Kyubey Ginza

I don’t know if anyone should listen to my opinions (as I’m consider a foreigner-​traveler), but I honestly like the sushi. The best I had so far. What people explained is true: rice is #1.
#1 problem) Tourists staying non-​hotels or non-​resident in Japan will not be able to reserve. I enjoyed AirBNB in Japan. My brother’s friend in Japan helped reserved a spot.
I had a sushi with a hint much of wasabi and he noticed straight away my reaction.
Another was the squid was a bit chewy. But then I had squid in a mid-​level sushi, conveyor belt restaurant (mostly filled with locals), and it was chewy.
I still like it overall and was full, which a sushi chef’s intension.
The customers on the night we went were 99% older residence, and usual customers. 1% are us and sugar babies. No dissing as this is true. Everyone should have the chance to experience Japan’s sushi right? So, seeing older folks and non-​foreigners usually tells me this place is good.
High class, Michelin Star places was a bit uncomfortable to me, but I knew how it is. I don’t mind. I don’t think you should try to share you food, talk too much to the chef, or start dipping all sorts of sauces. The chef will let you know or you ask. He will also let you know what you should or shouldn’t do. No shame, just learning. I’m completely fine. It’s an experience.
No, no, no US tourists. Don’t try to tip. They won’t allow it = insult.
Yes, I would still go to this place.

I love sushi and I have been to many sushi restaurants in Tokyo, ranging from places that cost 4,000 yen per person to high end places that cost over 20,000+ yen per person. And I have yet had such a disappointing meal. I do not understand how this place could get so many good reviews. I guess either I was somehow unlucky, or this place has gone downhill.
Let me start with the good part. The place is fairly easy to find and very accessible. It’s near the Ginza station and close to all the shopping and dining. They are very foreign tourist friendly, both the chef and the service ladies spoke some English. The chef that served me was very friendly and tried to come up with a few jokes. But I’d rather he spent the effort to make better cuts. I was seated at their main location, and there were a fair amount of local people (usually a good sign), but also some tourists.
As for the food, I would say their raw material (the uncut fish, you’ll see why I emphasize the ‘uncut’ here) was fresh and I had nothing to complain.
However everything started going downhill from there. I’ll make it simple and use a few bullet points to describe why I find the dining experience disappointing. For reference, I went with their Omakase option.
1. The rice didn’t feel right. I couldn’t tell whether it was too cold or did I simply not like the seasoning. It just didn’t feel right to me and did not pair very well with the fish.
2. The first few pieces were packed with wasabi, I’m usually pretty good about wasabi but the amount the chef put in the fish was simply overwhelming.
3. Half of the fish cut contained a fair amount of tendon or something that was very hard to chew. I’ve never had this problem with any sushi restaurant in Japan before.
4. About half of the fish came with heavy seasoning that overpowered the fish. I understand that some fish needs some type of seasoning. But the amount here seems excessive.
5. This one is simply ridiculous. The rice ball broke in half for one of the pieces when I picked it up. And it was not even by chopsticks, it was picked up by hand.
6. The serving tempo Is too fast for a place of this level. I would have said I didn’t get the time to enjoy the after taste of each piece, but it wasn’t enjoyable anyway, I only felt the fish tendon.
7. The bill also came out higher than I expected. They showed fixed price for Omakase, but the bill I got was much higher. I expect to pay more had I ordered additional a-​la-​carte pieces or paired with some nice sake, but neither was the case. The only thing I ordered other than the set menu was a draft beer. By the end of the meal I didn’t even bother digging into it, I honestly just wanted to get out and get some ramen.
Overall, I consider the meal terrible for the amount of money they charge. I am definitely not coming back, and I will not recommend this place to anyone I know.

When Jamie W. and I decided to visit Tokyo, I was harboring a fantasy that maybe I could secure two seats at the Michelin three-​starred Sukiyabashi Jiro since surely I was the only one to be seduced by that mouth-​watering documentary, «Jiro Dreams of Sushi». Fat chance. You can’t book it unless you know Japanese, and even then, it’s months in advance. But then I was watching what Phil was having (Phil Rosenthal, that is) on his PBS travel foodie series and saw this. He’s the self-​described anti-​Anthony Bourdain, an edgy culinary adventurer he is not but a mensch with a lot of money (presumably). He had an extended segment on what I found out is one of Tokyo’s most famous and oldest (1935) sushi restaurants.
The morning we got to Tokyo, I spoke with the helpful hotel concierge about Kyubey who gave her nodding approval and immediately retrieved a flyer about it from her massive filing cabinet. She called the restaurant, and shockingly, they had room for us that evening. Now understand we didn’t get to meet master chef Yousuke Imada, and our seats were in the hanare, which is the annex across the alley. However, it was a still-​beautiful and intimate set-​up much like a theater to watch our chef Takeshima-​san work his artistry (photo:
). There was only seating for twelve, and that was enough work for two chefs. We went for the basic Omakase dinner which was not cheap at ￥10,000 each, but the quality was impeccable.
It was described simply as «12 pieces of assorted sushi, Roll and Soup» which hardly does Takeshima-​san justice as it may have been the most ethereally satisfying sushi experience in my life. We started with a bottle of cold Yamadori Sake which was fast becoming my favorite (photo:
). A small seaweed salad came next (photo:
) along with fish bones fried to a light crackle to simulate appetizer crackers (photo:
). Then it was up to Takeshima-​san to give us the sushi he wanted to create including their world-​famous uni (photo:
) and a most savory pair of barbecue eel (photo:
). The raw fish would be either delicately brushed with a light soy sauce or lightly sprinkled with sea salt.
He asked if we wanted our shrimp raw or cooked, which basically meant a light boil for a matter of seconds (photo:
). Even the norimaki, which is more of a Western iteration, was presented with an unexpected freshness (photo:
). It was quite a culinary symphony that ended with the tastiest tamago I’ve ever had, almost dessert-​like in its sweetness but not cloying in the slightest (photo:
). Yes, I needed some ocha to clam my palate down for the disappointing meals that were inevitable to follow in the wake of Takeshima-san’s masterful work (photo:
). Somehow the sushi bento box in the refrigerated section of Walgreen’s back home are just not going to taste the same anymore.
FOOD — 5 stars… sushi artistry that could hardly be repeated unless I come back… which I will one day
AMBIANCE — 5 stars… you do have to sit below ground level, the intimate culinary theater experience produces magic
SERVICE — 5 stars… personal attention is all you get
TOTAL — 5 stars… an amazing sushi adventure awaits at this legendary haunt in the Ginza

You should go there for a special day! I’m sure it’d be one of the best memories in Japan.
Beautiful… Delicious naturally colorful seasonal food, amazing and sophisticated customer service, … Everything is high quality here.
To experience this fantastic restaurant, you should take more 10,000 yen bills than usual or a good credit card! And business cards just in case. A great thing is that you don’t need to tip at even this much nice spot.

Kyubey was the best sushi experience that my boyfriend and I had while vacationing in Japan. One of my friends recommended this establishment to us since we didn’t want to spend a fortune on sushi but still want good sushi. Kyubey is opened for lunch and dinner, however, there is quite a price difference between the two menus. Therefore, my boyfriend and I decided to go during lunch.
We were really lucky to get a reservation here. We had our hotel help us call Kyubey to make a same day lunch reservation. He was able to get us the reservation for 11:30 am. The restaurant opens at 11:30 am so we had the first seating! The restaurant looks really traditional and we got seated right in the middle of the long table.
My boyfriend and I both got the Omakase set which was 8,000 yen (roughly USD $ 65 at the time). The sampler consisted of 10 different nigiri samples, a roll, seaweed salad and radish, miso soup, tamago, and a dessert. Needless to say, it was a lot of food. We were so full afterwards. However, it was such a good deal, it was worth our money, and we would gladly do it all over again!
I do believe we got to sample yellowtail, bonito, chutoro, a sort of clam, squid, shrimp, unagi, anago, uni, and some white fish that I can’t remember. The MOST memorable ones were the anago and shrimp. The shrimp was simply amazing. When the chef took the shrimp out… they were still alive and kicking. He will ask if you want it boiled or raw. Of course I went with raw, especially when it’s going to be THAT FRESH! If you want it raw, the chef will proceed to shell the shrimp right there. Head goes off first… I think I saw it still moving while he placed it on the sushi rice. Garnished with just a bit of lime and some salt, it was simply delicious! As for the anago, it melts in your mouth! Unlike unagi, it’s not sweet .so it’s a bit different. It also has a bit of salt to it to give it a savory taste. It was soooo good. I moaned when I ate it.
For that day, we could choose between a red bean jelly dessert or grapes. I chose the grapes only because they taste really different in Japan than they do in the States. Yummy grapes. Tastes just like candy!
The only thing I didn’t care for was the sushi roll. It wasn’t very good. Everything else was absolutely wonderful! I would definitely come again! Yummyyummy.

Great sushi restaurant, excellent knowledgeable and English speaking staff as well as superior «Itamaes» or sushi chefs. Fresh beyond belief. A bit on the pricey side, but well worth every penny.

I would say this was one of my best Sushi experiences. A co-​worker of mine learned from the Sushi chef in Japanese Market in Miami that Kyubei was the best in Tokyo. I was not dissappointed with the selection. I chose the Shigaraki which cost 16 200 yen ($ 140) that included an appetizer, sashimi, grilled fish, sushi, soup and dessert, it was basically an Omakase that included appetizer, soup and dessert. I sat next to a Japanese couple that repeated a rumor that President Obama ate at Kyubei. Other clientele varied from a middle aged business man and his date to children of guests staying at Hotel Okura that they were happy to serve. The wait staff was very friendly.
Our chef was Hidejima San who also had his younger brother working next to him. Our seating was at the bar so we could see how the sashimi and sushi was prepared.
Our first course was an appetizer then we had a sashimi course that included special yellow tail, bonito and toro. Our next course was a grilled king mackerel. We then had a course of Sushi that included
Red snapper
Toro
Squid
Uni topped with almond
Scallop
Shrimp
Kohada (Japanese sardine)
Shrimp brain
Two pieces of anago (eel) one topped with salt and another topped with special eel sauce
We then had a course of a two rolls
one chopped toro with scallion roll and one cucumber roll
The last piece was a sweet Tamago (egg)
We then finished off the meal with a desert of sweet fig with gelatin
I would come again and eat here with my wife.

Easily the best sushi meal of my life. No, one of the best meals of my life.
While honeymooning in Tokyo, the concierge at our hotel recommended Kyubey Ginza and arranged a reservation for us. When we arrived at the restaurant, we saw our names written on a list outside and were escorted to our seats. It’s very traditional, so we had to remove our shoes and sit around a sushi bar.
We opted for the least expensive omakase, which was about $ 80 USD per person. The party next to us ordered the more expensive omakase and it looked like way too much food, so I was happy with what we ordered.
Every single piece that was beautifully presented to us was outstanding. The chef placed live prawns in front of us for us to gawk at as we ate, then masterfully yanked off the heads and almost instantly turned it into nigiri. I swear, it was still twitching as I ate it. It doesn’t get any fresher than that.
Yosuke Imada, the owner of this legendary restaurant empire, even came out and enjoyed a glass of champagne with us.
Truly, one of the best meals of my life and an unforgettable experience.

Came in last night for dinner with my husband. Food and service were excellent and atmosphere was very pleasant.
They have several floor levels in the main building /​restaurant location. Each floor is decorated in different styles (sushi bar, Japanese style/​seated on floor, western style/​seated at table, etc.). We had our hotel concierge make reservations for us, as recommended on a few sites that we saw. We arrived about 10 minutes before our reservation time and were seated immediately. We were seated on the first floor at the sushi bar — the sushi chefs were right in front of us preparing our meals. They have several waitresses that will seat you and serve you drinks. We had the pleasure of having Mori-​san (a sushi chef of about 40 years!) serve our food. We ordered 2 different dinner sets. He prepared the food artistically and served it swiftly. When he saw that my husband and I were sharing our dinner sets, he immediately adjusted the servings so that we each had a piece of everything (instead of serving us each our own dinner set). He was also kind enough to educate us in the proper etiquette for eating different types of sushi. Mori-​san spoke very decent English and was just all-​around awesome.
We also befriended two other patrons while at dinner. The first was a local Japanese gentleman who praised Mori-​san and recommended some very excellent sake to accompany dinner (the name of the sake was a little long and started with «Tam…», it was slightly sweet in flavor). The second was a traveling French/​American businessman also with high recommendations for this sushi chef. At the end of the dinner, the restaurant owner came out to ask/​make sure we had a good dinner. They were nice enough to let us take photos with the owner and our sushi chef. The owner also handed us a copy of an article about his restaurant. :)
All the food here was delicious, but the uni (sea urchin) here was AMAZING. Overall, the price for dinner here is quite steep — about 8x’s more than places you can go to at the Tsukiji fish market (those places however are only open in the early morning/​early afternoon, and come with at least an hour wait on line in the stifling heat before you can be seated). You’re definitely paying for the service (being able to make reservations and being served immediately) and atmosphere here (all the wait staff were extremely polite and helpful). Being so close to the fish market, I can’t imagine any sushi restaurant in this area would have bad fish. In the U.S., my husband’s stomach normally does not react well to sushi, but he has not suffered any issues from the fish here. :)

Wenn man mal nach Tokyo reist, gibt es mehrere Musts: Einer davon ist High-​End-​Sushi essen gehen. Dank meinem Concierge kam ich an einen begehrten Platz an der Bar.
Genau — hier wird keine Spielerei oder fancy Laufband betrieben. Hier geht es um den puren Genuss, der in perfekter Verarbeitung vor deinen Augen hingezaubert wird. Es gibt zwar eine Karte, die man aber getrost auf der Seite liegen lassen kann. Wer die Schwellen eines solchen Lokals überschreitet, der kommt für ein Omakase («Ich überlass’ es dir, Chef!»
Was darauf folgte war ein Feuerwerk von Entertainment, Warenkunde, Fingerfertigkeit und scharfen Messern (Die Chefs schneiden Rettich horizontal!). Als Start kam gleich ein wunderbares Nigiri mit Tuna-​Belly (hoher Fettgehalt), dessen Konsistenz nahe an Butter war. Es gilt dabei lediglich die Fish-​Spitze in Sojasauce zu tunken (wenn überhaupt), und ja nicht den Reis! Den dieser ist unschlagbar gut verarbeitet und schmeckt schon alleine hervorragend.
Darauf ging es Schlag auf Schlag, wobei ich einige besonders hervorheben möchte: Uni Nigiri (mit Seeigel), der vor allem durch seine Aromatik auffiel: Es war wie an einer Küste zu stehen und den Seewind einzuatmen. Wie zu erwarten war, glich die Textur einem kühlen cremigen Desserts — Ein Traum für Seafood Fans!
Was nach ein paar weiteren hervorragenden Nigiris folgte, war vor allem spektakulär: Der Chef legte mir eine lebendige Garnele hin und fragte mich wie ich den Kollegen am liebsten hätte: «Frisch oder gekocht?». «Frisch», antwortete ich ohne zu zögern. Ohne Techtelmechtel machte er sich dann ans Werk: Kopf ab, Schale weg, Darm raus, Schnitte hier und da, Wasabi, Reis, Sossenpinsel und zack — da war das odori-​ebi (roh) dessen durchsichtiger Körper mir ein noch schlagendes Herz offenbarte! Sicher nicht jedermanns Geschmack,. aber die gierige Sensation, welche mich dann überfiel, liess meine Essstäbchen sofort zuschnappen um den Happen direkt in meinen Mund zu befördern. Hervorragend!
Weitere Bewunderung habe ich für den Sushi mit Makrele (sehr aromatisch!), die Tamago resp. die Tamago Nigiri und die Uni-​Nigiri (grillierter Aal)
Alles in allem bin ich pappsatt aufgestanden, dass ich mein Jacket fast nicht mehr zubekam. Geschmacklich und mengenmässig (ca. 15 Sushi, Salat, Suppe und Raddish Sandwichs) wurden meine Erwartungen mehr als übertroffen. Nach so einer Erfahrung läuft man Gefahr im Heimatland (alle ausser Japaner sollten sich angesprochen fühlen) nicht mehr Sushi essen zu wollen, da man nur enttäuscht würde. =)
Ein hervorragendes Lokal, dass die Tradition der Edo-​Sushi mit Stolz lebt und hoffentlich weit in die Zukunft trägt.

Excellent, excellent, excellent!!!
By far, the best sushi I have ever had.
At first, I felt a little apprehensive by the chef. But he joked with us, and made sure our beers were never empty.
We were full with the Omakase order. Tried some new things that were delicious.
The fatty tuna was like butter and melted in my mouth.
Two of us with Sake and beers=¥285
Cheap by L.A. standards and better quality. It’s going to be hard to have sushi at home after this!

This was recommended to me by one of my old friends who lives here. It was also noted that our hosts said that is where the locals like to go to eat.
It is not as famous as Jiro but for a quarter or half the price, it was really good.
Keep in mind, you need a local to make a reservation for you in advance, you can’t just walk in. Very limited seating.
As for food, you can choose from the menu a set meal. We opted for the 14 piece omakase. It was very good and more food than we expected.
The service and the food was excellent. It was better than anything we could get in the US.

We were really excited to try this famous sushi place in the upscale Ginza neighborhood. Unfortunately, the joke was on us. We arrived at 9pm sharp as we were told the last order would be taken at 9:30 and that was the earliest they could get us in. We were taken to a waiting room and waited 25 minutes. We were seated at 9:30, given two minutes to order drinks and then told last call, as our sushi chef started in on the Omakase. The fish was good but this is Tokyo, home to the best fish in the world. I think you’d need to try pretty hard to get bad fish. The chefs started cleaning up for the night as we started our meal and we could tell they wanted to get out of there. Our Omakase felt rushed. Again, sushi was ok. Nothing memorable. They should not take 9pm reservations and then seat us at 9:30 and rush us out. Overall, expensive for a very mediocre experience that had us feeling like cattle. Do your best to go elsewhere in Tokyo for sushi.

Good sushi, not the best in Japan but definitely worth coming multiple times. Coming at lunch is cheaper than dinner. You get the most bang for your buck. Its much easier to get resos here if you forgot to make resos for a place like jiro’s a month in advance.
Traditional sushi dining. Take off your shoes. Great for newbies to Japan. This place still beats out 93% of the sushi restaurants back in the western world.

Best sushi I’ve ever eaten.

I have been lucky enough to dine at Kyubey a few times over the years and it’s spectacular. The Kyubey family has owned this restaurant since the early 1900s. Chef Kyubey has been there during all of my visits and he loves to greet each guest and converse and take pictures. The fish is beautiful. The sushi chefs are masters at what they do. The other diners have been friendly and also love to converse, as I have been alone at the sushi bar during my visits there. I don’t speak Japanese but the staff is well versed in English, so it’s not a problem. The Uni and Toro were incredible. The Mirugai was still moving as he was slicing it with precision. I highly recommend Kyubey if you’re in Tokyo. It’s in the heart of the Ginza area, so get some shopping in after a few sakes…

If you do some research on «best sushi in Tokyo» you will see that Kyubey consistently pops up near the top results. It’s not as famous as Jiro but honestly, I don’t see how sushi can get much better than at Kyubey’s
I don’t remember the exact cost of the meal but it was somewhere around 200 USD for the Omakase. You basically get your own sushi chef who only serves your party, which was quite the awesome experience. We ate at the annex location across from the main building so I’m not sure if it is the same setup over there.
The sushi chef masterfully crafts each piece of delicious sushi and brushes on the perfect amount of soy sauce before presenting it to you. He waits for you to finish before he starts making the next piece. The food comes at pace where you can truly enjoy the whole experience. When he noticed that I was left handed he started plating the sushi at a different angle so I could pick it up more easily with my chopsticks!
The sushi here is truly amazing, it’s pretty cool seeing the fresh fish at the Tsukiji market in the morning and eating it at night.
When we were about to leave the owner came by to ask how we were doing and we got to take a picture with him. I believe either the owner’s father or grandfather (or possibly great grandfather?) invented the Gunkan style sushi.
On a random tangent, I read an article about the owner later on in a copy of Bentley Magazine :)
There are good sushi places in Los Angeles but having the full omakase experience in Japan with such high quality fish really makes everything else seem bleh.
You might be able to get the same experience/​delicious sushi at places like Urasawa but you will end up paying 3−4x more.

So everyone wants to dream with Jiro. But does he want you along? If I was Bill Gates, this would prob on top of my to do list and that is probably why I ain’t Bill Gates. So I’ll stick with easier and more accommodating places to dine.
This place is a bit tricky to find and we were wandering around forever with my brother asking in broken Japanese where this place was. But finally we made it. This place is fairly large. We were actually seated in an extension to the restaurant which was in another building across the street
Kyubey quality was on the same level as sushi dai. Obviously the ambiance is nicer and sleeker and there is more of a selection. And they were very accommodating and it seems its geared towards westerners in that regards. The chef took time and explained everything and he even let us peruse a sushi book while we were eating to see the different seafood we were eating… Almost like Sushi 101, or actually more like 310, 420. (Jiro probably being like a masters class).
But like I mentioned above, this place is fairly large with multiple itamaes. So obviously your experience will depend on your respective itamae. We may have been lucky though since were sitting next to Hollywood… Mr. Ocasek and his family, including his lovely wife Paulina Porizkova (which my gf later informed me. And ric is a great guy). I sneaked her in one of the sushi pictures that I took for your viewing pleasure.

We made a reservation by calling internationally – unfortunately there isn’t an email reservation system. We were seated on the fifth floor sushi bar with mostly Japanese patrons, including two «geisha/​maiko» who were dining with businessmen. The sushi chef asked for allergies and preferences in the beginning. We ordered the set meal (15,000 yen) that was not the omakase and found more variety because the Singaporean couple next to us ordered the omakase of straight raw seafood. We already had Sushi Dai for breakfast that was also an omakase :). Our chef recommended the house sake for us. The appetizer had some cooked food components in typical Japanese petite bite sizes.
One of the best parts was the raw shrimp which were placed before you alive and kicking and if you want to eat them raw (highly recommended! rather than boiled) he beheads and rips the shrimp apart in front of you and serves it immediately. Also, we really appreciated that Mr. Kyubey came out to greet us and ask where we were from and then proceeded to give us a copy of his WSJ article, haha! Dessert unfortunately was just a piece of watermelon when I was dying for something matcha green tea based. (There’s an amazing place in Kyoto Gion for that!) The service is crazy, maybe even to the point of awkwardness – I dropped my phone on the floor by my feet and the waitress immediately came to pick it up for me even though I was much closer and capable – but maybe that is a reason to love Japan. Hospitality at its best!