The Best 10 Places to Eat in Ikebukuro, Tokyo

Ikebukuro is famous for Ramen because it’s a student quarter. However, there are many other kinds of great restaurants apart from Ramen. Ikebukuro has many restaurants with new food trends, so you can enjoy both good old and new sides of Japanese cuisine. In this article, we will introduce the best 10 restaurants and stores you must try in Ikebukuro.

1. Sakura Sushi

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“Sakura Sushi” is the stand-up eating style sushi restaurant which is quite rare in Japan. It’s not only unique but also cheap! Sushi in the restaurant range from 70 yen to 350 yen.

Popular dishes are Tuna (100 yen) and a set of fatty tuna, medium-fatty tuna and tuna (600 yen) and raw sea urchin (200 yen). All the dishes are very tasty and good value for the price. This is the reason why the restaurant is always busy.

Sushi started as a stand-up eating style stall back in the Edo period, so you can enjoy sushi as if you were in the 16th century at this restaurant. We promise It will be an unforgettable experience for you!

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2. Hayashi Ya

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The speciality of this restaurant is “Yakiton (grilled pork on skewers)”. You can enjoy Yakiton at affordable prices (150 yen to 200 yen) and side dishes such as Yakitori (grilled pork on skewers) and grilled offal that go perfectly with alcoholic drinks.

We recommend that you also try “Tamagoyaki (Japanese rolled omelette)”, which is one of the most popular home cooking dishes in Japan. It is cooked by the mother of the owner of the restaurant, so you can enjoy “Ohukuro no aji” (mother’s cooking)! Try some Yakiton and Japanese dishes with drinks!

3. Kabuto

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Kabuto is one of the most popular eel restaurants in Ikebukuro. A variety of eel dishes such as “Shirayaki (grilled conger eel without seasoning)”, “Kabayaki (conger eel basted with a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, and sake)” and “Kabutoyaki (grilled eel head)” are cooked with carefully chosen ingredients.

The dishes are not very cheap, but we promise it will be worth trying. Having eel dishes while seeing chefs cook will be an unforgettable experience for you!

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4. Suzumeya

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Dorayaki (a bean‐jam pancake) is a popular Japanese confectionary. You can try Dorayaki made from a lot of eggs for 180 yen in “Suzumeya”. It consists of two fluffy pancakes and moist bean-jam and has the best balance of sweetness.

There are other Japanese confectionaries available such as “Monaka (bean‐jam‐filled wafers)“ and “Chadama (bean-jam coated with sugar and matcha green tea)”. The store also has seasonal confectionaries, so you can enjoy the taste of the season. Let’s head to this store if you want to try some traditional Japanese confectionaries in Ikebukuro.

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5. Anpuku

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You may already have tried udon with soy sauce based soup. The taste was boring? Try unique udon in “Anpuku”!

The restaurant has a variety of Japanese-European fusion udon dishes. The most popular dish is “Carbonara Udon (udon in carbonara sauce)”, which uses udon noodles but it’s creamy and milky. You should definitely try this unique udon even If you don’t like normal udon!

 
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6. Kitchen Check

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“Kitchen Check” is a Yoshoku (good-old western-style) restaurant with a retro atmosphere. Let’s start with a bowl of soup such as vichyssoise and creamy corn soup, and then go for main dishes. There are a variety of main dishes based on Yoshoku.

The popular dishes are seafood deep‐fried in breadcrumbs, sauteed pork, hamburg steak and “Omuraisu (stir-fried rice wrapped in an omelette)”. Yoshoku plays an important part in Japanese cuisine as it’s the Interpretation of Western cuisine by the Japanese. We highly recommend that you try Yoshoku at least once while you are in Japan!

7. Karukaya

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“Karukaya” was founded in 1968 on the rooftop of the “Seibu Department Ikebukuro Main Store”.

There are a variety of udon dishes available such as “Mori (plain)”, “Stamina (udon with meat)”, “Tanuki (udon with crunchy bits of deep-fried dough)” and “Kitsune (udon with deep-fried tofu)”. A bowl of udon is only 400 yen to 550 yen, so don’t worry even if you are on a tight budget. Enjoy udon under the sun and then look for souvenirs on the basement floors of the department store!

8. Uchitateya

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In this restaurant, you can enjoy “Musashino Udon” which is a kind of udon representing the Kanto region of Japan. “Musashino Udon” has a chewy texture and it’s served with dipping broth.

This restaurant is great for those who is a big eater because the restaurant offers a large portion of udon up to “1kg (it’s literally 1kg)”. If you don’t like udon with dipping broth, try “Miso Nikomi Udon (udon in miso broth)”. It tastes great as well, though the “1kg” portion is not available for this udon. Let’s enjoy “Musashino Udon” as much as you want!

9. Uokin Ikebukuro Store

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“Uokin” is an izakaya (a casual Japanese bar where you can enjoy a variety of food and drinks) specialized in seafood. The izakaya has a lively atmosphere as there are a lot of seats. Although an izakaya is a type of bar, “Uokin” offers great seafood dishes. Therefore, this restaurant is perfect for those who want to try seafood dishes but feel like drinking tonight.

We also recommend “Italian Bar Uokin” on the basement floor of the same building. You can enjoy seafood cooked in an Italian way in this restaurant! Pick either one or even try both of them if you have time!

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10. Sake Sakana Omata

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If you want to try some Japanese sake with authentic Japanese side dishes, head to this restaurant! There is a wide range of sake available and therefore “Sake Sakana Omata” is loved by those who love sake.

There are also a variety of Japanese side dishes that go perfectly with sake. “Gyu-suji Nikomi (stewed beef tendon)” and “Kakiage (mixed tempura)“ would make you feel like drinking more and more sake! This restaurant is run by brothers and has a relaxed atmosphere. Sit back and enjoy sake with authentic Japanese side dishes!

Let’s Enjoy Delicious Food In Ikebukuro!

As Ikebukuro is known for great restaurants, there are many restaurants you should give it a try. All the restaurants in this article are close to the station, so let’s visit some and find your favorite restaurant!