A nice, no-seafood dinner in Tokyo?

December 1, 2024 4:10 PM

My spouse and I will be in Tokyo soon and we'd like to go out for a nice dinner. By nice I mean not insanely expensive but maybe ~$75 each. Big caveat: no seafood, and reasonable confidence of no cross-contamination.

We'll be staying in Shinjuku, but we're both transit nerds and won't mind some travel. Open to vegetarian and vegan options. Thank you!

posted by moonmoth to Travel & Transportation around Japan (8 answers total)

Cross-contamination is hard given the extent to which fish products (e.g. dashi) are used in Japanese cuisine. I think you'd be safest sticking to vegetarian. While I have not been there (it's on my list), Daigo is universally acclaimed. A modern take on traditional Buddihst temple food. Set menus run from ¥14,000 to ¥28,000. Maybe a little bit above your stated price range, but it would certainly be a special experience.
posted by mr_roboto at 5:30 PM on December 1, 2024

From Daigos website:
If you prefer to have absolutely no animal based ingredients such as Katsuobushi (tuna flakes) or fish eggs, please notify us at least 24 hours prior to your meal.


posted by tristeza at 5:39 PM on December 1, 2024

I went to Daigo maybe 10 years ago as a vegan and it was excellent and I would highly recommend it (I did give advance notice for a vegan meal, as tristeza mentions), but unless the exchange rate has really changed, it was well beyond your stated price range (I think it was close to $500 USD for lunch for two people, though maybe we did all the expensive add-ons, I can't remember at this point).

It looks like there's now a diffusion location in Roppongi Hills called Hoba/Tosso that looks like it might be a lot more affordable. But I haven't been myself.

The vegan/vegetarian scene in Tokyo seems to be growing fast, driven by tourism, so there are probably a lot of great new options that someone local may be able to fill you in on.
posted by snaw at 5:56 PM on December 1, 2024

This is the opposite of vegan, and also we were in Kyoto for this but I can't imagine it doesn't exist in Tokyo.

We found a steak place where the steak was presented to us, and then cooked in front of us along with some veggies cooked in the fat trimmed off the steak. So no risk of cross contamination because it was all whole ingredients and cooked in front of us (we were also there early enough we were the first ones in the grill). It was I think 90/person?

Not a specific rec but something to search for.
posted by platypus of the universe at 7:20 PM on December 1, 2024

Just a note that teppanyaki (steak) restaurants, like the one platypus recommends just above, generally prepare both steak and seafood on the same grill. (Usually some of their bigger meals include seafood appetizers.)

You best bet might be at a restaurant at an upscale international hotel, where they take dietary restrictions seriously and they are set up to deal with English-speaking customers, and where you can contact them in advance.
posted by Umami Dearest at 9:01 PM on December 1, 2024

Dashi, a stock based around fish, is a big issue - it's very common and often used in dishes that aren't officially containing fish, or labelled as vegetables - a rice and mushroom dish for instance. I visited a tofu restaurant in Japan - every single dish was based around tofu - and everything contained dashi. If you ask shop staff "does this contain fish" the answer may be no, but if you ask "is this made with dashi/fish stock" the answer (after checking) may be yes.

It's been a long time since I was in Tokyo so I can't recommend individual vegan restaurants but there will be places that serve amazing food. Happy Cow might be of help
posted by BinaryApe at 1:31 AM on December 2, 2024

I would second the warning about dashi. I went to a restaurant in Kyoto that billed itself as vegetarian but used it in every dish.
posted by pangolin party at 7:36 AM on December 2, 2024

I'd highly recommend checking out some of the best Tonkatsu (deep fried pork) restaurants in Tokyo. Definitely bring up your specific allergies, they do often have options for ebi (shrimp) or kani (crab) but super focused ones might have a small enough menu not to have any seafood at all.

Other Japanese cuisine options could be going to a yakiniku (grilled meat) or sumibiya (charcoal grilled) restaurants. They will have seafood on the menu, but the simpler cooking and presentation styles should help with keeping proper separation.

Lastly, Tokyo is chock full of sublime non-Japanese restaurants. Maybe go with something French or Italian, or Indian or even Nepali?
posted by rambling wanderlust at 12:00 PM on December 4, 2024