Queuing for Lunch Specials in Tokyo

In Tokyo, one way we opted to save money while not compromising on quality of food was to take advantage of some of the many lunch specials offered around the city. Available only around lunch time, some popular restaurants offer special pricing for their meals which allow budget conscious diners to enjoy the same great taste for less. The only caveats are there is usually only a limited number of lunch special sets available and due to the popularity, there is often a queue to wait in.

Here is a list of the restaurants that serve drool-worthy lunch specials:

Matsurokuya

Address: 4-10-2 Roppongi | Arakawa Bldg 1F, Minato 106-0032, Tokyo Prefecture
Lunch Special Hours: Begins at 11:30 am (recommended arrival 11:00 am)
What You Get: A5 Wagyu Beef Lunch Set
Cost: 1,800 Yen (or about $16 USD)
Limited Meals Served: 30

We arrived at 11:20 am and missed the first wave of dining so we didn’t get seated until 12:45 pm. It’s highly recommended that you arrive closer to 11:00 am to be included in the first group to dine. Once we did make it in to the restaurant, we were seated in a traditional Japanese private room.

For 1,800 yen, Matsurokuya serves A5 Wagyu beef meal set. The set comes with a Wagyu beef rice bowl (included is about 15 pieces of beef – there’s more hidden underneath the rice), a tofu side dish, a veggie side dish, a salad, soup and a red bean gelatin dessert. For an additional 400 Yen, you can add a sashimi side dish to your meal.

The side dishes were a little light in the taste but the beef rice bowl was awesome. You get to eat the rice bowl two ways, first with rice followed by adding soup into it.

Han No Daidokoro

Address: 2-29-8 Dogenzaka | Dogenzaka Center Bldg 4F, Shibuya 150-0043, Tokyo Prefecture
Lunch Special Hours: 11:30 – 3:00 pm
What You Get: A5 Wagyu Beef Barbeque
Cost: 2,500 Yen

During lunch hours, Han No Daidokoro serves a lunch set of premium A5 Wagyu beef for only 2,500 Yen or about $22 USD (as compared to $80 elsewhere for a similar meal).

The lunch set came with rice, unlimited side dishes (self served from side dish bar) and 2 pieces of each cut: Bottom Round, Rib-Shin, Loin Premium and Rib Premium. The meat comes raw but is quickly barbecued to perfection. And although 2 pieces of each may sound little, they were enough to make us feel full and satisfied.

The unlimited soup and side dishes at no additional cost made this meal a steal.

Katsukura – Katsu

Address: 5-24-2 Sendagaya | Takashimaya Times Square 14F, Shibuya 151-0051, Tokyo Prefecture
Lunch Special Hours: Begins at 11:00 am
What You Get: Tenderloin Katsu
Cost: 1,630 Yen (or $15 USD)

This is another Japanese chain restaurant that can be found in multiple cities but serves melt-in-your mouth Katsu (or fried pork cutlets). I’m not usually a katsu fan but was quickly addicted to Katsukura after just one bite.

Once seated, you will be provided with several mini dishes of garnishes in different forms and some instructions on how to turn these garnishes into a special dipping sauce. Katsu lunch meals start at $15 USD (or 1630 yen) and is served with unlimited rice, cabbage and soup. Our tenderloin Katsu is perfectly fried on the outside but incredibly soft and tender on the inside and goes well with the special sauce you’ve just made yourself.

Kien

Address: 2-18-8 Akasaka, Minato 107-0052, Tokyo Prefecture
Lunch Special Hours: Begins at 11:30 am (recommended arrival 11:00 am)
What You Get: Kaiseki Set
Cost: 1,700 Yen (or about $15 USD)

Source: Tabelog.com

Kien was included in our Itinerary but we ended up skipping out on it due to change of schedules on our trip. However, since we did do the research we thought we would include it anyway.

At Kien, for 1,700 you are served a Kaiseki set which is a Japanese, traditional multi-course meal. Kaiseki meals requires a lot of effort to prepare and will usually cost an average of $70 a meal. Therefore we were highly interested in trying Kien for only 1,700. Here is a picture that a TripAdvisor reviewer posted of what he received in the set:

Source: TripAdvisor

Shinjukukappo Nakajima

Address: 3 32-5 Shinjuku | B1F, Shinjuku 160-0022, Tokyo Prefecture
Lunch Special Hours: Begins at 11:30 am
What You Get: Sardine Lunch Set
Cost: 900 Yen

Source: Tabelog.com

Nakajima was another restaurant we wanted to hit up but didn’t get a chance to. Nakajimi is a 1-Star Michelin restaurant that specializes in sardine and offers lunch specials for only 800 and 900 Yen. They offer 4 different lunch sets depending on how you want the sardine to be prepared: Sashimi, Deep-Fried, Boiled with Soy Sauce, and Yanagawanabe (deep fried with egg omelette). Here are the meals one TripAdvisor reviewer enjoyed and posted about:

Source: TripAdvisor

Gram Cafe

Address: 1-9-30 Jingumae | FREG Harajuku 1F, Shibuya 150-0001, Tokyo Prefecture
Brunch Hours: Begins at 11:00 am
What You Get: Premium Fluffy Pancakes (3)
Cost: 950 Yen (about $8.50 USD)
Limited Meals Served: 60 a Day | 20 every 4 Hours

This is actually a Brunch Special but Gram Cafe serves extremely fluffy pancakes for only 950 Yen during brunch time. These pancakes were so fluffy, they jiggled on the plate as the waitress brought each dish out while taking careful steps to keep the pancakes balanced and from toppling over.

These pancakes tasted like a cloud and were so good, the taste is still memorable until today. Although the cake was light in texture, it was heavy in the buttery taste therefore rather than ordering 1 set for each person, we quickly realized it would have been a better choice to have shared 1 set among the two of us.

We ate at the location in Harajuku, Tokyo but we also passed by a branch in Osaka. The location in Osaka had people queuing up on the stairs while the location in Harajuku handed out to tickets to those who come first. If you’re visiting the Harajuku branch, we recommend you arrive before 11:00 am to take a ticket and shop around Harajuku while you wait until your designated time to return (about an hour later).

Let us know if you’ve had any other lunch specials in Japan that you would recommend.