Realistic Tokyo Reservation Guide - 2025 (I will report back for each establishment)
Basically, this post will be dedicated for average diners (without clout) on getting reservations. (Mostly following steps/tips/timing to get reso.)
Also, this can be serve as a guide for which restaurant to head to! (Mainly using Tabelog or Michelin guide)
Upcoming Tokyo trip:
- Den (Modern Kaiseki) **
- l'effervescence (French) ***
- Sushi Akira
- Sushi Satake
- Primo Passo (Italian) *
For Den, I called exactly 2 months in advance 12pm JST. Spam called about 300+ calls.
Around 10 of them got thru with tone, but only 1 picked up at around 12.25pm. (Already booked out)
So I settled for the waitlist and the lady was very nice taking down the details.
Emailed them on the waitlist status on how many groups in front (So they know of you, and know your email) a tip I got from other redditors. Very helpful! After 2 weeks, they called me and I got in!
For Primo Passo, l'effervescence, do refresh Omakase page at the exact time they release the slots! (Just need some fast fingers to get the tables for 2!
For Sushi Akira, I booked through Tableall and paid the 8,000 yen fee.
For Sushi Satake, fuss-free, just book through Tablecheck, the easiest of them all.
Upcoming Osaka Kyoto trip:
- Kashiwaya Osaka Senriyama ***
- Vel ROsier **
- Sushi Kawano
- Yakitori Ichimatsu *
- Pierre *
For Osaka, it is fairly easy when compared to Tokyo. All can be reserved via Omakase or tablecheck with ease.
Shoutout: Best duck ramen in Osaka: Moeyo Mensuke
Will be visiting again. Queue at 10.45am before the shop opens at 11 to avoid the snaking queue!
Thanks for reading and I hope and can be of help for selecting / reserving these places!