5 Best Restaurants in Shibuya, Tokyo

Ramen is the quintessential Japanese fast food: thick Chinese noodles in a bowl of savory broth topped with sliced grilled chashu (pork loin). Each neighborhood in Tokyo has its favorite, and in Ebisu the hands-down favorite is Afuri. Using the picture menu, choose your ramen by inserting coins into a ticket machine, find a seat, and hand over your ticket to the cooks, who prepare your ramen then and there. There's limited seating, and at lunch and dinner, a line of customers extends down the street, but as expected, the ramen is worth it. The signature ramen here is yuzu shio (citron and salt), but there are other options, including a vegan ramen.

Many long lines in Shibuya are more about trendiness than quality, but Beard Papa makes some genuinely good cream puffs in all kinds of flavors. Pick up a single or a six-pack of freshly made pastries. Located in the underground shopping arcade known as Shibuchika. The location is roughly under the main crossing. Head down some stairs and follow your nose to the vanilla and butter smells.

Located in Shibuya's Tokyu Department Store, Tenichi is an accessible and relaxed tempura restaurant. The best seats are at the counter, where you can see the chefs work and each piece of tempura will be served piping hot, directly from the oil. The restaurant's simple, brightly lit interior keeps the focus on the food itself. Choose from a selection of ten-don (tempura served with sauce over a bowl of rice) or tempura sets. The more expensive tempura meals are available at the counter only.

With a dozen locations (including Shinjuku and Omotesando), Monsoon Cafe meets the demand in Tokyo for spicy, primarily Southeast Asian food. Complementing the eclectic pan-Asian food are rattan furniture, brass tableware from Thailand, colorful papier-mâché parrots on gilded stands, Balinese carvings, and ceiling fans. Here, at the original Monsoon, the best seats in the house are on the balcony that runs around the four sides of the atrium-style central space. Try the butcher's plate (mixed grilled meats), steamed shrimp dumplings, or nasi goreng (Indonesian fried rice).

This restaurant may lay on more glitz than necessary—the mural in the bar depicts the fall of Pompeii, the banquettes are upholstered in red leather, and the walls are papered in antique gold—but the service is cordial and professional and the food, which is centered on Italian cuisine and U.S. steaks, is superb. The wine list is one of the most varied in town, with more than 200 bottles covering everything from affordable house wines to rarities that will set you back upward of ¥200,000 a bottle.