Best-of Guides Tokyo

Best of Soba in Tokyo

6 Restaurants

Soba (buckwheat) is a favorite comfort food for Tokyo natives. Since the Edo period, people have indulged in the tradition of soba-mae—enjoying alcoholic drinks and dishes such as sobagaki (buckwheat dough), itawasa (sliced fish paste with wasabi), and dashimaki tamago (rolled omelette made with egg and dashi) before ending the meal in a chic and sophisticated way with soba. The restaurants introduced here offer a wide array of à la carte dishes in this tradition. When enjoying cold soba, finish your meal with soba-yu, the hot water used to boil the soba. Pour the soba-yu into a sake cup and drink the deliciously diluted tsuyu sauce to savor every last bit of soba without leaving anything behind. Come explore these soba restaurants that evoke memories of the best aspects of Edo culture.

Tokyo by The MICHELIN Guide

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Updated on 16 September 2024

Asakusa Hirayama

1-3-14 Nishiasakusa, Taito-ku, 111-0035 Tokyo

¥¥ · Soba

Close to Asakusa’s Kappabashi Kitchenware Town. Try this soba-mae restaurant for an enviable kappo experience. You’ll want to make a reservation for seats at the counter where the cheerful restaurant owner will welcome you with first-rate hospitality.

Osobano Kouga

2-14-5 Nishiazabu, Minato-ku, 106-0031 Tokyo

¥ · Soba

Close to the Nishi-Azabu intersection, this restaurant is recommended for seasonal soba. Using seasonal ingredients, they pursue all the possibilities of what soba can be. The hand-made soba is served with refreshing tsuyu sauce.

Ittoan

2-16-10 Higashijujo, Kita-ku, 114-0001 Tokyo

¥ · Soba

The owner-chef visits producers across Japan and adjusts how the soba is ground and prepared according to the grains. Check the information about seasonal à la carte dishes posted inside the shop. No reservations are accepted for lunch, and this restaurant is only open at night on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. There are also other irregular closures from time to time, so be sure to check in advance.

Soba Tajima

3-8-6 Nishiazabu, Minato-ku, 106-0031 Tokyo

¥ · Soba

You can order a single soba dish, but we recommend the courses that let you choose vegetable dishes and small bowls. Plus, this restaurant conveniently accepts reservations for both dinner and lunch.

Kyorakutei

3-6 Kagurazaka, Shinjuku-ku, 162-0825 Tokyo

¥ · Soba

This restaurant in Kagurazaka serves thin-cut soba noodles. We recommend enjoying meoto (couple) soba with soba and udon. After your meal, you can also enjoy a stroll through Kagurazaka and relax at a local cafe.

Hamacho Kaneko

3-7-3 Nihombashihamacho, Chuo-ku, 103-0007 Tokyo

¥ · Soba

A restaurant close to Suiten-gu Shrine, a famous place to pray for safe childbirth. It has endless options for soba-mae, such as hot tempura fried right in front of you. This popular restaurant doesn’t accept reservations for lunch, so you’ll want to stop by right when they open.

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Copyright from top to bottom: 浅草ひら山/Asakusa Hirayama, 浅草ひら山/Asakusa Hirayama, Osobano Kouga, Osobano Kouga, 一東菴/Ittoan, Michelin, Michelin, Michelin, 蕎楽亭長谷川健二/Kyorakutei, 蕎楽亭長谷川健二/Kyorakutei, Michelin, Michelin