Ranking
The best places to eat in Japan
An editorial ranking of restaurants, cafés and bars: grades from A+ to F, price range, and the Tabelog score where one exists.
Places ranked: 1,522
Hallal Food Marhaba: Authentic Pakistani Cuisine
Fukuoka · Casual Dining
A tiny, highly-regarded Pakistani restaurant in Fukuoka's Hakomatsu district, serving a daily-rotating menu. It's a destination for its authentic, boldly spiced biryani and curries, with an attached halal grocery.
Book days aheadView details
Ichin yoan: Vegetable-Forward Soba in a Traditional House
Nara · Casual Dining
A soba house in a renovated traditional home in Uda, Nara, celebrated for its vegetable-forward dishes. Visitors make the trip for the exceptional handmade soba, seasonal vegetable tempura, and the signature box-pressed vegetable sushi.
Book days aheadView details
Hitokuchi Gyoza Tenya: Famed Bite-Sized Dumplings
Fukuoka · Izakaya
A tiny, acclaimed izakaya in Kurume, Fukuoka, celebrated for its signature 'hitokuchi' gyoza. Visitors come for the perfectly crispy-yet-juicy dumplings and the adventurous drink pairings, from natural wines to spiced shochu.
Book days aheadView details
Teuchi Soba Hayashi: Artisanal Handmade Soba
Nara · Casual Dining
A celebrated soba restaurant in Koryo, Nara, known for its unique three-soba tasting set. It offers a deep dive into the craft of noodle-making, showcasing different buckwheat milling and cutting styles for dedicated enthusiasts.
No bookingView details
Washokuya Taichi: Creative Izakaya Cuisine
Tokyo · Izakaya
A highly regarded izakaya in Kitasenzoku, known for its inventive dishes and technical skill. Visitors come for its two famous signatures: a complex salad of over 20 vegetables and a remarkably thick pork katsu sandwich.
Book months aheadView details
Soba Kiri Kanbee: A soba tasting counter
Fukuoka · Fine Dining
An intimate 8-seat counter in Fukuoka's Baikoen district, run by a husband-and-wife team. It's known for a multi-course soba tasting that explores different noodle textures, served with live-cooked tempura or grilled duck.
Book days aheadView details
Izumo Soba Dandan: Authentic Izumo-style soba in Nara
Nara · Casual Dining
A family-run shop in Nara serving authentic Izumo-style soba, made in-house from 100% buckwheat flour. By day, it's a soba and tempura spot; by night, a seasonal omakase with influences from Shimane prefecture.
Book days aheadView details
Hakata Issou: Iconic Hakata Tonkotsu Ramen
Fukuoka · Casual Dining
A celebrated ramen shop in Fukuoka's Hakata district, famous for its intensely rich and foamy tonkotsu broth, often called a 'pork bone cappuccino'. It's a prime destination for a definitive Hakata ramen experience, but be prepared to queue.
No tables in the next 2 monthsView details
SAVOY: A Singular Beef Curry Counter
Hyōgo · Casual Dining
In the basement of a Sannomiya shopping plaza in Kobe, SAVOY is a legendary counter that has perfected a single dish: a rich, fruit-sweet Japanese beef curry. Go for a quick, deeply satisfying, and affordable meal that's a local institution.
No bookingView details
Menya Takakura Nijou: Smoky Fish and Pork Ramen
Kyoto · Casual Dining
In Kyoto's Nakagyo ward, Menya Takakura Nijou serves one of the city's most distinctive bowls of ramen. It draws crowds for its dense, creamy fish-and-pork broth, lifted by a smoky char and often paired with bright yuzu-infused noodles.
No bookingView details
Kawa Taro Nakasu Honten: Live Squid Sashimi
Fukuoka · Fine Dining
Famous for its live squid, served straight from a central tank in the dining room. Located in Fukuoka's Nakasu district, it's a spectacle where you see your transparent sashimi prepared, then enjoy the rest as tempura.
No tables in the next 2 monthsView details
Fuglen Tokyo: Oslo Coffee Culture by Day & Night
Tokyo · Café
The Tokyo outpost of a famed Oslo café, Fuglen brings Scandinavian vintage design and specialty coffee to a quiet corner of Tomigaya. By day it's a world-class coffee shop; by night, it transforms into a sophisticated cocktail bar.
No bookingView details
Menya Inoichi: Refined Dashi-Based Ramen
Kyoto · Casual Dining
A celebrated Kyoto ramen shop known for its clear, dashi-forward broth made with freshly shaved katsuobushi. Located in the Shimogyo ward, it offers a refined alternative to heavier styles, but be prepared for its popular ticketed queueing system.
No bookingView details
























