Bon — Restaurant in Tokyo

Bon, Tokyo (Taito Area)

Of all the restaurant in Japan that we planned on dining out during our 2 week trip, Bon was the one we were looking most forward to. The pictures we’d seen on the net and other people’s experiences as vegetarians gave as the impression this would be the culinary highlight of our trip. In practice we found the presentation to be top notch, the experience unique (especially as our first private dining room Japan-style dining experience), but the food lacking a bit in flavor with too much reliance on thickening gel textures.

Bon is about a 25 minute walk from Ueno Park where we spent the day so it’s a good place to eat after a day at the park and only a 10 minute or so Uber ride away from there. And also it’s pretty accessible by a single subway ride from the park, though the park is large so factor in walking back to the subway from wherever you are. (Tokyo is such a large city we found it crucial to plan ahead where we were going to eat dinner based on what part of town we were visiting that day.)

This was our first “fucha” (Buddhist style) dining experience and my wife and I were ushered into a private room where we were asked to remove our shoes. This is the classic image of what you’d imagine a Japanese dining experience to be, and the room was lovely - much larger than we needed for 2, and with a window overlooking a Japanese garden.

The staff were very attentive and friendly. (And a few different people attended to us so we never knew who was going to slide open the door and bring us the next course!)

The food was absolutely gorgeous and creative looking (and all vegan!), though the tastes and textures didn’t always match the presentation.

There were a few standouts, but we found there was so much similarity in texture (especially foods encased in a gel-like substance) without as much attention paid to the flavor of the food. I liked the tempura a lot. A mushroom based “eel” situation had a lot of flavor and the green tea leaves on the rice were a nice touch.

The meal was expensive (over $200 for 2 of us including sake).

We found the amount of food and number of courses to be very generous…We thought we had ordered (in advance when we made the reservation) an 8,000 yen meal and are pretty sure we got a 10,000 yen meal. We were stuffed at the end (you definitely won’t go hungry here) but were generally disappointed with the lack of standout tastes in the dishes.

They deserve 5 stars on presentation, creativity and service…though we also expected 5 star taste and texture throughout based on other reviews and photos.

It was a unique experience, but we wouldn’t rush back. (We live in L.A. so that’s probably...

What an amazing experience! I went during lunchtime and got the 5000 yen lunch course, which is a 10 course menu. You get a private room which is very traditionally decorated, and the people are so welcoming and excellent hosts, they speak good English so you don’t feel like an outsider. The food was very interesting as it features a take on the Fucha Ryori buddhist vegetarian cuisine. Very simple and clean flavours and it was clear that the vegetable flavours were highlighted, rather than adding a bunch of spices / flavours. It is very simple, elegantly presented food. That being said not every dish from the 10 course menu was a hit, I wasn’t a big fan of the sesame tofu. Again this is a really great experience and really interesting to see how vegetarian food is featured in other cultures! If you’re a foodie, you’ll have an amazing time here. I can’t stress the hospitality of this place. Getting there is around a 10 minute walk from Ibiya station and there are actually signs on the street that guide you to the restaurant. Make sure you call in advance to make a reservation, they probably won’t take guests who show up...

We visited Bon for lunch, and the experience was truly unforgettable from the moment we walked in. 🥰🫶

We were guided to a small, beautifully traditional shoji room, which immediately transported us to another time, feels like stepping into the Edo period. Each private room has a small garden view, making a peaceful atmosphere that makes the meal even more special.

The host was incredibly warm and welcoming, taking time to explain the philosophy and traditions behind Shojin Ryori. They were very warm, the chef even came out to personally introduce himself, which made the experience feel even more special.

Every dish was thoughtfully prepared and artistic in taste and appearance. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but the unagi tofu dish was a standout super rich, flavorful, and surprisingly had all the good parts of an unagi dish.

Overall, Bon is a...