo is one where you cook the food yourself, but … erm that’s pretty much what I’m doing in putting cook-it-yourself-super-restaurant Gokirakutei at number 1.
This isn’t a massive show of arrogance or misplaced confidence in my cooking ability, but rather a salute to a restaurant which deliciously fresh ingredients, a convivial atmosphere and more character than you can shake a stick at. It’s also really good fun and pretty hard to balls up the cooking of okonomiyaki or fried rice.
Gokirakutei is in Yoyogi Uehara and just round the corner from my old flat when I used to live in Tokyo, which perhaps has also influenced its lofty position in this top 10.
The tables all have a built in gas powered teppan (iron plate) to cook on. You can choose from a variety of ingredients and try you’re hand at okonomiyaki, fried rice or fried noodles. All are easy to cook but the friendly staff can help if disaster strikes.
There are loads of these sort of do-it-yourself okonomiyaki places all over Japan, but I’ve never been to one that matches Gokirakutei in terms of taste or atmosphere. All in all a must to eat at if you’re in Tokyo.
1-32-18-1F, Uehara, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
