Tanabe — Restaurant in Tokyo

The dining experience at Tanabe was one that my husband and I will remember forever. They didn't offer an English menu, but that's not a problem- we had an omakase experience, where the chef continues serving us dish after dish until we give the go-ahead to stop. We aren't very picky eaters, so we loved the anticipation of wondering what was going to come out next- from a beautiful and tender sashimi platter, to a pork/miso eggplant that was to die for. I didn't even know I liked eggplant until I tried it here. Beyond the food being exceptional, the owners were super nice and welcoming. Regardless of the language barrier, the owner was attentive and walked us through every meal, explaining what each thing was and how it's typically eaten via gesture (we had our Google up consistently, for translating key words). We had some good laughs, and nice exchanges about our trip so far and their restaurant. We left with full bellies and big smiles, and a little bit sad that we live so far away and therefore aren't able to become regulars. 10/10, once in a lifetime experience for us. Don't let the language barrier keep you from some of the best food and hospitality...

Wonderful, completely traditional izakaya, this couple have been running this place for many decades, if you want small dishes with a drink in the classic Japanese style while you are at ikebukuro, this is the place. Ordering in English won't be possible but we used photos from other Google reviews that the owner pointed us towards to tell her "one of this" and with just a little bit of basic Japanese, and knowing a couple of names of dishes we managed!...

We were supposed to be getting yakitori nearby but ended up to this little local restaurant. What a surprise! One of the owners (?) is from Taiwan so we had some conversations in mandarin. She’s very nice to introduce us the menu. Food was really good. Great atmosphere. We had the eggplant (with pork gravy), fried tofu (super delicious), and a 鮟鱇 hotpot and its liver. Really really delicious and I’d pay another visit if I visit...