Japanese food is known for its ingredient forward, elegance and simplicity. Think kaiseki, think sushi, think tempura.
It’s why Japanese food is one of the most popular cuisines in the world, and it’s why it is my favourite. But after eating Japanese food for several meals in a row, I sometimes need a palate circuit breaker. And one of the best palate circuit breaker in Japan is Japanese curry.
Originally brought to Japan from India by the British, Japanese curry was reinvented to suit Japanese tastes and ingredients. This means a curry that is ingredient forward, elegant and arguably simple (compared to other curries).
One thing it has in common with other “curries” is that Japanese curry is a generic term that covers a wide variety of styles – ranging from the spice-forward Indian style to the smoother European style and everything in between. With over 5,000 curry restaurants in Tokyo alone, there is almost just as many unique styles, making it difficult to rank and crown a single “best” Japanese curry. However, the restaurants below represent some of the best in each of the major Japanese curry styles, helping you find your best Japanese curry in Tokyo.
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Table of Contents
How to choose your Best Japanese Curry Restaurant
The Best Japanese Curry Restaurant in Tokyo and Japan
Tomato (トマト) – The Pinnacle Curry
Spicy Curry Roka (SPICY CURRY 魯珈) – The Innovative Curry
Bondy (欧風カレー ボンディ 神保町本店) – The Smooth European Curry
Curry Shop Pooh (カレーの店 プーさん) – The Home-style Curry
Yoshida Curry (吉田カレー ) – The Wholesome and Healthy Curry
Blakes – The Indian-Japanese Curry
Chawanbu (車力門 ちゃわんぶ) – The Tonkatsu Curry
Curry House Chilli Chilli (カレーハウス チリチリ) – The Budget Curry
Minoringo (みのりんご) – The Cheesy Keema Curry
Notable Japanese Curries in an Omakase Course
Popular Japanese Curries to Avoid
How to choose your Best Japanese Curry Restaurant
The Japanese Curry Matrix
As mentioned earlier, there are multiple different styles of Japanese Curry, which means your personal best Japanese Curry will largely depend on the style that you like the most. So here are some the best Japanese Curry Restaurants in Tokyo for each style, mapped relative to each other based on Curry Style and Refinement. Whether you want more European-style, Indian-style, a refined curry or a home-style curry, this matrix is the holy grail in helping you find your best Japanese Curry.
Note – At a pinch, curry chain CoCo Ichibanya makes a pretty good European-style Japanese curry.
This article doesn’t cover Indian Curry restaurants, though the line is increasingly getting blurred in the modern age. For Indian Curries, I recommend Shiva Curry Wara, ZERO ONE CURRY A.o.D, Katcharu Batcharu, Sunvalley Hotel and Curry House Bombay.
The Japanese Curry Restaurant in Tokyo and Japan
Note the number of good Japanese Curries I have will continually grow. To keep this guide reasonable in length, only noteworthy ones will get a write up. To follow the latest on my Japanese Curry journey, please follow my Instagram.
Tomato (トマト) – The Pinnacle Curry
Tomato is named the Pinnacle Curry because it is the very pinnacle of what the idealistic Japanese Curry is. It has also been the highest ranked Japanese Curry restaurant on Tabelog for several years, is one of only three Japanese Curry restaurants awarded a Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand and is one of the most heavily awarded Japanese Curries. Tomato was even featured on NHK World in the TV series The Professionals in 2018.
Opened in 1982, Tomato is run by a husband-and-wife team. Chef Kyoji Omino-san trained in French cuisine and worked at the famous Ginza restaurant Shiseido Parlor. He opened Tomato after he reached his current curry recipe through trial and error, aiming to replicate the curry that his seniors had made for him in the past.
Tomato offers a variety of curries, including beef and seafood curries, all using the same curry roux base. This curry base includes a blend of 36 spices with more than a dozen fruit and vegetables in a base of fond de veau (veal stock), cooked for hours to produce a curry that is rich, complex and balanced. Supposedly each serving of the curry uses 12 grams of that blend of 36 spices as well as 13 grams of ginger and garlic.
Recommended dishes – Wagyu Java Curry or Beef Tongue Curry. Add a side of Seasonal Vegetables.
If you enjoyed Tomato, you may also like –
- Curry Shop Pooh (カレーの店 プーさん)
Spicy Curry Roka (SPICY CURRY 魯珈) – The Innovative Curry
Spicy Curry Roka is called the Innovative Curry not just because chef Eri Saito draws influence from Indian, Iranian, and even Taiwanese cuisine, but also because she constantly creates brand new curry specials every week.
The restaurant name is a portmanteau of the character “Ro” from Taiwanese minced pork rice and “Ka” from curry, symbolic of how she combines ideas from Taiwan and India into one “Roka Plate”. Her passion for exploring new flavor combinations is insatiable, and she travels around the world to discover new flavours and ideas to incorporate into her dishes, resulting in curries such as French-style duck keema curry and Chinese-style mapo tofu curry.
Curry and Lu Rou Fan (minced pork rice) are served together on one plate with a boiled egg, onion achar, takana (pickled mustard greens) seasoned with mustard oil, daily side dishes and salad. Portions are relatively small, so I recommend order either large rice, or even better, order 2 curries.
Spicy Curry Roka has a Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand and chef Eri Saito even has her own book called Roka’s Spice Curry Book (published by Shinyusha).
Recommended dishes – Lu Rou Fan with whatever Curry appeals to you, Limited Curry Specials
If you enjoyed Spicy Curry Roka, you may also like –
- Yoshida Curry (吉田カレー )
- Minoringo (みのりんご)
Bondy (欧風カレー ボンディ 神保町本店) – The Smooth European Curry
While most Tokyoites know Jimbocho as Tokyo’s book town, foodies instead know Jimbocho as curry town. What do books have to do with curry? Apparently, curry is a popular choice amongs bookworms as it can be eaten with one hand holding a spoon, and a book in the other hand.
Jimbocho is also known as Kare no Machi カレーの街, or Curry Street with around 500 curry restaurants in this small town. And while there are many excellent Japanese Curries in Jimbocho, the best and most famous is Bondy. Established in 1973, it was the first European Curry shop in Jinbocho, won first place in the Kanda Curry Grand Prix, and is part of the area’s rise to fame as a curry town.
Bondy is the best example of European-style Curry which is characterised by a smooth almost creamy sauce, usually with added dairy. In fact, Bondy’s curry is so unbelievable smooth that it’s almost confusing how spicy and flavour packed it acutally is. The beef is fork tender as well. My only criticism is that some may find it slighty too sweet (even in the spicier curries), and that they could be more generous with the beef.
You can choose your spiciness level, but a heads up – their spice scale generally runs one grade hotter than other curry restaurants. However, medium is still recommended for anyone who enjoys some spice with their curry.
All curries are served with two rather ordinary boiled potatoes. I generally rather have the potato cooked in my curry, but this way of serving potatoes is relative common for European-style curries.
Recommended dishes – Beef Curry and Pudding
If you enjoyed Bondy, you may also like –
- Gaviaru (ガヴィアル)
Curry Shop Pooh (カレーの店 プーさん) – The Home-style Curry
Established in 1980, Curry Shop Pooh, as it’s homely name suggests, serves one of the best home-style Japanese Curries in Tokyo. In a way (and in no way an insult), this is an elevated version the curry you would find in a Japanese home.
There curry is made without using oil, with a base of multiple vegetables and fruits and 20 kinds of spices (many of which are the same as those used in Chinese medicine). Katsuobushi, kombu, and shiitake mushrooms are used to create a delicious umami flavour.
The best thing about Pooh is how they make their Vegetable Curry, where 20 different vegetables are piled on top. They use a technique common in Hokkaido Soup Curry, where they “suage” their vegetables, which is the process of frying foods without a batter. Frying rather than boiling vegetables cooks them as quickly as possible, leaving them as close to their original state in terms of nutrients and taste wise, allowing you to taste each ingredient rather than it getting lost in the curry.
Recommended dishes – Vegetable Curry
If you enjoyed Curry Shop Pooh, you may also like –
- Tomato (トマト)
Yoshida Curry (吉田カレー ) – The Wholesome and Healthy Curry
Yoshida Curry is known as the Wholesome and Healthy Curry because the chef has really put in as much thought into making his curry as wholesome as it is delicious. Yoshida Curry is addictive, preservatives and chemical seasoning free, doesn’t use wheat flour in the roux, and uses half the fat of a normal curry.
Rather than the more conventional beef base, Yoshida’s soup base uses predominantly seafood ingredients such as kelp and scallops along with some chicken, resulting in a light soup with condensed umami. Yoshida’s curry is unique in that it uses blended bananas to add the subtle sweetness and creaminess. Care is also taken with the rice, with specially selected Mashigura rice from Aomori Prefecture (which the chef says is perfect for curry due to its moderate elasticity and low stickiness) which is blended with brown rice.
For add-ons, I recommend the pork which is simmered slowly over low heat for several hours and even melts just by holding it with your chopsticks. I would also recommend ordering the banana shake which is made fresh from ripe bananas – excellent on its own, but even better with the curry.
Chef is notorious for being grumpy, with minimal talking allowed inside his restaurant. However, that doesn’t stop many in proclaiming Yoshida to be the best curry in Tokyo.
Recommended dishes – Curry with Keema, Braised Pork and Fried Cheese, Banana Shake
If you enjoyed Yoshida Curry, you may also like –
- Spicy Curry Roka (SPICY CURRY 魯珈)
- Minoringo (みのりんご)
Chawanbu (車力門 ちゃわんぶ) – The Tonkatsu Curry
Chawanbu is called the Tonkatsu Curry because it is the best place in Tokyo to get a Tonkatsu Curry (uh duh).
Chawanbu was formally a kappo kaiseki restaurant before its tonkatsu transformation. Buzawa-san, the chef and owner, joined Kurogi (a famous kaiseki restaurant) where he cooks for dinner, converting his original restaurant to serve tonkatsu in the day. Buzawa-san’s kaiseki routes can be tasted throughout the meal.
The miso soup is freshly made, dissolving miso for each customer on order. It is the best miso soup I’ve had at a tonkatsu restaurant, clearly flexing its Kaiseki roots. The organic curry with egg yolk offered halfway through your tonkatsu is elegant and balanced.
Chawanbu specialises in Hire (Fillet), which is significantly better than how they cook the Rosu (Loin).
Learn more about the other best Tonkatsu in Tokyo.
Recommended dishes – Hire Katsu with Curry
If you enjoyed Chawanbu, you may also like –
- Tonktasu Curry Ippekoppe (とんかつ檍のカレー屋いっぺこっぺ 蒲田店)
Curry House Chilli Chilli (カレーハウス チリチリ) – The Budget Curry
Curry House Chilli Chilli is the cheapest curry on this list, and for me, is the best curry you can get on a budget.
While Curry House Chilli Chilli is light on the wallet, it is definitely not light in flavour. Despite being packed with flavour, there are no chemical seasonings and only a modest amount of oil is used, resulting in a curry that is quite light. This is perhaps why it is one of the more popular Japanese Curry restaurants among females.
They claim that about there is one onion per serving of curry.
Note Curry House Chilli Chilli use to be located in Shibuya, but have relocated to Toda (on the fringes of Tokyo) which is where the chef lives.
If you enjoyed Tomato, you may also like –
- Blakes
- The KARI
Favourite Japanese Curries in an Omakase Course
There are also some great Japanese Curries in Omakase Courses or other non-curry restaurants. Some of my favourite below –
Ginza Setsugekka (雪月花 銀座)
Jambo Hanare (焼肉 ジャンボ はなれ)
Popular Japanese Curries to Avoid
- Loup de Mer (ルー・ド・メール) – Aesthetic but easily the blandest Japanese curry I’ve ever had. The wait was an extra slap in the face. You want the curry to slap, not get slapped by the queue.
- Kitchen Nankai Jimbocho (キッチン南海 神保町店) – I don’t think anyone should compromise a tonkatsu to get a good Japanese curry. If you want a good tonkatsu curry, go to Tonkatsu Keita.
- Curry Station Niagara (ナイアガラ) – Unless you like your food delivered on trains…
Wishlist
- Gaviaru (ガヴィアル)
- Spice Post (スパイスポスト)
- Jankare (ジャンカレー 末広町店)
- Ethiopia (エチオピア 本店)
- Delhi (デリー 上野店) – though this is more Indian-style
Let me know in the comments if you have any recommendations for Japanese curry restaurants that you want me to hit up!
Conclusion
So there we have it, the Best Japanese Curry in Tokyo and Japan.
While I have my favourites, all the Japanese Curry restaurants in this article are among the best in their respective styles, and a great starting point if you’re just diving into the world of Japanese curry. Use the Japanese Curry Matrix to find the best Japanese Curry for you or better yet, visit them all and find your own “best” Japanese Curry restaurant in Tokyo!
So fellow foodies, what’s your favourite Japanese Curry restaurant in the world?
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