Best and Worst Food of Tokyo

[JonB]

Outback Steakhouse: http://www.outbacksteakhouse.co.jp/en/menu/index.html

Wow, the food is so good.

Sorry but you need to get out more - whilst it is good it is no different from Outback anywhere else...

[jkid]

Sorry but you need to get out more - whilst it is good it is no different from Outback anywhere else...

I'll pay that. I've never been to Outback anywhere else so.. Plus, when I had it I really felt like a steak as I hadn't had one in a while so I guess that factors in

[visual_gaze]

Hmm, worse Japanese food? Has got to be nattou for me.

I agree. im a die hard Japanese food lover and i love all and any Japanese food but nattou, just not my kind of dish. It seems that many foreigners dislike nattou the most yet the Japanese LOVE it. at least all the ones i met.

[greenmachine]

I was in Tokyo last Nov/Dec, and I was taken to some really good places to eat, and I found some myself. 2 standouts were La Rochelle which is Iron Chef French Sakai Hiroyuki's restaurant. Not cheap if you're on a budget. I went for lunch which was more affordable than dinner. It's French/Japanese fusion, and truly amazing. This was the only really expensive place I went to eat though.
Another favourite was an Izakaya that I don't know the name of, but THIS is a link to google maps street view. Really good tebaski, potato furai and Umeshu Soda. All round good Izakaya food (My Favourite)

[gerald_ford]

I agree. im a die hard Japanese food lover and i love all and any Japanese food but nattou, just not my kind of dish. It seems that many foreigners dislike nattou the most yet the Japanese LOVE it. at least all the ones i met.

I love natto actually, as does my wife's whole family. I didn't like it at first, but one day, after years of being together with my wife, and I just tried and loved it. Shows how much of it is mental.

[gerald_ford]

Also, you can't go wrong going into any famiresu in Japan. I went to one random family restaurant in a remote part of Kanagawa with the family, and we ate real good that night. My daughter loved her kid's meal and Anpanman, and I loved the free coke refills and delicious udon.

[Taurus]

It was pieces of chicken separated by cartilage! Are you supposed to eat the cartilage? because it was essentially unchewable for me.

Ha ha, this happened to me. I grabbed a whole skewer and stuck most of it in my mouth before realising I'd have to chow down on a load of cartilage. My wife reckons Japanese people really like it because of its texture - and I think in general Japanese people have a much greater appreciation of the roles that texture and shape play in the enjoyment of food.

Other surprising foodstuffs I've eaten in Tokyo include shrimp-heads and raw cow's liver. But my own recommendations for the best food in Tokyo would be an amazing Tempura restaurant in Akasaka. But I'm still trying to find out the name.

[gerald_ford]

Ha ha, this happened to me. I grabbed a whole skewer and stuck most of it in my mouth before realising I'd have to chow down on a load of cartilage. My wife reckons Japanese people really like it because of its texture - and I think in general Japanese people have a much greater appreciation of the roles that texture and shape play in the enjoyment of food.

Yeah, I've noticed Japanese are more inclined to eat cartilage and such from a chicken bone than I ever was. Waste not, I guess.

[Taurus]

But my own recommendations for the best food in Tokyo would be an amazing Tempura restaurant in Akasaka. But I'm still trying to find out the name.

I *think* it's this one. It's definitely called Tenshige, but there seem to be several tempura restaurants called Tenshige.

Actually, I just checked the photos, and this is the chef (her English is very good, by the way).

So yeah, anyone who wants a delicious meal in Akasaka should definitely check out Tenshige (天茂).

My favourite bit was watching her cut the heads off the still wriggling shrimp before swishing the tails around in batter and then hot oil, and then serving them immediately. And then a bit later on she cooked the heads, too - it was my first time eating shrimp heads and I didn't think it would be polite to decline (because the chef is right in front of you and serves the food right on your plate).

[kimncris]

we ate the cartilage. We actually got a whole dish of it. (no actual meat)

it wasn't the best thing I've ever eaten, but not the worst either. Very crunchy.

Now the Chicken Stomachs and Chicken Skin skewers. Those were awesome. SO tasty.

[Jessi]

That Tenshige place sounds really good! I'll have to try it out sometime!

I'm not a fan of the cartilage either. Or the chicken skin..

[jackrandomsx]

A place I really enjoyed in Shinjuku was www.sangokuichi.co.jp Tasty meals, good service, nice layout. Nothing super flash, but it was good enough to eat at 4 times.

Yes! the udon and soba here are fantastic! The only issue I have is that the english menu that i got in 2009 was obviously truncated. In 2008, this was not the case.