Tokyo Eats, Japan Eats - Foodie Maurin

Ahiru Store is a natural wine bar located on the Tomigaya district. I've ended here whenever I was in Shibuya/Tomigaya had too much time to kill on multiple occassions. But unfortunately, I've never been able to escape a 2 hour+ queue on a weekend (not sure about weekdays though). It seems coming before the store opens would minimize the wait time, but it still doesn't seem likely that one could avoid a queue more than 1 hour. Once I was inside, I realized why the queue was so long. It took a long time to serve the food, with most of the cooked dishes taking 20-30 mins to serve. They do change their menu, and one time I saw they serve some Laotian-inspired food. Not sure if that's a permanent thing, or the chefs just had a Laos trip recently. Most of the food come in very large portions, so it's most suitable for sharing. Octopus and avocado salad (half, 900 yen for one portion)   Ufumayo (Oeuf Mayonnaise) (half, 400 yen for one portion): Tasty! Katsuo harasu tataki...

Note: I originally posted this review in reddit , with some edits. I figured I'd put it here for more visibility since it's a very popular spot, and there's not many recent reviews in English. Sawada is one of the top sushiya in Tokyo, winning a Tabelog Gold for 2025 and is currently in the top 5 of Tokyo's sushiyas. The restaurant is ran by a husband and wife duo and it is famous for being a "sushi temple" where photography and phone usage is not allowed. The atmosphere is very tranquil and no electricity is used in preparation of the meal. Despite that, Sawada san is a pretty humorous person and as the meal goes on the vibe gets more lively. Reservations are taken via Omakase, and I believe they release slots almost daily, for the same day or next day. There are no notifications though, and the timings are pretty random so if you wanna eat here you have to keep refreshing the page throughout the day. UPDATE: I have started getting email notifications about o...

Osteria da K Kappa is a quaint seafood-focused Italian restaurant in Ginza. Located in the upper floor of a multi-purpose building (as do most restaurants in Ginza), it has a somewhat homey atmosphere that makes you feel like you're in a tavern somewhere in Italy. It has a couple of tables seating 4, and a counter seating 8. While the restaurant is windowless, it is just intimate enough without making you feel claustrophobic. The main draw of this restaurant is that the chef trained to handle fish at the three Michelin starred Sushi Yoshitake, and procures his fish from the same supplier. While I haven't been to Sushi Yoshitake, and I have been to some pretty upscale Japanese-style Italian omakase, I was very curious to see how would top grade fish end up when served in a casual Italian setting. This restaurant is featured in the Michelin Bib Gourmand.   Burrata: Loaded with sweet fruits Breads basket White Asparagus: Creamy egg and very nice fragrance! Iwashi Confit: Nice oili...

NOTE 1: This was taken from my own reddit post here . NOTE 2: This was a visit in Summer 2024 and Isoda has moved locations sometime earlier this year (although it's still in the same area). Course structure don't seem to have changed. Isoda, located in Ningyocho, was a Tabelog Bronze (4.33) award winner before the reset due to relocation. The main interesting point of this restaurant is that the chef, Taketo Isoda san, previously trained at the famed Tabelog Gold, invite-only, and current highest rated restaurant in Japan: Shimbashi Hoshino. They use Omakase for the bookings but seats are not released at a fixed basis, so you have to be flexible and look out for openings every now and then (it's not difficult to grab a seat once they announce openings via email). The course costs 38500 yen. Shiro Ika from Shimane, Okra: Sweet and fragrant with a dash of umami. A nice start! Gingko Nuts, Rice: Nice, earthy and sweet Wild Unagi from Aomori: Honestly I couldn't feel anyth...

 Hi, Foodie Maurin here! I am an avid eater based in Tokyo, Japan. While you can find information on the viral restaurants in Japan everywhere, I see that there's a lack of resources in English for the actual foodie spots. Thus, I want to share my food experiences in Japan to the English-speaking world. Prior to this, I have been posting my reviews such as Instagram, Reddit , and TokyoTableTrip . I'm looking forward to share all kinds of delicious stuff here!