The Best Street Food Spots in Tokyo

Eating shoulder to shoulder and sharing ochoko of warm sake in this tiny hole in the wall seems a world away now, but it was the inspiration for my restaurant, Okra Hong Kong. The simple menu that changes every day based on the days’ best ingredients cooked simply, either fried, grilled, roasted or raw without any long preparations or black truffle shavings or caviar, leaves you with a warm sense of being as you stumble out into the back alley of the entrance into a night with endless possibilities.

Place with the most crispy and the thinnest gyoza possible. And very juicy. As praxis you could get them fried and steamed, and of course a lot of cucumber dishes to go with them. Icecold japanese beer in abundance.

Love this place and their thick udon noodles. This is udon carbonara style with a slice of crispy bacon. Only ten places but well worth the queuing.

Japanse curry place with extra care of details. One of the best japanese versions I have eaten. This one with shrimps and avocado, served with both rice and mash. Topped with garam masala, black pepper, nutmeg, cumin, shalott, chili and you can add cheese.

An intimate soba restaurant in the back streets of Tokyo's Asakusa neighbourhood. You're here, as is the case at most soba joints, to take aim at the house-made noodles with Ozawa offering theirs in three different thicknesses (the parpadelle-like futo-uchi soba, as pictured here, is the thickest of the noodles). An excellent pit-stop for those shopping for ceramics or kitchen goods in nearby Kappabashi.

Tonki has existed since the 30s and they still serve really hard deep fried tonkatsu in two versions. One with more and one with less fat - go for the one with more fat as most of their customers do. The fat version is still a little less juicy than other favorite tonkatsu versions in Tokyo but great environment makes up for it.

Yuzu ramen is the specialty here and the choices of broths and toppings makes for a super tasty bowl. Surfer asthetic, fast service, great location. There are other Afuri shops all over tokyo and the consistency is top.

Delicious, thick pork gyokai tsukemen ramen in central Ginza. Impressive small noodle shop.This tiny ramen shop, located on a back street in central Ginza, is strictly specialised in tonkotsu gyokai tsukemen. The thick, straight noodles are cooked, rinsed cold an served with a separate bowl of thick, gravy like pork bone dipping broth with a delicious umami flavour. The noodles are topped with pork belly and soft egg. A few other ramen options. Make your orders in the queue in front of the door and pay in the vending machine, slurp your ramen and then leave room for the next customers.