Where Tokyo Locals Actually Eat: Five Old-School Teishoku Halls Their Regulars Have Vouched For, Some for 40 Years

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What locals said (excerpted from 62)

• @francebk👍 23

  Okajoki — I went constantly back when I worked in Nakano. The pickles used to be iburigakko. The rice, cooked in a traditional kettle near the pickle corner, is superb. Once, seated at the corner of the counter, I could see a bit of the kitchen: fish still alive and jumping, and the cook expertly breaking them down. The salmon is the most popular order, but everything moves you. If you like fried food, the sardine-fry teishoku at Miraku, a sardine specialist in Osaki, is delicious too.

  陸蒸気、中野勤務時代に何度も行きました。昔はお漬物がいぶりがっこだった。お漬物コーナー近くにある羽釜で炊かれたご飯も絶品。カウンターの隅に通されたときに板場がちょっと見えたのですが、生きたままぴんぴんはねている魚。板さんが手際よくさばいているのが見えました。一番人気は鮭ですが、どれを食べても感動します。揚げ物がお好きなら大崎の鰯料理の店味楽の鰯フライ定食も美味しいですよ。

• @Psyom01👍 6

  At Okajoki, the tuna collar usually sells out before noon.

  陸蒸気はマグロのカマが大抵は12:00前に売り切れてしまうのだなぁ

• @盛岡保👍 1

  I work in Nakano, so seeing Agemonya and Okajoki made me happy. By the way — go to Okajoki at night and hesitate over the miso soup, and they'll murmur, '…we can also do red king crab miso soup.' Take the bait and you get to experience a ¥5,000 bowl of miso soup 😂 (this was 15–16 years ago)

  中野で働いてるのであげもんやと陸蒸気嬉しかったです。 ちなみに陸蒸気は夜行って味噌汁に悩んでるとボソッと「たらばの味噌汁もできますよ。。。。」と誘ってきますw その誘いに乗ると5,000円の味噌汁が味わえますwww(15～6年前)

• @マルス-o5j👍 4

  Okajoki is basically in the high-end category, I'd say.

  陸蒸気は高級店のたぐいかと思うよ。

• @朝田隆-p2h👍 7

  ¥1,200 for a salt-salmon teishoku is expensive.

  塩じゃけ定食1200円は高い。

• @hitomi344👍 0

  Okajoki takes me back! Incredibly good, but honestly pricey — it was my splurge lunch.

  陸蒸気懐かしい！凄く美味しいけど、正直お高いので奮発ランチだったわ。

• @The113k👍 11

  When I lived in Sugamo 40 years ago, Tokiwa Shokudo was a far more weathered, full-on Showa-era place — naturally, it was the Showa era. The croquette teishoku was ¥150, absurdly cheap even for the time — about ¥400 in today's money. The shop has gotten cleaner and the prices higher. Even so, compared to other places it still looks worth eating at. I love fish-forward Japanese food, so I want to try every shop in this video.

  私が40年前に巣鴨に住んでいた時のときわ食堂は、昭和だから当たり前ですが、もっと古びた感じの昭和感満載のお店でした。 コロッケ定食が150円で異常に安いのに驚いていました。 今の貨幣価値だと400円ぐらいの感覚です。 お店が小綺麗になって、値段も高くなってしまいましたね。 それでも他店と比べると、食べる価値はありそうです。 魚介などの和食が好きなので、この動画のお店に行ってみたいです。

• @みゆん-f2t👍 6

  At Tokiwa Shokudo, the sashimi ordered as a teishoku is delicious too. When I went to the Komagome branch around May, the bonito and tuna were plump and springy — really good. A sincere, honest shop.

  ときわ食堂はお刺身を定食にしても美味しい　5月くらいに駒込店へ行った時カツオとマグロがもっちもちで本当に美味しかった　誠実なお店だと思う

• @Hei-leinCla-ke👍 1

  Tokiwa Shokudo coats its fries in large fresh panko, so they come out jagged enough to scratch your mouth — personally a bit much for me, but that's the signature, and people who love it can't get enough.

  ときわ食堂のフライは大きめの生パン粉を纏わせるため、口の中を怪我しそうなほどザクザクで個人的には少し苦手ですが、そこが特徴なので好きな人には堪らないはず。

• @teke3481👍 4

  I used to live near Hishidaya and went all the time. The shogayaki is the famous one, but every teishoku there is good, no exceptions. What all great teishoku shops have in common: the rice and the miso soup are excellent.

  菱田屋は以前近くに住んでいたのでよく行きました。 生姜焼きが有名ですが他の定食ももれなく美味しいです！ いい定食屋で共通しているのはお米と味噌汁が美味しい事だと思います。

• @samutany👍 2

  Hishidaya's rough on students though — it's pricey…

  菱田屋、高いから学生にはきついよね。。

• @groovewirez110👍 5

  I have to visit Agemonya. Back in my Tsukiji days, we could never go home at year-end, and we always ate Toyo-chan's catered bentos. If I can taste that agemon again, I absolutely must go! The last working day of the year was always katsu curry — the whole crew looked forward to it.

  あげもんやぜひ行ってみたいです。築地にいた時代は年末になると帰れなくて必ず豊ちゃんの仕出し弁当を食べていました。あのあげもんが味わえるなんて絶対に行く必要があります!暮れの最終日は必ずカツカレーで全員が楽しみにしていたのを思い出します。

• @ura_yaha_7117👍 4

  Of these, I drop by Mizuguchi now and then. Not on the list, but I also recommend Mori no Chaya in Ueno — it's right across from Chinchinken.

  この中では水口にはたまに行きます。 ここには挙がってないですが、上野の森の茶屋おすすめです。 ちょうど珍々軒の向かいにあります。

• @siegfried0420👍 0

  'The shogayaki teishoku said to be Japan's best'?? That's 三節 in Otsuka! Their shogayaki teishoku will blow your mind.

  日本一と言われる生姜焼き定食って？？大塚の三節だよ！三節の生姜焼き定食で度肝抜かれるぞ！

• @torakichitoraneko👍 1

  For teishoku shops, my favorite is 味安 in Ayase!

  定食屋さんだったら綾瀬の「味安」さんが好きです！

FAQ

Where do Tokyo locals actually eat?

This comment section's answer is the old-school teishoku hall: Okajoki and fried-food specialist Agemonya in Nakano, Mizuguchi in Asakusa, Hishidaya near Komaba-Todaimae Station, and Tokiwa Shokudo in Sugamo. Regulars going back 15 to 40 years confirmed every pick — and, tellingly, added four more shops of their own.

What is a teishoku?

A teishoku is Japan's everyday set meal — one main dish (grilled salmon, ginger pork, fried food) with rice, miso soup, and pickles. The shops in this thread are the classic halls that have served office workers and neighbors for decades, and the comments read like regulars defending their home team.

Are Tokyo's old-school teishoku diners expensive?

The comments debate this honestly. One local calls ¥1,200 for a salt-salmon set expensive, and a Hishidaya fan admits it's tough on students; but regulars counter that the fish is double the usual size and "you stop thinking it's expensive." As of the comments, think splurge-lunch prices, not tourist-trap prices.

Which shop has the best shogayaki (ginger pork) in Tokyo?

The video crowns Hishidaya's shogayaki as the one "said to be Japan's best," and a former neighbor confirms everything on its menu is good. But the comments push back too — one local swears the title belongs to 三節 in Otsuka. That argument itself is the sign you're in real teishoku territory.