Food and drink

When Keiji Mori opened his restaurant Maru in Aoyama more than a decade ago he surprised Tokyo diners with his brand of casual Kyoto cooking. His fans’ only complaint was that it didn’t open for lunch; Mori solved that problem by opening another Maru in Ginza that serves lunch and dinner. 

The lunch menu features dishes such as chicken nabe and yellowtail with a light teriyaki sauce and is exceptionally good value. Mori sources the best seasonal ingredients and even the standard elements of a Japanese meal – the rice, pickles and miso soup – are superior. The atmosphere at dinner is relaxed but don’t be deceived: this is seriously good cooking. 

Two years after opening his first coffee stand, Daisuke Matsushima has moved into a more permanent home in Nishihara. It is here that the self-taught barista whips up his espressos using beans from Stumptown Coffee Roasters in Portland, Oregon. The café has a lived-in feel – Matsushima renovated the 40-year-old apartment space and filled it with antique furniture, vintage floorboards and old music equipment, including vinyl and a cassette player. On warm days, head for one of the coveted seats out front, shaded by a cherry-blossom tree.

Opened in 2014 on the city’s east side, this is the Tokyo branch of Osaka-based Wine Shop Fujimaru. With its stash of 1,500 bottles from the world’s finest regions, Fujimaru caters to restaurateurs and wine aficionados as well as having a 19-seat diner. Owner Tomofumi Fujimaru’s idea was to feature affordable table wines, including those produced from Japanese grapes at his own Shimanouchi Fujimaru Winery in Osaka.

As the name suggests, the Imperial Hotel, in business since 1890, is a thoroughly classy establishment. The Old Imperial Bar on the second-floor mezzanine exhibits the best traits of an old-school approach. Sit at the long counter and sip cocktails made meticulously by bartenders in bow ties. And note the Oya stone and terracotta walls: they are from the 1923 building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright that was demolished to make way for the current digs, which date back to 1968.

There is no better place for a traditional Japanese breakfast than Yakumo-Saryo on the city’s west side. Don’t expect bacon and eggs, though: your first meal of the day is likely to include white rice, miso soup, himono (semi-dried fish), pickles and konbu tsukudani , a soy-sauce-stewed kelp dish. 

Created by design firm Simplicity, Yakumo-Saryo resembles a villa: it has a well-kept garden, split-level dining rooms and antique wooden furniture. In the tea salon a sommelier selects the green and roasted teas. The Japanese wagashi desserts (with azuki bean filling or sprinkled with sweet roasted soybean flour) are made by hand every day.