The Tokyo Restaurants to Book Now

With more Michelin stars than any other city in the world, Tokyo abounds with culinary delights. Beeline straight to the good stuff with our roundup of Tokyo’s most sought-after tables. Reservations essential.

Praise doesn’t come much higher than the ‘World’s Best New Restaurant Award’ for 2019, so it should go without saying that Inua is also one of the world’s hardest restaurants to book right now. But plan well ahead and you will be rewarded with Thomas Frebel's Nordic-Japanese veg-centric marvels in a wham-bam vista-slamming Iidabashi aerie. After a decade manning the stoves at fabled NOMA, as well as leading its much-feted Japanese residency, Frebel has imported his Scandi minimalist approach with a domestic focus on locally provenanced produce — a novel approach that has local gourmands scuffling for a table.

From the San Pellegrino-approved RyuGin to his first solo venture Sazenka — also occupying a top spot on Asia’s 50 Best (#23) — Tomoya Kawada has gone from strength to strength in his pursuit of culinary perfection. Although the main salon has only a modest 12 seats up for grabs, we recommend securing one of two private dining rooms, accommodating 3-6 people, and diving into the stellar showcase of teas (however hard it may be to resist a cheeky swig of sake). Don’t miss the signature Pheasant's Soup.

Another homegrown young gun who will blow your socks off is Hiroyasu Kawate, the talent behind darkly dapper French perch Florilège. Having spent his formative years in Paris, and sharpened his knife skills at famed Quintessence, he has turned his talents to creating playful, modern riffs on the Gallic classics via three hours-worth of dining at his counter-ringed open kitchen. Impeccable.

For a more laid-back experience, you might try Kotaro, a neighbourhood izakaya — in the swishest sense of the word — secreted among the backstreets of Shibuya. That said, reservations are no mean feat here either. Book well ahead for one of only 10 open kitchen-flanking counter seats, state your likes and dislikes, let the patron-chef Kotaro Hayashi magick something up for you (think hand-cut udon noodles, with daikon and crispy tempura), and pair your morsels with chilled sake sips from the bar’s impressive bottle collection.

Inua / 2-13-12 Fujimi / Chiyoda-ku / +81 3 6683 7570 / dinner Tue-Sat / inua.jp

Sazenka / 4-7-5 Minami Azabu / Minato-ku / +81 3 6874 0970 / dinner Mon-Sat, lunch Sat / sazenka.com 

Florilège / 2-5-4 Jingumae / Shibuya-ku / +81 3 6440 0878 / lunch & dinner daily / florilege.jp