8 Best Restaurants in Ginza, Tokyo

In business since 1948, Cafe de l'ambre is a legendary haunt for Tokyo's coffee aficionados. The retro decor provides a snapshot of an older Tokyo, while the caffeine fix options include a dozen or so single-origin beans, including some that have been aged for years.

The appeal of Ajioka's seasonal specialties like fugu (puffer fish) and suppon (Japanese turtle) lies as much in the unique texture and experience as in the subtle, nondescript taste. Licensed chefs prepare these in every way imaginable—raw, fried, stewed—using the fresh catch flown in straight from Shimonoseki, a prime fugu-fishing region. Try the house specialty of suppon (Japanese turtle) and fugu nabe, fugu sashimi, or fugu no arayaki (grilled head and cheeks). Menus change by season and reservations must be made two days in advance to order fugu.

In contrast to the borderline solemn atmosphere at many top sushi restaurants, this world-famous spot proves that a high-end sushi restaurant does not have to be cold and unfriendly to be refined. In addition to their skill with a knife, many of the sushi chefs know English and are happy to chat with customers about the food and restaurant, making Kyubey a great choice for one's first high-end sushi experience.

The main draw at Oshima is sampling the Kaga ryori cooking of Kanazawa, a small city on the Sea of Japan known for its rich craft traditions. Waitresses dress the part in kimonos of Kanazawa's famous Yuzen dyed silk, and Kutani porcelain and Wajima lacquerware grace the exquisite table settings. As you'd expect from waterfront cuisine, seafood at Oshima is superb, but don't ignore the specialty of the house: a stew of duck and potatoes called jibuni. Kaiseki full-course meals are pricey, but the kaiseki lunch course costs about a third less.

Japan enjoys a special reputation for its lovingly raised, tender, marbled domestic beef, and if your budget can bear the weight, Rangetsu serves excellent dishes with this beef as a star ingredient. Try the signature shabu-shabu or sukiyaki course for a primer. For a blowout celebration, call ahead to reserve a private alcove, where you can cook for yourself or have a kaiseki meal brought to your table by kimono-clad attendants. Although dinner can damage the wallet, there is also a good variety of lunch sets available for a quarter of the price.

Satisfying the need for light, healthy food that is neither raw nor fried, this airy but rather nondescript bakery and café, which also has branches in Paris and London, serves up a tasty selection of salads, quiches, vegetables, and other deli-style dishes. Although the interior's rows of tables and blank white walls can feel a bit too much like a hip reinterpretation of a school cafeteria, Rose Bakery is a good bet for a quick lunch or pastry while out wandering the Ginza area. It's also good for breakfast (from 9 am), especially if you crave a full English breakfast.

With roughly 130 varieties of sake from all over Japan available by the carafe, Sake no Ana (literally, "the sake hole") has its own sake sommelier, Sakamoto-san, who can help diners make a selection. Though most sake-specialty restaurants are open only for dinner, Sake no Ana is also open for lunch. The food is classic izakaya fare, and at lunchtime there are hearty donburi dishes, large bowls of rice topped with seasonal sashimi or beef simmered in a sweet soy broth.

This yakitori (grilled chicken) restaurant is an ideal place for a short stop inside Ginza. Skewered chicken breasts, small salads, and sausages are sure to put a smile on the face of even the weariest shopper. There's also beer, whiskey highballs, and sake on the menu.