Kyubey Ginza -Lunch at Famous Sushi Restaurant in Tokyo

Kyubey Ginza is a famous sushi restaurant in Tokyo.I expected it to be a Michelin star restaurant, but did not see it listed in the latest Michelin Guide. This could be one of the best sushi restaurants in Tokyo without a Michelin Star. Which is not a bad thing as it is quite a task to secure a table at Michelin star sushi restaurants. On Tripadvisor it is ranked #7 of 2,162 Japanese restaurants in Chuo Ward of Tokyo and #12 of 4,865 Restaurants in general. Very impressive stats!

The Restaurant

We were quite complacent about making a reservation as Kyubey Ginza is quite a large restaurant, with dining areas spread out over a few floors in their own building. Besides, they have no Michelin star and so it can’t be that hard to get a seat, so we thought. We were wrong. We tried to make a reservation through our hotel the day before. No seats were available. Lunch reservations can be done only for the first seating at 11.30am. We were advised to just turn up and hopefully secure a later time slot. We turned up at around 11.45 am and were told to register our name and return around 1 pm.

When we returned, it seemed that many others were given the same instructions. We were herded to an area upstairs which looked like a mini-museum of the restaurant, with displays of its prominent persons and other memorabilia. The picture above shows the hungry waiting crowd. At the appointed time we were led to our respective dining areas. The picture below shows the room after the diners have vacated the room.

The design of the dining room that we were assigned to is quite unusual. Unlike many Tokyo sushi restaurants which opt for basic minimalist designs, this was quite a fancy room in terms of the decor and the layout. Service was top notch – gentle and prompt.

Kyubey Ginza Menu

We had a pleasant surprise when we saw the menu. A 2,000 Yen discount was given to celebrate the restaurant’s anniversary. Here are pictures of some pages from the Kyubery Ginza lunch, dinner, drinks menus. We decided on the most basic lunch option – the Oribe assorted sushi that normally costs 7,500 Yen.

Lunch was served in two instalments. The first instalment was a platter of the premium sushi pieces. The second was a platter of the more humble varieties of sushi – “fillers” to ensure you do not leave still feeling hungry.

I only need to say that every piece of sushi on the first platter was top notch. The prawn, the sea urchin, tuna etc were very good. The prawn had beautifully colours and was still twitching (as you can see below). The taste and texture of these sushi were of a very high grade.

The second platter contained sushi that were well executed but did not taste as exquisite as those served at the beginning. Overall, an enjoyable lunch at Kyubey Ginza, Tokyo. The original price of 7,500 Yen would have been a fair price. With the discount of 2,000 Yen, it was good value for money. We would love to return to eat there again. It is a good idea to make a reservation way in advance and to specify a counter seat.

Ratings:
Food: 5
Service: 4
Value: 4
Atmosphere: 4
Overall Rating: 4 TOPs

Kyubey
8-7-6 Ginza, Chuo 104-0061, Tokyo Prefecture

Tel: +81 3-3571-6523

The Ordinary Patrons | Real Dining Experience of Ordinary People
an independent Singapore food blog