best restaurants of Tokyo Archives - TRAVELIFE Magazine

Nagatacho Ohka: Tokyo’s Finest Dining Experience

Sun, 07 Sep 2025 07:43:12 +0000

I was intrigued when I first heard about Nagatacho Ohka. This private restaurant in Tokyo has no website and no public phone number. At first, I expected little more than exclusivity. However, I was unprepared to be amazed.

After all, I have stayed in some of the best hotels in the world and dined at the finest restaurants. My standards are high. Even so, my interest was piqued.

On a recent stopover in Tokyo, I accepted an invitation to dinner from Christine Cunanan, the director of Nagatacho Ohka. She lives mainly in Tokyo, yet also owns La Esperanza Granada, a luxury hacienda-style hotel in Southern Spain that was recently awarded Best of the Best for 2025 by Trip Advisor, placing it in one of the top 1% of all lodgings worldwide.

A BEAUTIFUL HOUSE IN TOKYO

Nagatacho Ohka sits in a 100-year-old wooden building near the official residence of the Prime Minister of Japan. Previously, it was a famous soba and shabu shabu restaurant owned by the family of Akira Kurosawa, Japan’s most celebrated film director.

The restaurant closed during the pandemic. During that time, Christine Cunanan and her partners took over the space. They renovated the entire building to the highest standards, working with some of the finest craftsmen in Japan. “We didn’t really have a budget in mind when we renovated this,” said Christine. “We just wanted to be the best dining experience in Japan.”

THE BEST OF JAPANESE FOOD

And indeed, the result exceeded my already high expectations. Every design detail felt impeccable. From the start, the long, dark bar — inspired by a Kyoto machiya townhouse — made a statement.

Meanwhile, the lively open-plan Chef’s Counter seated 15 guests in an atmosphere of energy and warmth.

Upstairs, four private rooms awaited. Each carried a different mood and theme, yet all were beautiful. If you asked mewhich one was best, I would have no answer. It truly depends on who you are with and what kind of mood you are in.

Q&A with Christine Cunanan, Director of Nagatacho Ohka

Q: Is it true that Nagatacho Ohka is the best restaurant in Tokyo?

A: I like to think so. There are very few restaurants in Tokyo — if not in the world — that are private and non-commercial. Without the pressures of a commercial establishment, we are free to offer the best dining experience possible. Many guests afterwards tell me that dinner at our restaurant was one of the best food experiences they’ve had.

Q: If you are the best restaurant in Tokyo, are you also the most expensive?

A: We are definitely not cheap. But price is relative. However I can 100% confirm that most foreign guests feel satisfied with their experience because they oftentimes return on their next visit to Japan, and sometimes even twice or thrice on the same visit. This would not happen so often if guests did not feel we offer value.

No restaurant will be able to please everyone, especially as the value of a dinner depends on the perceptions of each person and his or her personal circumstances. However, most of our guests are very happy with the Nagatacho Ohka experience.

Q: Some people are wondering why they see so few Japanese guests compared to foreigners.

A: First, we tend to put foreigners in our first floor Chef’s Counter because they like sitting around the counter and watching the chefs. Meanwhile, Japanese guests are usually regulars who have their favorite rooms for entertaining on the second floor. They rarely book the chef’s counter because they prefer to dine in privacy. For this reason, a diner eating at our Chef’s Counter will probably see mostly other foreigners dining in the restaurant. The Japanese members are all in the private rooms upstairs.

Second, we are a private restaurant and we have decided to accept only Japanese diners who are friends or associates of our restaurant partners. It is a very strict policy because the owners want to relax only with people they know. Currently, the restaurant caters to only 50 Japanese and their friends and associates.

Meanwhile, foreign guests can eat at Nagatacho Ohka on an introduction basis. For example, if you know me or someone I know, or if you are a guest of one of our luxury travel partners, then you are able to easily book at Nagatacho Ohka as long as we have availability. So the window is larger as many of Tokyo’s top hotels such as the Four Seasons, Bulgari Hotel, Aman Tokyo, Janu Tokyo and the Park Hyatt Tokyo send their guests to us.

THE WORLD’S ONLY JAPANESE LACQUER ROOM

For dinner, we began in the Urushi no Heya, said to be the world’s only Japanese lacquer room. Frankly, it was stunning. A long lacquer dining table dominated the space. The ceiling, also covered in lacquer, glowed with elegance. Most impressive, a golden peacock stretched across the room — etched in delicate detail and mirrored above. You have to see itto truly appreciate its beauty.

Dinner itself was unforgettable. At Nagatacho Ohka, there is no set menu. Instead, chefs — many trained in Michelin-starred restaurants — roll out wagons filled with seafood, vegetables, and the finest beef in Japan. Yes, the finest beef, and not just A5 wagyu.

This beef comes from a farm in Kagoshima, southern Japan, recognized by the Japanese beef industry as producing the nation’s #1 meat. From these ingredients, chefs and guests create a menu together. Diners share their wishes, and the chefs suggest dishes. For my part, I asked for the house specialties, steak, and garlic rice.

WONDERFUL BEGINNINGS AT NAGATACHO OHKA

But first came the appetizers, paired with flutes of sparkling sake. “We also have champagne,” Christine explained, “but really good sparkling sake is rare outside Japan. I always recommend it to foreign guests.”

We began with caviar tucked inside a cheese-flavored brioche bun. (Who would have guessed this pairing would work so perfectly?) Next, a delicate sandwich of chateaubriand from the Kagoshima farm appeared. After that, I enjoyed slices of tender abalone with thick seaweed sauce and sushi rice.

By then, I was already happy. Every bite felt like a promise of what was still to come.

THE FIRST DREAM MENU

But this was not dinner yet. It was only the beginning. The rest of the meal unfolded like a dream.

We began with two kinds of sashimi, lightly seared over charcoal and seasoned only with salt. There was no need for soy sauce. The fish included black throat (nodoguro) and golden eye (kinmeidai), both delicate and flavorful.

Next came a traditional Japanese clear soup. It featured a perfectly filleted slice of spring fish (amadai) and a crisp tempura of vegetables and swordfish. The swordfish tempura was unforgettable — light, crunchy, and full of flavor.

THE MAIN EVENTS

After that, we tasted buttery Hokkaido scallops, sautéed and topped with rosemary purée. Then came something unexpected: an original pasta made from live French lobster, with noodles shaped like a cone. At first glance, I would never have guessed it was pasta.

Finally, a beautiful steak arrived, paired with fresh wasabi and sea salt from Himeji in Western Japan. A bowl of garlic rice sat on the side. I said “finally” because I thought the meal was over.

To my surprise, Christine handed me another menu. “This is our comfort food menu,” she said. “Japanese love to end a fancy meal with comfort food, so we offer soba and even spaghetti Napolitan. You cannot leave without trying them.”

HOW TO CREATE A DREAM DINNER

We ended up ordering about seven dishes from the comfort food menu, and every single one was delicious. The soba, for example, is prepared by a famous soba master who works full-time onsite. He has been making soba for more than thirty years. His handmade noodles, mixed with 80% buckwheat flour, are so delicate it is hard to believe they are cut by hand.

Other standouts included omelette rice made with egg yolks the color of golden sunshine, a crisp minced meat cutlet, and the signature spaghetti Napolitan. As food lovers know, this dish does not exist in Italy. It was invented in Japan long ago, based on what people imagined Italians ate. In truth, there is no spaghetti Napolitan in Italy, so Japan is the only place you can enjoy it.

At Nagatacho Ohka, the version is addictive. The pasta has just the right touch of spiciness, with thin slices of sausage folded into the sauce. And for those who prefer extra heat, a bottle of Tabasco comes on the side — exactly the way it was served in Japanese coffee shops decades ago, before Tokyo became the cosmopolitan city it is today.

WHERE TO EAT SPAGHETTI NAPOLITAN IN TOKYO

As food lovers know, there is no such thing as spaghetti Napolitan in Italy. This pasta was created in Japan decades ago, inspired by what people imagined Italians ate. In truth, the dish does not exist in Italy, so Japan is the only place where you can enjoy it.

At Nagatacho Ohka, their version is irresistible. The pasta has just the right level of spiciness, with thin slices of sausage mixed into the sauce. For those who like extra heat, a bottle of Tabasco comes on the side. This detail reflects tradition, since spaghetti Napolitan was once served the same way in Japanese coffee shops before Tokyo grew into the cosmopolitan city it is today.

SWEET ENDINGS AT NAGATACHO OHKA

Nagatacho Ohka also offers a long dessert menu. After such a feast, I chose a simple medley of homemade ice cream in original flavors.

First, a refreshing plum and perilla leaf sorbet acted as a palate cleanser. Next, came a creamy kinako ice cream, flavored with roasted soybean flour. After that, a Japanese cinnamon ice cream arrived, with crunchy bits of bark folded in. Finally, the matcha ice cream closed the meal. Matcha is common in Japan and abroad, but this version used the highest grade of green tea. The taste balanced perfectly between subtle sweetness and refined bitterness.

Just like everything else at Nagatacho Ohka, the desserts were better than expected.

(Guests staying at top Tokyo hotels like Aman, Bulgari, Janu, the Grand Hyatt, the New Otani and the Ritz Carlton, among others, can book Nagatacho Ohka through their concierge. Or you can message Christine Cunanan on LinkedIn and tell her you read about the restaurant in my LinkedIn post.)

The post Nagatacho Ohka: Tokyo’s Finest Dining Experience appeared first on TRAVELIFE Magazine.

Peter serves the best steaks in Tokyo

Wed, 28 Oct 2020 03:37:53 +0000

To tell you the truth, my expectations for dinner at Peter, the fine dining restaurant of The Peninsula Tokyo, were high, but not high enough to be swept off my feet. This swanky restaurant at the top of a luxury hotel with arguably the best location in Tokyo is named after a real person. Peter was a valued top executive of The Peninsula Hotels group. It is a lovely idea and such a nice way to pay tribute to a loyal and hardworking man. Nevertheless, there is nothing in this name to hint at a particular cuisine or food type. Or to inspire gastronomic dreams.

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

However, although the name may have conjured nothing more than a neutral feeling at the outset for me, the interiors certainly impressed at first glance. Few restaurants have the luxury of enough space to create a 21st century high-tech fairy-tale atmosphere. But this is exactly what Peter is like.

Alighting from an elevatory that takes you straight to the top from the lobby, you enter a large room with mood lighting and tinges of blue and purple. The first thing you see are life-sized silver trees at the bar. It’s a bit like being in a disco in winter all year round — and it’s so pretty to see. So bar clients sit under this canopy of silver glitter with a view of the busy Harumi Avenue below.

ABOUT PETER OF THE PENINSULA TOKYO

Meanwhile, the restaurant proper is basically a sophisticated venue with tables arranged by the floor to ceiling windows to maximize the views. There are several more tables around a walkway that resembles a fashion runway. It’s perfect for events and parties. And on regular days, it makes for an interesting feeling to get to your window-side table via this catwalk that is visible to most other diners.

This is the kind of restaurant you dress up for, if you so want to. It’s the right place to use that designer dress just hanging in the closet for ages. And I can tell you that walking across that catwalk in fashionable attire is definitely a good way to start a special evening.

WHERE TO HAVE LOBSTER BISQUE IN TOKYO

Lovely as the design was, the revelation that night was the food. The starters were wonderful, and the lobster bisque was particularly memorable. However, the best part of the evening was the delicious steaks. These were among the best I’ve had in Tokyo in recent memory.

The cuts of meat on offer were unparalleled, even by Tokyo’s high standards, both for quality and unique provenance. These were not at all the usual good wagyu beef. In fact, they were mainly cuts not found on a typical steak menu.

A RIB EYE FROM OKINAWA

For example, there was a rib-eye from Okinawa on the menu. Okinawa? Who would have thought Okinawa would ever be associated with amazing steaks? Of course I had to have this. I was not disappointed either. I’d never heard anyone praise Okinawa beef in any way. And yet that evening, I had steak from Okinawa that was so delicious that I stopped talking to my companions.

READ ABOUT BREAKFAST PLANNED BY A MICHELIN TWO STAR CHEF IN TOKYO

“This is definitely a restaurant for a special celebration,” we all said to each other. Peter is not cheap, by the way. But neither is it crazy expensive by Japan fine dining rates. And the steaks are so good that we all felt we’d enjoyed a meal of excellent value. Hearts and stomachs were definitely full, and we will certainly be back.

More importantly, this was probably the best steak I’d had in a very long time. And in a city like Tokyo, that’s a big statement and a tough act to beat.

See more about the best hotels and ryokan in Japan in Travelife Magazine.

SPAIN’S NEWEST LUXURY HOTEL HAS FIVE HECTARES AND ONLY FIVE ROOMS

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Teppanyaki in a beautiful garden in Tokyo

Mon, 17 Aug 2020 05:58:28 +0000

In the summer, Tokyo residents love visiting the famous gardens of Chinzanso. It’s the perfect summer treat, to dine in one of the restaurants and then to take a walk in the gardens.

Chinzanso has many lovely restaurants. But summer is synonymous with the Mokushundo restaurant in the garden. This dining venue is well-known for its teppanyaki set courses and its kaiseki cuisine that is cooked in a beautiful antique iron kettle.

TEPPANYAKI AT MOKUSHUNDO

The teppanyaki course is especially popular because Mokushundo has private teppan tables for each group. Moreover, each cooking slab is very special. The slabs are lava stones that have been brought down from Mount Fuji. They are supposed to impart a special flavor and energy to the food.

STAYCATION AT CHINZANSO

It was at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan, when we checked into Chinzanso for a staycation. And as this massive hotel complex is so comfortable, we decided to simply stay in and try out all the restaurants.

Interestingly, it seems that many Tokyo residents had similar plans. Arriving at the hotel, we were quite surprised to find so many people waiting to check-in in spite of the pandemic. Or perhaps, they’re opting for a staycation at Chinzanso because it’s a safe hotel to stay in during the pandemic.

READ ABOUT THE BEST NEW HOTEL IN SPAIN

COVID-19 SAFETY PROTOCOLS

The hotel follows a strict protocol for ensuring that guests and hotel staff are kept as safe as possible. This includes temperature checks and mandatory masks at the hotel entrance and at every restaurant. So once you’re inside Chinzanso, you feel safe and relaxed.

Mokushundo too was full of diners. Every table was occupied and second seatings were being arranged. We had a 6 PM reservation and so many families were already in the middle of their dinners when we walked in. When we walked out two hours later, there were still groups of diners waiting outside in the garden for their tables.

FAVORITE JAPANESE RESTAURANT

Mokushundo is a great favorite of many Tokyo families. In fact, this traditional Japanese restaurant has been operating for such a long time that generations of Japanese families have grown up coming here for weekend meals and celebrations.

As the restaurant is famous for its stone-grilled kaiseki dinners, we ordered the seafood course. A lady in a kimono brought most of the ingredients for the meal to the table. Then she proceeded to cook every course in front of us. So practically every dish was prepared in front of us and we enjoyed these piping hot.

FOOD INSPIRED BY SUMMER

The appetizers were works of art. Every tray arrived showing off a balance of colors and design inspired by summer. The lady first brought the cold appetizers. Then she proceeded to prepare the hot dishes as we ate.

The piece de resistance was a half lobster, still in its shell, cooked right at the table. Then came the traditional Japanese bowl of rice accompanied by pickles and miso soup.

However, this time there was a nice twist. My rice bowl had flecks of oxtail and colorful crunchy decoration. Just as I was about to it eat as is, the lady in the kimono cautioned: “Please pour some of the tea from this teapot into the rice before eating.”

Japanese call this mixture of rice and tea “o-chazuke.” It’s incredibly good.

TWO DESSERTS IN A ROW

We had ice cream for dessert. A traditional Japanese restaurant usually serves fresh fruits or a small sweet at the end of the meal. We were also given this option, but we decided to have the home-made ice cream of Chinzanso instead.

Then came a second dessert after dinner. We walked back to our hotel through the gardens. Instead of taking the normal walking route, we climbed up a hill and were rewarded with the view of a most beautiful pagoda, all lit up amidst the dramatic darkness of the gardens.

Read more about the best hotels and resorts in Japan in Travelife Magazine.

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The secret list of the best restaurants in Tokyo

Sun, 15 Sep 2019 11:41:21 +0000

So over the summer in Tokyo, living a Travelife, a friend took me to a restaurant without signs or a proper entrance. It’s included in the secret list of Tokyo’s best restaurants, compiled by Japanese gourmet who don’t agree with the Michelin Guide or who don’t want their favorite restaurants filled with foreigners reading guidebooks.

THE SECRET LIST

In a way, it”s quite understandable. Once a restaurant becomes famous, it also becomes almost impossible to book. Oftentimes, the prices rise as well. Soon, the locals are edged out of their own favourite restaurants.

Anyhow, those in the know consider this particular nondescript restaurant to be the best restaurant for a kaiseki meal in Tokyo right now. They don’t serve strangers so you must get your reservation via a regular.

NO CREDIT CARDS IN JAPAN

And even if the cost of a meal here is about the same as a flight ticket from Asia to Paris, for example, the restaurant doesn’t accept credit cards. So imagine the kind of cash you have to bring to eat here, especially if you are treating one or two friends to dinner.

MY ADVANCE BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

“Consider this an advanced birthday treat,” my friend said. I haven’t quite begun thinking of birthday celebrations yet. But if you must know, instead of doing the usual dinners in Tokyo and Manila, I thought I’d go to Tibet this year to take a course on Tibetan singing bowl therapies. Just an idea. And I also have a time constraint, as I must be in Macao for business soon after.

IT’S THE THOUGHT THAT COUNTS

Well, even if it was way in advance, this dinner did really a birthday treat, as well. I didn’t see the bill, but I have a feeling we could have flown to Europe for the weekend on the price of that very exclusive meal.

This restaurant is not on any of the international foodie lists. So it’s really just on this secret list of the best restaurants in Tokyo. In fact, it’s so under the radar that I’d never even heard of it before. However, one day, this friend, who is one of the biggest big-time foodies in Japan, finally took me. This is when I immediately understood what the fuss was all about.

NO SIGNS, NO PUBLICITY AT THE BEST RESTAURANTS IN TOKYO

Actually, there is no fuss, except if you know of it and want to get in. First, it doesn’t have a sign. Those who are on the secret list of the best restaurants in Tokyo definitely want to remain there, so they avoid fanfare.

It has a very small logo somewhere in its very unobtrusive entrance. So someone who doesn’t have any idea of what he or she is looking for will miss it by a mile. And this is exactly what the owner/ chef wants.

Basically, his philosophy is: if you don’t know about this place, you don’t need to be here.

Just a handful of serious foodies keep him in business and he’s perfectly happy with this. He hates publicity so I actually had to leave my phones in my coat pocket at the entrance.

A VERY EXCLUSIVE CLUB THAT ISN’T RECRUITING NEW MEMBERS

Second, the restaurants on this secret list of the best restaurants in Tokyo are all like little clubs.

Everyone knows everyone and everyone’s in business with each other because Tokyo is a actually a very small world within a very big city.

Being the outsider and a semi-foreigner in Japan, I actually didn’t know anyone when we walked in, although I knew of some of them. It’s a small place so you can scout out the territory in one glance.

ONLY REGULARS ALLOWED

Third, most are regulars who keep the chef in business so he doesn’t need new customers.

In fact, when we walked in, the chef was at the counter and he didn’t even look up from slicing some sashimi to greet us. That’s how much regulars regard this place as their “kitchen.”

A CONVERSATION MIDWAY

Then, still without looking up, the chef said to my friend: “So, did you get it?”

My friend didn’t miss a beat. He replied: “Nope. I just realised I don’t even have time to use the others.”

Of course I had no idea what they were discussing as it was probably part two, part three or part four of an ongoing conversation between them.

But later I found out that my friend had been thinking of ordering a custom-made Aston Martin to complement his garage of equally expensive toys, and this was what the conversation was about.

AT LAST, SOMEONE I KNOW

A little later, one of Japan’s richest men walks in.

Aha. Finally I knew someone personally. And it’s interesting how I could instantly feel my stock rise in the eyes of the chef.

This latest guest, a very learned and courteous old gentleman, was once at the top of Japan’s rich list for something like 10 years, until the IT guys started to muscle their way into the list.

He’s still in the top 10, I think. But if you’ve been # 1 for a long time, I don’t think it’s a nice feeling to suddenly go down a couple of notches.

MY NEIGHBOR WHO JUST BOUGHT VIBER TOOK HIS PLACE

And now one of the top IT guys on the list — #3 or #4 perhaps — is my neighbour and I once could see his living room from mine. He bought the app Viber sometime back as a hobby, I think, and he’s eclipsed my old friend in terms of wealth.

Anyway, I know this guy who walked in because we share a fence with him in a summer holiday area of Japan where lots of people from Tokyo have weekend houses.

It’s not as posh as Karuizawa, for instance, which is where the Emperor and Empress met each other while playing tennis. Karuizawa is ground zero for the very social in the summer here in Tokyo.

It’s the kind of place where you have to wear casual designer wear just to go to the supermarket to buy stuff for breakfast, lest you feel out of place.

A MORE RELAXED SORT OF PLACE

Our area, which is thankfully much nearer Tokyo than Karuizawa, is much more relaxed but it has a very nice community that includes this gentleman.

He said to me: “I haven’t seen you for awhile.”

Yes, I haven’t been to my summer house in a very long time, since I’ve been busy with a Travelife. But many years back, he and his wife would just knock on my door on summer weekends when they knew I was around and drop off organic vegetables from the garden of their summer house.

They have a pretty amazing house with a sauna that has a perfect view of Mount Fuji.

A TRULY MIND-BLOWING MEAL

Anyway, we all had fun last Thursday night, in Tokyo, living a Travelife.

And the 12-course kaiseki dinner that was served was truly mind-blowing in taste and refinement. It was not overly dramatic way the way many of the three-star Michelin kaiseki places make such a production of a meal, so that you can’t decide whether you’re at a restaurant or at an art exhibit. But it was spectacular.

(Mind you. I happen to like the art exhibit-type of presentation too. But last Thursday’s meal was not that way, but simply beautiful too.)

This was one of the many courses at lunch last Wednesday
at a Michelin two-star Japanese restaurant

ONE OF MY BEST JAPANESE MEALS

This was truly one of the best Japanese meals I’ve had, in my never-ending, and never-endingly eventful Travelife, full of good food and meals at some of the best restaurants in the world.

And what a pity I can’t write about this place lest I get blacklisted from this group and I never get to eat here again. So, unfortunately, no details and no photos.

Click here to read about

this ultra-secret list of

Tokyo’s best restaurants

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Where to eat tempura in Tokyo

Sat, 07 Jul 2018 13:58:38 +0000

Today we had a tempura lunch at Tatsumi at the Palace Hotel Tokyo, a member of The Leading Hotels of the World. This is one of the top restaurants in Japan, and I consider it one of the best restaurants for Japanese food in Tokyo.

Tatsumi is a small restaurant with excellent Japanese food and flawless service.