Michelin Meals for under $50 in Tokyo

Eat a Michelin Meal for under $50

Popular culture would tell you that eating at a Michelin recognized restaurant is guaranteed to set you back hundreds of dollars, likely take hours, and require a suit jacket. Fortunately, this just isn't the case. These highly-recommended Michelin awarded restaurants in Tokyo invite travelers to experience world-class food for less than a train pass.

1. Fry-ya （Fry家）/ Tonkatsu

Bib Gourmand

Michelin Guide, 2025

There are quite a few restaurants in Japan that live by the notion of "many good things in many small bites," but Fry-ya may be the only one devoted exclusively to panko-breaded "katsu" style fried food. With a menu that expands far beyond just tonkatsu, diners at this Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant won't have to break the bank to try world-renouned cuisine. Fry-ya's chef, Nishiyama Michiyasu shrugged off high-end dining in Ginza to take on the challenge of transforming comfort food into approachable gastronomy at his Takadanobaba restaurant. Choose the ingredients that pique your interest and Fry-ya will create an unforgettable course of crunchy treasures.

2. Le Monde Gourmand （ル モンド グルマン）/ French

Bib Gourmand

Michelin Guide, 2025

A name like "Le Monde Gourmand" implies the pomp and circumstance of fine french dining, but this approachable bistro in Jiyugaoka couldn't be more different. The menu consists of a few staples that are always available for a la carte ordering and an ever-changing blackboard of recommended specials. Diners can visit for course menus of 5 to 6 dishes or enjoy ordering from a menu that has been rated among the 5000 best restaurants in Japan and earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand. Classical, hearty french dishes with an emphasis on made in-house and pie-wrapped entrees are the signature fare of this restaurant.

3. l'Odorante par MinoruNakijin （ロドラントミノルナキジン）/ French

Selected Restaurant

Michelin Guide, 2025

Chef Minoru Nakajin opened L'Odorante in 2008. He became enraptured with "Japonesque" cuisine, a term which has fallen out of popular discourse but perfectly encapsulates the delicate refinement of Japan-inspired French cuisine. The name of the restaurant is inspired by his time in Grasse, a region of France considered the capital of perfume. His dishes are highly fragrant and layered with creativity. This Michelin selection in Ginza checks all the boxes that diners expect from a fine French restaurant - except the price tag. For lunch, diners can enjoy an impressive 7 course menu for just over $30. Diners at dinner will find a satisfying array of courses for splurge-worthy occaisons.

4. La Brianza （ラ・ブリアンツァ）/ Italian

Selected Restaurant

Michelin Guide, 2025

A part of the celebrated Brianza group, La Brianza in Roppongi is a Michelin selection where diners can enjoy weekday lunch for as little as $20. The four course menu includes La Brianza's signature truffle gratin and dessert. Even the longer 8 dish course menu is still just over $50 with the current conversion rate. La Brianza prides itself on authentic Italian food with accents of Japanese flavor. The restaurant also prescribes to the philosophy of slow food, honoring the work that goes in to create dishes in tune with seasonality and locale. For special occasions, Sakaeya (a legendary butcher) supplies sumptuous aged wagyu steaks.

5. Hibinoryori Viola （日日の料理 びおら）/ Kaiseki

Selected Restaurant

Michelin Guide, 2025

Many chefs trace their inspiration back to the family kitchen. At viola, a mother-daughter team turn elegant kaiseki into a background for experiencing these humble flavors. Their family are the heads of a major school of tea-thought, a history that informs the delicacy and hospitality of Hiroo's Hibinoryouri Viola. For lunch, casual prices accompany the short set-meal style menu that pulls bites and mains from the formal omakase menu. The flavors and dishes are all things found at a typical Japanese family table -- panko fried mains, freshly steamed rice and particularly selected miso. This Michelin selection was founded to spread and preserve the flavors of Japan's home kitchens.

6. D'êtraison （デトレゾン）/ French

This French bistro in Jiyugaoka, operated by former chef of Feu and Bis, Kousuke Mita, is a hidden taste of the classics. For lunch, both the A and B courses are comfortably under $50. A special short dinner course on weekdays and even the "D'etre" dinner course won't be too much of a budget stretch. Diners will enjoy customizeable lunches -- they can choose their own appetizers and main dishes from a selection of daily offerings. Despite a dedication to French cuisine, the chef has made risottos a restaurant specialty, responding to the demand for a carb-based finishing bite. Guests appreciate the reasonably priced wine pairings and smart Japanese interior design as well.

7. Menya Shichisai （麺や七彩）/ Ramen

Just ten minutes from Tokyo station, ramen fans will find a rare and treasured bowl that upends the notion of "sit and get" high-speed noodle slurping. After ordering, each bowl's noodles are cut and massaged one by one. The ramen is a kitakata style, and the noodles themselves are thick and textural. Menya Shichisai is the central location of the original Shokudo in West Tokyo. They also serve seasonal bowls of ramen; repeat visits are encouraged. Each staff member undergoes old-fashioned training to make noodles by hand before being given other duties. Regardless of the soup chosen, the 6-flour blend noodles are the star, taking just 5 minutes from start to pot.

8. HASUO （ハスオ）/ Ethnic

Selected Restaurant

Michelin Guide, 2025

Elevated, contemporary Korean in a Korean chef's hands makes Hiroo's Hasuo an unforgettable meal. The restaurant has become synonymous with gejang gejang, marinated crabs modernized for today's diners. However, a resplendant array of 16 banchan side dishes steals the show with color aroma and texture that can be endlessly mixed and matched. The most affordable course starts under $50, but any selection allows diners to try chef Park's colorful vegetables and incredible technique. Like Japan, Korea's fine foods rely on a balance of five techniques and five colors, all of which can be enjoyed here.

9. Sugita （すぎ田）/ Tonkatsu

Bib Gourmand

Michelin Guide, 2025

Sugita was started by the current chef's father in 1977. The menu only lists 7 items, plus drinks. As a Michelin selection, Sugita stands out for technique that puts effort into the details with lasser focus. A basic, clean countertop and two shining copper frying pots create a lovely atmosphere for the chef to focus on his work, and diners to focus on the food. Prices might run a little high for comfort food, but the flavors are a concentrated exercise in restraint, bringing the food of the people to new heights. Even the tonjiru is lacking in pork-pieces to make sure diners can fully enjoy the quality of the fried pork without distracting flavors.

10. Shirogane Toritama Honkan （白金 酉玉 本館）/ Yakitori

According to Chef Izawa, Toritama might have been the first yakitori store to put its heart into bringing out the qualities of rare parts of the chicken. Aside from standard fare of breast and thigh meat, over 30 varieties of uncommon yakitori are grilled over binchou charcoal. The tare used here has over 100 years of history, a continuation of the recipe Chef Izawa learned in his training at Sakuraya. The restaurant's popularity exploded and now Toritama has locations across the globe. In Tokyo through, the Bib Gourmand-awarded original is still king.