Best restaurants in Shibuya

There’s a lot to love about Ao. For starters, it manages to combine the casual vibe of an izakaya with the thoughtfulness of kaiseki cuisine. Don’t get us wrong – it’s never rowdy. Instead, it’s an unassuming little neighbourhood restaurant whose cosy, homely atmosphere belies its modern yet relaxed approach to Japanese food. It’s hard to pinpoint an overarching concept guiding the food, except that it’s based on fresh, seasonal Japanese ingredients, interpreted through techniques from other cuisines.

What’s really surprising is that the menu is priced at only ¥3,400, which makes the restaurant even more endearing. For honest good food that's unpretentious and thoroughly enjoyable, this is quite possibly one of the best deals in town. The best part is, Ao closes only at 2am, meaning you can eat well when most restaurants have shuttered for the night...

Having debuted here in Omotesando and now with branches in Ginza and Shibuya, Yamawarau is tailored to make solo shabu-shabu a comfortable experience (groups are welcome too). The restaurant actually goes beyond mere comfort. A sleek interior design features muted tones inspired by mingei folk crafts, with seating around a spot-lit oval counter made from natural wood and featuring single-serving, artisan-crafted nabe pots. Equal care goes into the sourcing of meats and vegetables (the black sirloin is a highlight), with both lunch and dinner courses on offer (from ¥1,450 and ¥2,900 respectively), plus a la carte options in the evening.

Hidden away in a quiet back alley just steps from the hustle and bustle of Harajuku lies Kiki, the domain of haute cuisine wizard Yuki Noda. Noda had worked at venerable Paris establishment Taillevent before returning to Japan to take up the sous chef position under Christophe Paucod at Kagurazaka’s Lugdunum Bouchon Lyonnais. He went independent in 2011, leaving behind the hallowed halls of Michelin-starred restaurants in favour of a more casual setting in the form of Kiki.

Hoping to attract a young clientele with reasonably priced four-course lunch and five-course dinner, he is particularly fond of seasonal fruit and berries. Relying exclusively on Japanese ingredients, he believes that French cuisine on these shores should aim to reveal the ‘non-Japanese side’ of domestic produce.

One of the best Chinese restaurants in Shibuya, Jasmine specialises in the spicy Chinese cuisine from the Szechuan province. While the dishes are executed with the flair and refinement befitting the restaurant’s simple elegant setting, the flavours are spot on: bold and punchy, and they leave a mild tingling sensation at the back of your palate.

Dinner costs upwards of ¥4,000; the weekday lunch menu, however, is a steal in comparison. The rice sets are priced at ¥1,100, and they each come with a main, rice, soup, side dish and dessert. Plus you get to add on a small serving of the restaurant’s signature mapo tofu for a mere ¥250 – and you should...

The latest addition to the Gonpachi family, this Harajuku outpost focuses on temaki, or hand rolls, which are all made to order. The menu consists of some firm favourites such as salmon avocado and tuna, but also branches out into typical Japanese combinations including yam and cod roe, okra and natto, and stewed beef. All of them come with a salad leaf inside to keep the nori seaweed from getting soggy too quickly. To add an extra twist, just over half of the rolls can be had with 'cauliflower rice' instead: a mix of avocado and cauliflower, which substitutes the regular sushi rice and gives the entire thing a suspiciously healthy feel...

A few factors separate Florilège from the competition. There’s the dramatic setting: the counters and walls are the colours of ash and charcoal, the carpets lava red, and the plants in the open kitchen seem startlingly green. Kawate and his fleet-footed colleagues work quietly under spotlights; it’s thrilling to observe them up close.

While Florilège is often described as ‘French-Japanese fusion’, Kawate says he doesn’t separate the two cuisines in his mind. He’s worked in both countries and wants to develop his own style without worrying too much about labels. His menu, which changes every two months, features dishes which echo the décor with radiantly bright ingredients contrasted against earthy crockery: a beef consommé with aged meat and smoked potato is a highlight, while we also love the sardines served with noodles and sundried tomatoes.

Chef Shusaku Toba has transformed his popular Yoyogi-Uehara restaurant Gris into a new restaurant Sio, where he teams up with young chefs and sommeliers to deliver an incredible fusion of Japanese and French cuisines. His signature dish, foie gras mousse and macaron, is still part of the ten courses meal, along with a protein main and other dishes championing seasonal produce. If you're not a wine drinker, the restaurant also has a tea pairing option where a variety of Chinese tea is served alongside each dish...

Having brought a puff pastry-powered bromance to its logical conclusion, chef Taichi Hara and pâtissier Yuichi Goto teamed up to open Path and the duo’s bistro-café has already become a sensation in Shibuya’s Tomigaya. Path serves breakfast and brunch – including their famous, super-fluffy dutch pancake – from 8am to 2pm. Get there early to secure a seat and wait around 30 minutes for this oven-baked delicacy, topped with uncured ham, burrata and copious amounts of maple syrup.

At night, you get to pick from natural wines, Kyoto-made craft beer and rare liqueurs to complement the beautifully plated Italian cuisine, all in a delightfully laidback atmosphere.

A meal prepared by Shinichi Akatsuka is a rare treat. The bespectacled, softly spoken chef is one of the city’s finest practitioners of kaiseki – Japanese haute cuisine with a focus on artful, seasonal, ceremonial and perfectly balanced food. His tranquil Gaienmae restaurant, which opened 12 years ago and now boasts two Michelin stars, offers the ideal setting for such beautiful fare – there are four elegant private rooms as well as counter seating facing a quiet garden.

Chef Akatsuka is considered something of a genius when it comes to harmoniously combining seasonal ingredients from around Japan, with an emphasis on fresh fish and other seafood. He’s also a magician with ingredients such as bonito flakes and matsutake mushrooms. Such craftsmanship, unsurprisingly, comes at a price (omakase deals start from ¥16,000 at dinner, drinks not included). It’s worth every yen, of course, because this is among the most exquisite of kaiseki experiences in Tokyo.

From the outside, Asano looks like any old house – but what happens behind the heavy door is something out of the ordinary. Serving up homely Kyoto-style obanzai and oden, chef Asano prepares eight to ten varieties for you to choose from, including tamagoyaki omelette and vegetables boiled in a flavourful broth. Unlike the usual Tokyo-style fare with its brown katsuobushi-based soup, Asano's oden swims in a clear, sardine- and chicken-based broth. One dish not to be missed is rice with dried young sardines and sansho pepper, served with a starchy egg soup. It's simple, healthy and delicious.

If you're ready to try the refined side of grilled chicken skewers, then enter Yakitori Imai just off Gaien Nishi-dori north of Aoyama. Owner and grill master Takashi Imai opened his stylish thirty-seat, counter-style joint in November 2016 and has been reinventing skewered chicken through his considered approach ever since.

Imai's philosophy is reflected in the dinner menu: it starts with a delicate chicken liver pate served on a crusty baguette before moving on to a leafy seasonal salad, the chef’s selection of six skewers and then grilled vegetables of the day. You can opt for craft beer to wash down your chicken morsels, but a more interesting approach is going with the small but well-curated selection of natural wine by the bottle or glass.

Yusuke Nakada sure loves mushrooms. They inspired the name of the chef’s Yoyogi-Hachiman restaurant, and appear in most of the dishes. Nakada used to work in a rural French restaurant famed for its creative use of fungi and the experience clearly left its mark – this is brilliantly inventive cooking which showcases the incredible versatility of several domestic and imported mushroom varieties.

Don’t miss his inspired pairing of mushroom tea and an intensely opulent foie gras macaroon, or his signature smoked salmon, exquisitely combined with boiled aubergine and roquefort sauce. There’s no menu, but there’s no need to worry. Chef Nakada sees himself as a culinary consultant and will create special meals just for you.

Falò is a smart, hip space with an izakaya-like vibe, and the Italian cooking is unique and often brilliant. Under an uneven chipboard ceiling, Kashimura and his team prepare meat and pasta dishes in full view of the counter-seated customers – and to a rousing ’80s rock soundtrack.

The restaurant is Kashimura’s attempt to create a casual Italian dining experience aimed at Japanese guests. He’s hitting this target with ease, aided by excellent pasta dishes and his knack for beautiful presentation...

There are only three food items on Henry’s Burger’s menu: hamburger (¥860), double hamburger (¥1,180) and fries (¥270). This is a good thing. Henry’s Burger, named after the owner, benefits from a less-is-more approach. The focus is on the natural flavour of the wagyu, which is pounded on the grill before being topped with sliced cheddar that melts into the patty seconds after hitting the grill.

There’s a slice of tomato, a leaf of lettuce, a slather of thousand island dressing, and a custom-made bun that holds the contents in place without overshadowing the beef, the star of the show. Henry’s handheld feasts are designed to be eaten on the go, and accordingly there are only four seats. It’s a popular joint so if you do plan to eat in, be prepared to queue.

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Your local guide will lead you around the famous Shibuya Scramble and help you untangle the web of izakayas and bars to choose from in Shibuya.