Tokyo Food Guide Cheap Eats

Tokyo is known for it’s amazing food but trying to narrow down WHERE to eat is an incredibly difficult task! So I’ve put together a Tokyo Food Guide based on what I ate and a rating of my experience. This post will capture all the snacks and casual food I had (cheap eats) while I’ll have a separate post sharing the two Michelin Star restaurants I went to! I hope you find this Tokyo Food Guide Cheap Eats edition helpful for your vacation!

Snacks

第八蛸華丸
Type of Food: Takoyaki
Area: Harajuku
5/5

I love getting Takoyaki in Vancouver and definitely wanted to find some of these street snacks in Tokyo. There is a famous takoyaki cart in Harajuku among the shops and is a great place to stop and have a snack. It is just a food truck so there are no seats around and you have to stand around to eat. There are a few flavors available but I went for original and really enjoyed it! ~500 Yen for 6 pieces.

Sembakiya
Type of Food: Dessert
Area: Various, we went to Ginza
3/5

I was told that fruit parfaits are very popular in Tokyo and Sembakiya is the top place to go. It is quite expensive though with some of the parfaits being 2,000 yen. We ordered a less expensive version of the parfait (~1200 yen, and a slice of strawberry cake ~800 yen) I didn’t find it to be that special at all and definitely had better dessert elsewhere. In addition the line up was about 30 minutes to get in.

Reissue
Type of Food: Coffee
Area: Harajuku
3/5

I had a 3D latte in Hong Kong when I lived there and really wanted the experience again. Reissue can actually draw latte art of your face or do 3D latte art. I asked for a hippo but the photo I showed them as a bit simple so my 3D art didn’t turn out as intricate as some of the Instagram photos I have seen. The latte itself also didn’t taste great so it’s definitely just for the looks. ~1000 yen for the 3D latte.

Koffee Mameya
Type of Food: Coffee
Area: Omotesando
5/5

My boyfriend loves black coffee and Koffee Mameya has some of the most unique tasting coffee! Come here if you are a coffee snob! There’s no seating in here and you simply order a coffee to go. I also don’t think they do lattes as they specialize in pour overs. We bought a package of coffee beans home and love the taste!

Casual Eats

Itamae Sushi
Type of Food: Sushi
Area: Akasaka
Rating: 5/5

This was our first meal in Tokyo and wow wow wow it left a huge impression on me! I love sushi but I don’t love weird fish. I found Itamae Sushi’s menu focused on tuna which I loved! The restaurant also provided a super authentic experience where you take off your shoes at the door. We went right when it opened on a weekday and there was no line up. It slowly started to fill as we were eating. I highly recommend the Tuna nigiris and the Uni box set!

Raamemmanrai
Type of Food: Ramen
Area: Shinjuku
Rating: 5/5

When in Tokyo, you need to eat vending machine ramen! At this restaurant, there are photos in the storefront so you can just match up the characters to the machine. It was about 900Yen for a classic bowl of ramen! The restaurant is set up so that everyone eats at the counter and there was a consistent line up! We waited about 30 minutes for our seats and the clientele mostly seemed like locals coming here after work!

Sato Yosuke
Type of Food: Udon
Area: Ginza
Rating: 5/5

Udon wasn’t that high up on my list of things to eat, but Sato Yosuke completely changed my mind. The broth was so clean and clear and you can just taste a slight seafood from the dashi. I got the combo with tempura (~1500 Yen) and everything was delicious! It did seem like most people got the dipping noodles though. We lined up about 10 minutes before they opened and was able to snag one of the last seats! The restaurant is pretty large though for Tokyo standards so the line moves quick, and people eat even quicker!

Udon Shin
Type of Food: Udon
Area: Shinjuku
Rating: 4/5

Since we had such a good experience with Sato Yosuke, we decided to try another udon place and this was our last meal in Tokyo! Udon Shin is a typical Tokyo shop with a consistent line up and only 12 seats inside! We waited about an hour before we got in mostly because of a few slow eating customers. This place had more tourists than most other places we went to but the food is very authentic.

Sushi Zanmai
Type of Food: Sushi
Area: Tsukiji
Rating: 4/5

Every tour guide tells you to check which day Tsukiji is open so you don’t go disappointed. Since we weren’t really interested in the fish market, we didn’t check, but that left us disappointed to find every restaurant closed in the Tsukiji area! The glimmer of light was Sushi Zanmai which was packed full of people mostly tourists. The sushi was quite delicious and I highly recommend the miso soup which comes in a massive bowl!

I had such an amazing time in Tokyo having all this delicious food! Eating is really a huge part of the travel experience to Tokyo and I hope you enjoyed this Tokyo Food Guide Cheap Eats edition! I had such a great time in Tokyo and the only disappointing part of my trip was my experience with Robot Restaurant. If you prefer fine dining, make sure to check out my experience at these two Michelin star restaurants: L’Effervesence and Jimbocho Den!