Otsuka's 9 Best Restaurants

What kind of area is Otsuka?

Otsuka may not have streets overflowing with fine dining options, but this quaint area does offer a peek at some of the ultimate destinations of culinary masters who choose to stay out of the lime light. With a spate of Bib Gourmand winners and Tokyo Top 100 rated restaurants, this laid back area has plenty of affordable otpions to satisfy even the most strict gourmet.

9 Best Restaurants in Otsuka

1. Otsuka Miyaho (大塚 みや穂) / Izakaya

Rated one of the top 100 izakaya in Tokyo three times and a 2018 Bib Gourmand awardee, Otsuka Miyaho has set itself apart with its expansive sake options and unique dedication to organic vegetables. In fact, one of its signature dishes is a leafy green salad with vegetables sourced from partner farms in Shizuoka. Miyaho's fish is also hand selected by staff each morning at Tokyo's largest fish market. A daily sashimi variety plate compliments the fifty-plus bottles of nihonsu sourced seasonally from around the country. Sake can be ordered in quantities as small as 100 ml, allowing visitors to craft their own tasting flights and enjoy a variety of sake.

2. Negima (ねぎま) / Japanese

Negima is commonly associated with the yakitori dish of the same name, but this restaurant specializes in a much different negima: tuna and onion hot pot. Negima only serves one course menu, featuring the old fashioned combination of now-prized tuna belly and sweet-savory negi onions. At the dish's inception, tuna belly was considered too fatty and undesirable compared to the lean red tuna meat. It rotted easily and would often be reduced to worker's fare, filling the bellies of dockworkers and fishermen. Negima elevates this rustic, historical dish through an authentic kaiseki menu dominated by the negima stew itself. Between the sweetness of the negi and the melting, tender tuna, its easy to see how Negima has held a Bib Gourmand award since 2019.

3. Sosakumenkobo NAKIRYU (創作麺工房 鳴龍) / Ramen

1. Michelin (2022 - 23, Tokyo): One Star
2. Michelin (2024 - 25): Bib Gourmand

Ramen may have come from China originally, but its Japanese-ness has been cemented in the public psyche. At Sosakumenkobo Nakiryu, ramen returns to its roots in creative ways at the hands of a classically trained chinese gourmet. Sosakumenboko held a Michelin star before dropping to Bib Gourmand status as is still ranked as a Tabelog top 100 ramen. The introduction of quintessentially Chinese elements such as rich but spicy sesame dan dan and hot and sour soup create a one of a kind ramen that sells out long before the shop closes at three. Before the store opens, lines of eager diners vie for a golden ticket in the door. Bowls of ultra thin noodles soaked in delicious broth often dissapear soon enough to warrant a second helping.

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4. Katchar Batchar (カッチャル バッチャル) / Indian

1. Michelin (2022 - 25, Tokyo): Bib Gourmand

Purists might feel temped to scrunch their nose at the confidence with which Katchar Batchar announces that it diverts from classic spices with its signature Indian cuisine. However, global critics and locals alike are more than satisfied with Chef Shuji Tamura's treatment of butter chicken, saag, and vindaloo. He began his career at famous Indian and South Asian eateries in Tokyo before heading to the area himself to further deepen his knowledge of the cuisine. Daring to challenge new culinary roads, Chef Tamura experiments with spice blends to bring out the best qualities in each ingredient. Rather than limiting himself to well known curries and sides, he creates his own masterful dishes, earning the venue a Bib Gourmand and nearly a decade worth of top-100 status awards.

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5. DA PEPI (ダぺピ) / Italian

1. Michelin (2025, Tokyo): Selected
2. Michelin (2023, Tokyo): Bib Gourmand

Cloistered behind a veil of ivy, Da Pepi is an artifact of rural Italy preserved on Tokyo's neighborhood streets. This hidden trattoria speaks to the chef's experiences in Tuscany, a region that captured his fancy and makes itself heard in his cuisine. Each day the menu changes, and an unwritten wine list waits behind closed doors to suit each individual's pairing requests. Rustic, generous servings of quail, soft cheeses, and palate-teasing starters have made regulars out of many first time visitors. It's known for being an easy, homey venue, where single diners can feel as at home as dating couples. A Bib Gourmand and 2025 Michelin selection, Da Pepi has also received a number of domestic accolades.

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6. Ramen Hazuki (らぁめん 葉月) / Ramen

1. Japan Restaurant Award, Best 100 (2017, 2019 - 23)

If you ask the owner of Ramen Hazuki what made him want to pursue ramen, he'll gruffly reply that it was because he was sick of eating bad ramen. If you ask him what he considers bad ramen, he will assert that it would be the miso, the trends, the dare-say-bastardization. But here, guests can enjoy flame-broiled chashu, a drinkably light broth, and uncomplicated flavors. In true Edo fashion, Ramen Hazuki keeps its bowls simple. Brick-thick menma melt in the mouth without leaving an alkaline aftertaste and the overall impression is that of a clean, borderline restorative soup that would cure the ill and sate the hungry. Its petite counter only seats a few guests at a time, behind which a husband and wife duo crank out bowl after bowl of Tokyo's top 100 ramen.

7. Yappari India (やっぱりインディア) / Curry

1. Japan Restaurant Award, Best 100 (2018 - 20, 2022 - 24)

For three years, the brother tag-team behind Yappari India were crowned as operators of one of Tokyo's top 100 curry restaurants. As of 2025, they have achieved another 3-year run, this time as a purveyor of traditional Asian and Ethnic cuisine. With all you can eat naan and rice, as well as all you can drink courses and private rooms for events, this lively space evokes much of the communal vibrancy of the Indian subcontinent. The brothers both immigrated to Tokyo to work in some of the city's finest Indian culinary establishments before striking out on their own. The daily offerings change frequently, though the option to sample multiple dishes on one filling plate draws many visitors for lunch.

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8. DAIJU (焼肉冷麺だいじゅ) / Yakiniku

1. Japan Restaurant Award, Best 100 (2024)

Daiju is called a hidden meiten, considered a venu known to insiders but often overlooked by the fleeting public eye. This is a status Daiju's owner is more than happy to uphold, professing confidently that his restaurant isn't interested in catering to trends or fads. Not stylish, just delicious, is a descriptor that Daiju would take pride in as it serves up traditional Morioka chilled noodles and succulent cuts of beef and offal. The upper tongue and house special Daiju highball are a winning combination, but even simple horumon steps into the spotlight with a dip in the restaurant's original sauce. Daiju was crowned a top 100 yakiniku spot in 2024.

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9. Onigiri Bongo (おにぎりぼんご) / Onigiri

Onigiri Bongo has been called the original eat-in onigiri shop and is subject to quite a bit of imitation. However, no other onigiri maker has managed to consistently offer such a high quality product with as wide a variety as Onigiri Bongo. From classic fillings like salted salmon and pickled greens to creative forays into the novel (bacon and cheese onigiri anyone?) Onigiri Bongo consistently delivers with is stuffed to bursting triangles of fresh rice and hand-wrapped sheets of nori. This solo store front has been in operation for over 60 years without expansion. This intentional decision to keep its 50-plus onigiri fillings to the original store ensures long-time fans will always know where to get their favorite rice balls.

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