Tokyo’s culinary and cocktail scenes are ever-evolving, blending time-honoured traditions with avant-garde innovations. In 2025, the city continues to dazzle with establishments that have garnered prestigious accolades and those that are making waves with fresh perspectives. Tokyo is not only home to more Michelin-starred establishments than any other city on Earth, but it also boasts an emerging wave of daring new chefs and mixologists redefining Japanese hospitality with bold flavors and radical visions of sustainability and cultural fusion.
From hushed temples of haute cuisine in Marunouchi to Shinjuku’s hidden bars where every drink is a revelation, Tokyo’s after-hours scene is both a performance and pilgrimage. Whether you’re craving tradition reimagined or a taste of tomorrow, this curated list of ten must-visit restaurants and bars is your ticket to the city’s ever-evolving epicurean wonderland.
Michelin-Studded Dining and Rising Culinary Stars
1. Sézanne Four Seasons Hotel, Marunouchi
Michelin Stars: ★★★
Style: Modern French, Japanese terroir
Set on the seventh floor of the Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Marunouchi, Sézanne is the jewel in the crown of the city’s fine dining scene. In 2025, it joined the ultra-elite ranks of Tokyo’s three-star Michelin restaurants, no small feat in a city of epicurean heavyweights. British-born Chef Daniel Calvert has mastered the elusive balance of French finesse and Japanese purity. Think of roasted kue fish delicately paired with fermented plum, or his famed seasonal white asparagus with miso hollandaise.
What truly distinguishes Sézanne is not just the precision of technique, but the poetic restraint, each dish a whispered ode to its ingredients. The interior, envisioned by André Fu, creates a sanctuary of soft beiges, curving banquettes, and muted elegance, where every detail is an extension of Calvert’s quietly luxurious aesthetic. With its placement at No. 4 in Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2025, Sézanne is not just a destination, it’s a declaration of intent.
2. Azabu Kadowaki Azabu-Jūban
Michelin Stars: ★★★
Style: Modern Kaiseki, Japanese haute cuisine
Nestled in the affluent district of Azabu-Jūban, Azabu Kadowaki is the epitome of quiet power. Chef Toshiya Kadowaki has long been a culinary craftsman’s craftsman, a master of nuance and seasonal reverence. Each meal unfolds like an ancient scroll, revealing delicacies such as Hida beef sukiyaki cooked tableside and his now-iconic truffle claypot rice, perfumed with black truffle shavings and glistening with umami-rich broth.
Despite holding three Michelin stars, Kadowaki remains a relatively low-profile culinary shrine, known to insiders, frequented by dignitaries, and utterly devoid of pretense. The chef himself often presides over the plating, ensuring that no guest leaves without feeling a sense of spiritual completion.
3. Daigo Atago, Minato
Michelin Stars: ★ + Green Star
Style: Shojin Ryori, Sustainable Cuisine
Tucked at the foot of Mount Atago, Daigo feels like a temple retreat, and appropriately so. Founded in 1950, this two-star Michelin restaurant now carries an additional Michelin Green Star for its commitment to sustainability. Chef Yoshio Daigo (yes, a familial torchbearer) serves up refined shojin ryori, vegetarian temple food once crafted to nourish Buddhist monks in spiritual simplicity.
But make no mistake, simplicity here does not mean austere. A single meal may include ten or more courses of seasonal vegetables, tofu, and seaweed prepared with painstaking care: simmered daikon in kombu broth, eggplant grilled over binchōtan charcoal, and sesame tofu that melts like custard on the tongue. Daigo offers more than food, it’s a meditative experience.
4. Crony Akasaka
Michelin Stars: ★
Style: Neo-French with Japanese Essence
Crony, led by Chef Keiichi Hashimoto, is one of Tokyo’s most exciting culinary provocateurs. Landing at No. 30 in the 2025 Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, it’s become the darling of a younger, international set who want storytelling alongside their foie gras.
The menu is prix fixe but full of surprises: foie gras ganache paired with sakura blossom salt, or beetroot tartare served beneath a theatrical dome of cherry wood smoke. Crony’s wine list leans natural, and the service exudes friendly elegance, never intimidating. It’s a place where tradition is honored and then gently turned on its head.
5. Imperial Treasure Ginza
New Opening (2025)
Style: High-end Chinese, Shanghainese + Cantonese
April 2025 marked the Tokyo debut of Singapore’s iconic Imperial Treasure, a Michelin-decorated institution known for its opulent interpretations of classic Chinese fare. Located in the luxe expanse of Ginza, this new outpost delivers signature dishes like Peking duck carved tableside, drunken chicken soaked in Shaoxing wine, and wok-seared abalone served on jade-green porcelain.
What makes Imperial Treasure special isn’t just its precision, but its dramatic flair, sumptuous interiors that blend lacquered wood with gold leaf details, creating a stage set for indulgence. Perfect for both lavish business dinners and once-in-a-lifetime date nights.
Bars That Redefine Tokyo’s Cocktail Culture
6. Rondo Shinjuku
Seats: 6
Opened: 2025
Style: Artisan Japanese Minimalism
If there’s a single bar that defines Tokyo’s intimate cocktail culture in 2025, it’s Rondo. Created by Tatsuya Yoshida, a former star of Ginza’s storied Star Bar, Rondo is almost monastic in its simplicity. Six seats. One bartender. One 350-year-old sapele wood counter. No gimmicks, just liquid alchemy.
The menu evolves weekly but always includes standout expressions like a Sakura-infused gin and tonic or an umeshu martini that balances acidity, sweetness, and clarity with surgical precision. Rondo is a poem in cocktail form, and gaining entry is a Tokyo rite of passage.
7. Virtù Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi
Awards: Top International Hotel Bar 2025
Style: Deco Glamour Meets Japanese Grace
Virtù is the glam counterpoint to the minimalist Rondo. Located on the 39th floor of the Four Seasons Otemachi, Virtù’s interiors channel 1920s Parisian chic with high-gloss lacquer, velvet, and chrome. Behind the bar, cocktails playfully interpret French-Japanese duality, like the signature “Sakura Negroni,” which swaps Campari for a cherry blossom liqueur aged in cedar barrels.
The bar was crowned one of 2025’s top hotel bars globally, but the vibe is welcoming, not exclusive. It’s ideal for pre-dinner aperitifs or post-meeting wind-downs overlooking the Imperial Palace gardens.
8. The SG Club Shibuya
Opened by: Shingo Gokan
Style: Multilevel Cocktail Playground
SG stands for “Sip and Guzzle,” and it’s a perfect encapsulation of this multilevel cocktail mecca created by award-winning mixologist Shingo Gokan. On the ground floor, street-style “Guzzle” offers high-energy, playful drinks and DJ sets. Head upstairs to “Sip” for bespoke creations with rare spirits, like a whisky aged in miso barrels or cocktails served in origami-folded glassware.
More than just a bar, The SG Club is a nightlife ecosystem, a place where expats mingle with salarymen, and the vibe shifts from Paris to Brooklyn to Osaka in the space of a staircase.
9. Mori Bar Ginza
Style: Classic Cocktail Bar
Known For: Japanese Hospitality, No-Gimmick Cocktails
There are bars with flair, and then there are bars with soul. Mori Bar falls firmly into the latter category. Nestled within Ginza’s maze of luxury and lantern-lit alleyways, it’s helmed by one of Tokyo’s most respected bartenders, Takao Mori. The focus here is on purist technique and personal service.
The bar’s Old Fashioned is arguably the best in Tokyo: aged bourbon, hand-carved ice, and a whisper of orange zest expressed just before serving. No music. No Instagrammable gimmicks. Just craftsmanship and calm.
10. Gold Bar The Tokyo EDITION, Toranomon
Style: Modern Luxury
Event Highlight: Annual Cocktail Festival
The Gold Bar at The Tokyo EDITION is where Tokyo’s fashion and finance elite go to let their hair down in five-star surroundings. Every spring, it hosts a cocktail festival that brings together Japan’s best bartenders for a liquid competition of sorts, think Top Chef, but with shakers.
The drinks are inventive, often pushing boundaries with infusions like yuzu smoke or matcha-washed mezcal. The setting? A sleek noir space with gold accents and plush seating. It’s the perfect crescendo to a night in Tokyo.
If there’s one thing you can count on in Tokyo, it’s that you’ll never run out of great places to eat and drink. The city is a playground for food lovers, with everything from three-star French-Japanese fine dining to six-seat cocktail dens run by bartenders who treat ice like art. Whether you’re diving into a multi-course kaiseki meal or trying a matcha-washed mezcal in a hotel lounge, there’s always something new to try, and usually, it’s excellent.
Tokyo has more Michelin-starred restaurants than anywhere else in the world, but it’s not just about the stars. The real charm is in the mix. New chefs are opening creative spots that bring fresh energy to the scene, and long-time legends are still at the top of their game. The bar scene is just as exciting, with places that feel like hidden gems even when they’re topping international lists.
Bottom line? Bring your appetite, your curiosity, and maybe a reservation or two. Whether you’re into fine dining or fantastic cocktails, Tokyo has something that will surprise you in the best way.