New restaurants, cafés and bars in Tokyo to try this month

The SG Group, the company behind some of Tokyo’s best cocktail bars, just keeps expanding. The newly opened Ash (whose name is stylised as 'æ') in Shibuya is the group’s first zero-waste café and bar.

Everything in Ash stays true to its concept of sustainability, including the clean, minimalist interior which has a feature wall adorned with leftover denim. Plus, Ash is paperless. The menu and point card are in digital formats while the café sells reusable takeout cups made from coffee husk.

For its coffee menu, Ash mainly uses its own house blend produced by resident barista Taka Ishitani, who is a two-time winner of the Japan Barista Championships (2017 and 2019). But there are other beans and blends on offer, too, from reputable local roasteries including Leaves Coffee Roasters and Obscura Roasters. The coffee goes especially well with the café’s coffee cherry canelé.

Located on the 12th floor of Daimaru department store at Tokyo Station, Magurokadan is known for its beautiful bara-chirashi (small pieces of sashimi over rice) that looks like a jewellery box. Topped with a colourful assortment of raw fish sourced from across the country, the rice is seasoned with red vinegar, kanpyo (dried gourd) and shitake mushrooms for boosted flavour.

Each order comes with three seasonal side dishes, a chawanmushi (steamed egg custard) and a shellfish soup. A serving of bara-chirashi costs between ¥2,500 and ¥3,300 depending on your choice of toppings. You can also pair your meal with a sake tasting set, where you get three glasses of the restaurant’s best sake for ¥1,500.

This bakery is run by the company behind popular Shibuya eateries like Italian restaurant Shibu Dra and Espresso D Works. It offers loads of freshly baked bread and pastries from 9am daily, including everything from your basic loaves of shokupan and sweet muffins to gourmet sandwiches and miniature pies. 

Come 10am, you’ll get to sit down in the café area for a special brunch meal, and you can even enjoy an afternoon tea set from 2pm to 4pm. The popular brunch set (¥1,700) comes with a salad, soup, and your choice of four baked goods from a lineup of more than ten different freshly baked treats. It also comes with free tea refills, but do expect long queues if you want to eat in. From 5pm, Flour and Water transforms into Dra7, an Italian dining bar where you can feast on thin crust pizza cooked in a wood-fired oven.

This popular steamed bun eatery originally from Sichuan has 300 stores in China, but this Harajuku shop is its very first international outlet. This bright blue store nestled in the backstreets has a neon-hued interior, with two windows where you can order and pick up your food. 

Don’t expect konbini-style giant nikuman here. This shop sells bite-size buns which come in four different flavours: hinabe (hot pot), spicy mala, shiro negi niku (white onion and meat) and mushroom meat. The hinabe is the most popular, made with pork, dried shiitake mushrooms and corn, plus a little bit of sansho pepper to give it a kick. The recipes haven’t been tweaked to suit local tastes, so you know you’re getting the same flavour it tastes exactly the same as the ones served at its original location.

Despite being located on the eight floor of Lumine Est Shinjuku department store, Pho Hanoi Yataii 33 looks just like a street vendor in Vietnam. The interior is set up with metal tables and plastic stools, with colourful walls and tiles. The menu offers over a dozen kinds of noodles including a classic beef pho, coconut milk chicken curry pho, Bún bò Huế, seafood vermicelli noodles and more. Order a set and you’ll also get half a bahn mi, a side of veggies, a spring roll and dessert, too.

The Taiwanese hotpot at Akubi is the perfect fuel for a late night out in Shibuya. The flavourful broths here are packed with medicinal herbs and spices. A hotpot for two (¥2,992) comes with two original soups: the mala, with numbing spice and the milder paitan chicken soup. You get your choice of veggies including Chinese cabbage, bean sprouts, carrot and an array of mushrooms, as well as meats like pork loin, lamb, beef and even duck to dip into the steaming broth. 

Akubi also serves delicious craft beer from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Japan to complement its flavourful Asian dishes. The main line up features beers from Taihu Brewing, but we highly recommend trying the restaurant’s specialty dry hopped kölsch (from ¥858 for 200ml) made in collaboration with Tokyo Aleworks. 

The best part about the restaurant is that it’s open until 4am on Friday and Saturday, which means you can drop in for a feast after a big night – even if you’ve missed your last train home. Akubi even offers special items from 11pm to 3.30am on Friday and Saturdays, including a tripe and pork spring roll filled with sichuan pepper and chilli (¥418), and a housemade sichuan pepper sour (¥770) with cloves and coriander.

Pizzeria 8 has opened up its fourth location (and only the second in Tokyo) at Shimokitazawa’s newest shopping and dining complex, Mikan Shimokita. Just like its other outlets, the menu offers freshly baked pizza and housemade pasta dishes, alongside beers and wine for less than ¥500 per glass. The super cool polished concrete interior suits trendy Shimokitazawa and you can’t miss the bright red tiles of the woodfired pizza oven.

The burrata pizza here is highly recommended. For ¥1,888 you’ll get a cheese pizza topped with greens, prosciutto and a lump of burrata cheese in the centre. If you’re more keen on pasta, go for the classic carbonara with mushroom (¥1,388) or the carnivore’s favourite – hamburg meat sauce pasta (¥1,688). For something a little lighter, the pasta with simple tomato sauce and Italian sausage (¥1,188) or a genovese sauce with clam and veggies will satisfy your appetite.

Gold Bar at The Tokyo Edition, Toranomon looks like a private room, especially with its curtained off, blacked out glass exterior that shuts the surroundings out completely. Inside, however, is a cool, stylish bar and lounge that feels exclusive yet cosy.

The predominantly black interior is a play on textures – blackened wood finishes inspired by the Japanese traditional method of charring cedar, black stone marble from Spain and the like – accented with white and gold flourishes. Both built from black marble, the bar glows like a bejewelled box while the focal fireplace sits to the side, over which hangs a gold-leaf artwork by Guerin Swing.

The drinks menu is equally sophisticated, inspired by the golden age of cocktails in the US, a period in the late 19th century that’s now known as pre-Prohibition America. Three of the greatest cocktail creations of all time – martini, daiquiri and manhattan – are given a contemporary reinterpretation through modern techniques, incorporating Japanese spirits and seasonal ingredients.

This eight-storey building in Roppongi has recently transformed into a shared office and co-working space, with a café, bar and music lounge on the first floor. Common hosts a DJ event every weekend where you can enjoy music over cocktails. The space also features a small gallery exhibiting art by up-and-coming artists and college students. The exhibitions renew every quarter and all artworks are available for purchase. You should also keep an eye out for the occasional pop-up shops, held in collaboration with local businesses from grocery stores and florists to book stores and more. 

Nasi Kandar is a bombastic rice dish of spicy, punchy flavours. It’s essentially a one-plate rice meal, piled high with meats and vegetables and drenched in curry and gravy. The dish came from the Indian Muslim community in Penang, an island in Malaysia well-loved for its vibrant street food culture.

To our delight, the nasi kandar at Zero Two is authentic – and reasonably priced, with rice plates ranging between ¥1,000 and ¥1,980. While the heat level here is not as fiery as those in Malaysia, the spices are very well-balanced and Zero Two manages to retain the essence of what makes nasi kandar such an enjoyable meal. Of course, the food at Zero Two Nasi Kandar Tokyo is halal-certified.

For starters, the dishes on offer are extensive and you’ll see them all laid out in the display case at the ordering station. Brace yourself as you’ll be spoilt for choice. First, decide on a main dish: hard boiled egg (with a gooey yolk, no less), grilled chicken, deep-fried lamb cutlet, fish fingers and a vegetarian option. Then your preferred base: plain white rice or biryani rice.

Now this is where the fun begins. From the selection of vegetables, choose three side dishes. (Tip: get the pink-hued pachadi, or yoghurt-based pickle, if you want something to help tone down the heat of what’s about to come.) Then, two curries out of six. The chicken curry as well as the prawn and squid curry are exceptional. There’s also a vegetarian curry and a seasonal option. To finish, the server will throw in some stir-fried bean sprouts and boiled okra for good measure. There’s a lot on the plate, and that’s the joy of nasi kandar. It’s a generous meal, both in portion and in flavour.

This discreet tea house under the Nakameguro train tracks is home to Chiya-ba, a chai tea specialist run by the folks behind nearby Nepalese restaurant Adi. The cosy space, though dominated by blacks and dark tones, has a gorgeous Zen-like quality. It's tasteful yet rustic, especially the hidden little lounge behind the tea counter, which feels like a luxe boutique hotel lobby.

As for the tea menu, go for the classic masala chai (available hot or cold), or one of two special chai creations: lemon masala chai or the spiked Khukri Rum chai. If you prefer something less milky, opt for one of the speciality Nepalese teas, coffee, natural wine or craft beer. There’s also a small food menu offering light snacks like curry pan (served on weekends only), scones, granola and vegan doughnuts. 

Teas are also available for purchase, along with beautiful ceramic mugs and plates which are displayed in-store. If you can’t make it out to Nakameguro, check the café’s online store which sells bags of tea, spices, tableware and even rattan lampshades like the one hanging in the café.

You’d never guess it, but behind the bright lights of the Olinas Mall in Kinshicho is a quiet, calm and uber-cool tearoom. Specialising in Japanese milk tea, this sleek café blends beautifully fragrant Japanese teas with plant-based milks. Barista and owner Yoshihiko Kurahashi has visited tea fields across Japan to source his four specific types of tea leaves: genmaicha (brown rice tea), hojicha (roasted green tea), koucha (black tea) and oolong.

Unlike other cafés, which typically make tea lattes with powdered tea leaves, And Tei maximises flavours by boiling the tea leaves directly in milk. Once you’ve chosen your tea, you can pick from one of three plant-based milks: oat, soy or split pea milk. 

Kurahashi, who used to work for a patisserie, also makes all his own vegan sweets which are sold at the café. Favourites include salted koji (fermented rice) scones using flour from Hokkaido and whole grain oat milk scones that use a blend of different sugars.

And Tei also has an online shop where you can order Kurahashi’s four special blends of tea.

One of Akasaka’s newest residents is the first international outpost of Hong Kong’s craft beer brewery Carbon Brews. With dark green accents that are reminiscent of Hong Kong’s old school city trams, the bar’s minimalist interior is sleek and inviting at the same time.

On tap are six types of IPA and lager which will be standard features of the menu, plus one beer that will change seasonally. Heavy hitters include the Feels Good Man, with notes of cardamom and orange peel, as well as the Crazy Rich Lupalins with concentrated flavours of tropical fruits like mango and papaya – careful with this one, it's got an abv of 8.2 percent. Beer is offered by the pint or by the glass, but you can grab a few of the colourful cans to take home. 

While it’s hard to pick which cheeky brew to order first, the food items here are equally enticing. The dishes are modern takes on Hong Kong classics like the typhoon shelter squid sprinkled with curry powder, mapo tofu cheese fries, and the pineapple buns which are available with char siu egg or anko raisin butter fillings.

Hong Kong’s famed rice noodle chain, Tamjai Samgor has opened its first outlet in Japan in the neighbourhood of Shinjuku. There’s a reason why these delicious bowls of spicy noodles have earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand award for three consecutive years. The broth is packed with aromatic spices and has a fiery kick from Sichuan peppercorns – it’s hot, but thoroughly addictive. Don’t worry if you’re not a fan of spicy foods; you can always ask to adjust the spice level to your liking.

You’ll first need to choose a soup base in one of six different flavours. The SamGot hot and sour soup, tomato soup, hot and numbing soup, charred pepper and spices soup, hot and sour soup or a clear broth. Then choose your preferred spice level on a scale of one to ten, and pick your favourite ingredients. There’s plenty of meat, including pork, beef, chicken and fish, as well as veggies like lettuce, bean sprouts, mushroom and more.

Parklet is on the corner of Hirodome Children’s Park, on the ground level of the aptly named Soil Nihonbashi co-working space. 

This bakery café is run by Kate Jaksich, who previously managed San Francisco’s famed Tartine Bakery and Jerry Jaksich, who worked at farm-to-table restaurant Chez Panisse in California. You can browse through Parklet’s freshly baked goods at the front of the store, while the back room displays a series of artworks by local Japanese artist Yoko Takahashi and other creators from the West Coast.

The stars of the menu are Parklet’s own sourdough bread and sustainably made coffee. While the classic Parklet Country Loaf (from ¥1,000) will go with anything, there are all kinds of loaves on offer, including sesame bread (¥1,200), olive bread (¥1,400) and even one with ginger and fruits (¥1,600).