Tempura

Tsunahachi (MUST EAT!!)
Well-raved about chain serving high quality tempura at affordable prices. Take a look at its menu here.

The ample ¥1365 set (available only from 11am to 4pm) comes with two prawns, white fish, three veg, eel, small shrimp kakiage, rice, pickles and soup.

You can tell from the picture just how delightly light and crisp the batter is. Flagship store is at Shinjuku, just east of the train station. Gnavi map here. Take the first avenue parallel to Shinjuku and turn right at Mitsukoshi South Bldg, it'll be on the left. Review of the more upscale branch Rin here. Great review here too.


Imoya (天丼いもや)
This tiny nondescript shop is synonymous with Kanda-Jimbocho and proof that good tempura does not have to be expensive. Only two items on its menu - tempura set (600 yen) and shrimp tempura (¥800), and it does them well. A quick 3 minute walk from the A5 exit of the Jimbocho station. The restaurant consists of a beautiful counter, apparently cut from a single board, with about 15 seats. The tempura set gets you rice, hot tea, miso soup with clams and, most importantly of all, 5 pieces of tempura - squid, shrimp, kisu (“sillago” in English — I’ve never heard of it), pumpkin and shiso leaf. Oh they have a tonkatsu specialty branch nearby too.
1-4,Kanda, Jinbo-cho, Chiyoda-ku,Tokyo
Open 11:00～20:00
Closed: Alternate Wednesdays
Tokyo Good Eats review
Patrick.com review


Aoi-Marushin (葵丸進), 1-4-4 Asakusa, tel. +81-3-3841-0110
Just a few minutes away from Sensoji Temple, this is one of Tokyo's largest (and less expensive) tempura restaurants. Also serves sashimi and eel, as well as Kaiseki upstairs for a fraction of the price of what specialist restaurants would charge. Asakusa was apparently famous for tempura during the Edo period. Hmm, the teishoku (set meals) are still upwards of ¥2000 though. Well, will only visit if in vicinity.

I know, I know, Ten-Ichi is *the* place to go for really good tempura (foreign VIPs/diplomats often dine there) but it's also very expensive. Has a special sauce (or, if you prefer, you can dip the morsels in lemon juice with a pinch of salt). There are a dozen Ten-ichi restaurants in Tokyo. Locations include the Ginza Sony Building at the intersection of Harumi Dori and Sotobori Dori (tel. 03/3571-3837; station: Hibiya or Ginza); the Imperial Hotel's Tower basement (tel. 03/3503-1001; station: Hibiya); Akasaka Tokyu Plaza (tel. 03/3581-2166; station: Akasaka-mitsuke); and Isetan department store, 3-14-1 Shinjuku (tel. 03/5379-3039; station: Shinjuku Sanchome).