The Best Tendon (Tempura Rice Bowl) in Tokyo (Japan)

Ahhh, the humble tendon. If there ever was a dish that was greater than the sum of its parts, this would surely be a top nominee.

On paper, it’s a dish that shouldn’t work. Crisp tempura simultaneously “sogging” from both the tentsuyu (sweet soy sauce) and the condensation of the steaming hot rice. But there is a cosmic oneness when rice, sweet soy and flavoured oil combine – another example being char siu rice with ginger scallion oil. And the best tendons straggle that fine line of soggy crisp – much like agedashi tofu, Korean soy fried chicken and even poutine.

This might be sacrilegious but usually the favourite part of a tempura restaurant is their tendon. In fact, overall, I might actually prefer tendon to tempura. Behind tonkatsu, it’s probably what I eat in Japan the most – more than ramen, more than sushi, more than wagyu.

What I underestimated when embarking on my tendon journey was the sheer number of tendon styles. Having eaten my way through the best tendons in Japan, I’m sure you will find your perfect tendon too – your own cosmic oneness tendon.

For more personalised advice, customised food itineraries and to unlock your best culinary adventure, please contact me.

Table of Contents

How to choose your Best Tendon (Tempura Rice Bowl) Restaurant

Tendon Summary Table

The Best Tendon Restaurant in Tokyo and Japan

Fukamachi (てんぷら 深町) – The Omakase Tendon

Dote no Iseya (土手の伊勢屋) – The Institution Tendon

Yukimura (之村) – The Crisp Kakiage Tendon

Kaneko Hannosuke (天丼 金子半之助 本店) – The Value Tendon

Masaru (まさる) – The Luxury Tendon

Tenshige (天茂) – The Fluffy Kakiage Tendon

Mochiku (天ぷら茂竹) – The Thin Batter Tendon

Tempura Nakayama (天ぷら 中山) – The Addictive Sauce Tendon

Tempura Kurokawa (てんぷら黒川) – The Breakfast Tendon

Tenfuku (天冨久) – The Robust Tendon

Tempura Takashichi (てんぷら 高七) – The Chinese Tendon

Kuramae Iseya (蔵前いせや) – The Fugu Tendon

Wishlist

Conclusion

The Best Tendon Methodology

Visits

Scoring

How to choose your Best Tendon (Tempura Rice Bowl) Restaurant

Best Tendon in Tokyo and Japan Decision Helper

This Tendon Decision Helper is a simplified summary of the best Tendons in Tokyo and Japan, but is still a useful guide to help you choose the best Tendon restaurant for you and your own preferences. For more detail on each of the Tendon restaurants, see the table below.

Tendon Summary Table

Best Tendon in Tokyo and Japan Detail

The Best Tendon (Tempura Rice Bowl) Restaurant in Tokyo and Japan

Note the number of good tendons I have will continually grow. To keep this guide reasonable in length, only noteworthy tendons will get a write up. However, the ratings above will always be up to date with all my tendon adventures. To follow my latest tendon journey and other tendon photos, follow my Instagram.

Fukamachi (てんぷら 深町) – The Omakase Tendon

I think Fukamachi is responsible for more people’s first Tempura course experience than any other Tempura restaurant in Japan. For good reason though, while it’s not the best Tempura course it’s great value and doesn’t require hoop jumping to get a reservation.

I’ve since discovered other favourite Tempura courses in Tokyo and Japan, but I still return to Fukamachi because they have my favourite tendon. Good ingredients, good rice and a perfectly balanced tentsuyu sauce (though bearing in mind I am biased towards a basic classic sweet soy).

The better Anago Tendon

Lunch course is the best value. There are 3 courses – Base Course (¥11.500), Base Course + Tendon/Tenbara/Tencha (¥13.500), Base Course + Tendon/Tenbara/Tencha + Sea Urchin Tempura (¥16.500). Unless you want the Sea Urchin tempura, I would recommend sticking with the Base Course. The Anago Tendon in the Base Course is better than the mixed Tendon in the more premium courses.

If you enjoyed Fukamachi, you may also like – 

• Dote no Iseya (土手の伊勢屋)
• Masaru (まさる)

Fukamachi (てんぷら 深町)

Address – 2-5-2 Kyobashi, Chuo City, Tokyo (map)

Phone – +81 3 5250-8777

Batter – Thin, light and crisp

Sauce – Sweet balanced

Budget – ￥10,000～29,999

Reservation – Moderate. Book 2-3 months in advance.

Dote no Iseya (土手の伊勢屋) – The Institution Tendon

Founded in 1889, the reason this is called the Institution Tendon is self explanatory. Unlike most institutions which are a relics of the past that are popular purely because of their history, Dote no Iseya is great and is my favourite casual tendon in Japan.

Ingredients are high quality, with particular attention on their conger eels, which are kept in a dedicated aquarium – only what is required each day is taken. A combination of sesame and corn is used to fry the tempura to ensure a good balance of flavour and lightness.

If you enjoyed Dote no Iseya, you may also like – 

• Fukamachi (てんぷら 深町)
• Masaru (まさる)

Dote no Iseya (土手の伊勢屋)

Address – 1-9-2 Nihonzutsumi, Taito City, Tokyo (map)

Phone – +81 50-5592-1215

Batter – Medium thickness but light crunch

Sauce – Sweet balanced

Budget – ￥2,000～2,999

Queue – Moderate. Longer on weekends.

Yukimura (之村) – The Crisp Kakiage Tendon

A surprise (but deserving) addition to the Michelin Bib Gourmand, Yukimura has one of the best kakiage tendons in Japan. The style here is light and crisp vs Tenshige’s slightly thicker and fluffier style.

They offer multiple styles of kakiage, allowing you to choose your preferred kakiage ingredients.

If you enjoyed Yukimura, you may also like – 

• Tenshige (天茂)

Yukimura (之村)

Address – 6-13-13 Shinbashi, Minato City, Tokyo (map)

Phone – +81 3 6721-5343

Batter – Thin, light and crisp

Sauce – Sweet balanced

Budget – ￥1,000～1,999

Queue – Small

Kaneko Hannosuke (天丼 金子半之助 本店) – The Value Tendon

Kaneko Hannosuke is by far the best value tendon in Tokyo. There are downsides though. The great value draws crowds – big crowds. It’s not uncommon to wait multiple hours to get in. Anything under one hour would be a great result.

Is it worth it? That’s ultimately a personal decision but I can tell you the tendon itself is great – moderate but still light batter, with an amount of toppings that seem unbelievable for its price. On an absolute quality level though, it’s not better than any that came before it in this guide, so you’ll need to toss up whether the excessive wait is worth the cost saving.

Note – Kaneko Hannosuke has many branches locally and internationally, some specialising in slightly different tempura related meals such as tempura meshi and Inaniwa udon. Tendon is at their Honten (main store) in Nihonbashi.

If you enjoyed Kaneko Hannosuke, you may also like – 

• Dote no Iseya (土手の伊勢屋)
• Tempura Kurokawa (てんぷら黒川)

Kaneko Hannosuke (天丼 金子半之助 本店)

Address – 1-11-15 Nihonbashimuromachi, Chuo City, Tokyo (map)

Phone – +81 3 3243-0707

Batter – Medium, light and crisp

Sauce – Sweet balanced

Budget – ～￥999

Queue – Long. Expect atleast 45 minutes and potentially multiple hours during peak

Masaru (まさる) – The Luxury Tendon

Simply put, Masaru is uncompromising. The ingredients are the best in any tendon I’ve had – the chef exclusively uses sushiya level quality prawns and seafood caught in Tokyo Bay each day. This focus on quality over quantity means Masaru regularly runs out of tendon before closing time. And if the chef can’t get seafood to his quality, he simply won’t open. Eating a Masaru tendon feels like pure luxury.

But the reason Masaru isn’t number one in this guide is because it loses points in construction/balance. It’s a hopelessly small bowl – by my estimation there is half the amount of rice as the other tendons in this guide. On top of that (literally), the tempura toppings are so scant that that you can still see white rice peaking through. Every time eat here, I run out of rice long before I can finish the tempura and I leave hungry.

Having said all that, this is without a doubt one of the best tendons in Tokyo. Just order two and come with lots of cash (they do not accept card).

Note – The value component has not been taking into account in the rating, but I do have make a comment on it. Masaru is priced close to half the price of a full lunch tempura course at Fukamachi. As good as Masaru it, it’s hard to justify.

If you enjoyed Masaru, you may also like – 

• Dote no Iseya (土手の伊勢屋)
• Fukamachi (てんぷら 深町)
• Mochiku (天ぷら茂竹)

Masaru (まさる)

Address – 1-32-2 Asakusa, Taito City, Tokyo (map)

Phone – +81 3 3841-8356

Batter – Thin, light and crisp

Sauce – Sweet balanced

Budget – ￥3,000～4,999

Queue – Moderate. Come ~15 minutes before opening to be in the first seating.

Tempura Nakayama (天ぷら 中山) – The Addictive Sauce Tendon

Also known as “the black tendon”, Nakayama is best known for an addictive, almost black tentsuyu they drizzle over their tendon. While the first few bites may be overwhelming, I was addicted by the end of your tendon. The black tentsuyu with the rice almost gives off unaju/eel vibes.

The batter here is deliberate thicker and crunchier, no doubt to absorb more of that black tentsuyu sauce. It’s a shame the ingredient quality isn’t better here, as the sauce is one of the best in Tokyo.

If you enjoyed Nakayama, you may also like – 

• Tenfuku (天冨久)
• Dote no Iseya (土手の伊勢屋)

Tempura Nakayama (天ぷら 中山)

Address – 1-10-8 Nihonbashiningyocho, Chuo City, Tokyo (map)

Phone – +81 3 3661-4538

Batter – Thick and crunchy

Sauce – Dark, robust, soy, caramel notes

Budget – ￥1,000～1,999

Queue – Small, but can get busy during peak.

Tenfuku (天冨久) – The Robust Tendon

Of all the tendons in this guide, Tenfuku is the strongest and most robust tendon. While the sauce is sweet and balanced, the batter is thick, crunchy and fried noticeably darker than the other tendons. This gives a strong sesame oil aroma to their tendon – which may be too strong for some. The shop also had the strongest oil smell of any tendon restaurant on this list. Given the long lines every lunch though, Tenfuku certainly has it’s legion of fans.

Ingredient quality is high with a focus on anago from Tokyo bay. With a large variety of tempura toppings, it is the second best value tendon in Tokyo behind Kaneko Hannosuke.

For dinner, they serve a tempura course only.

If you enjoyed Tenfuku, you may also like – 

• Tempura Nakayama (天ぷら 中山)
• Kaneko Hannosuke (天丼 金子半之助 本店)

Tenfuku (天冨久)

Address – 1-26-2 Ōmorikita, Ota City, Tokyo (map)

Phone – +81 3 50-5456-4923

Batter – Thick, dark and crunchy

Sauce – Sweet balanced

Budget – ￥1,000～2,499

Queue – Moderate

Tempura Takashichi (てんぷら 高七) – The Chinese Tendon

I’m not sure what it is about tempura and tendon restaurants having longevity but this is yet another famous tendon restaurant over a century old (fifth-generation). They are known for a unique style of tentsuyu – rather than the usual sweet soy dashi reduction, they use a thickened savoury soy dashi-based gravy. The gravy is similar to the Chinese gravy that is used in fried noodle dishes or fried tofu dishes (紅燒豆腐).

The batter itself is thick and floury, no doubt to stand up against the thick gravy. While I prefer the regular sweet tentsuyu, this place has it’s fans – after all it’s been around for more than 130 years! Any tendon lover should try it atleast once.

If you enjoyed Takashichi, you may also like – 

• N/A – Takashichi is unique!

Tempura Takashichi (てんぷら 高七)

Address – 36-27 Wakamatsucho, Shinjuku City, Tokyo (map)

Phone – +81 3 3202-4035

Batter – Thick and floury

Sauce – Thickened savoury dashi sauce. Similar to Chinese gravy

Budget – ￥1,000～2,499

Queue – None to minimal

Photos of the other Tendons in this guide

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Wishlist

• Tendon Koromo (天丼ころも)
• Shioya (しおや)

Let me know in the comments if you have any recommendations for tendon restaurants that you want me to hit up!

Conclusion

So there we have it, the Best Tendon (Tempura Rice Bowl) in Tokyo and Japan.

While I have my favourites, all the Tendon restaurants in this article are truly great and each offer something unique. Use the Tendon Decision Helper to find the best Tendon for you or better yet, visit them all and find your own favourite.

So fellow foodies, what’s your favourite Tendon restaurant in the world?

The Best Tendon Methodology

Visits (ordering the best)

• I will order the most expensive tendon at each restaurant unless the chef recommends a different tendon (after all, the chef should know best)
• We are focusing on purely tendon here, not service, ambiance or price. While I recognise that meals compose of than just the food quality, in order to accurately compare tendon, that’s the only thing we should look at

Scoring

Ingredients (10)

As with most dishes, the base ingredients are the one of the most factors into making a great tendon. Just because you are frying the ingredient, doesn’t mean you can use subpar ingredients. The best tendon places go to great lengths to source the best ingredients of the day within their budget, and they don’t leave the rice as an afterthought.

Batter (10)

You may be surprised batter is weighted so much, but it is after all the first thing that makes contact with your tongue. Too light and the sauce won’t adhere. Too thick and the flavour of the oil and batter will overpower the sauce. Batter is also key to straggling that soggy crisp balance.

Sauce (3)

There is a large variety of tentsuyu from balanced to dark to even a dashi based gravy. This score reflects it’s balance and how well it goes with the tempura.

Construction/Balance (2)

This is probably the most subjective/difficult to explain. This was a late addition to the scoring system when I realised that the ingredients, batter and sauce did not capture the elusive cosmic oneness that takes a good tendon and makes it great. This came about after I had a tendon that ticked all the boxes but felt like a disjointed eating experience due to poor construction and balance.

So this rating covers things like (but not limited to) –

• Ratios and quantities of tempura, rice and sauce
• How well the sauce is distributed
• Construction of the tendon (are some ingredients completely buried to the point where that turn to mush)