Restaurant in Tokyo, Japan
Tabelog Silver sushi, away from the tourist circuit.
Nishizaki is a 12-seat counter sushi restaurant in Setagaya with a Tabelog Silver Award (2026) and a score of 4.34. Dinner runs JPY 20,000–39,999 per head; Sunday lunch is the better-value entry point at JPY 15,000–19,999. Reservations are mandatory — book two to three weeks out and expect a quieter, more local room than central Tokyo's omakase circuit.
Nishizaki holds a Tabelog score of 4.34, a 2026 Silver Award, and a place in the Tabelog Sushi TOKYO Top 100 for 2025. Those credentials put it in the same conversation as the most-discussed counter sushi restaurants in Tokyo, and the pricing — dinner at JPY 20,000–29,999 on the menu, with review-based averages running closer to JPY 30,000–39,999 , reflects exactly that positioning. If you are deciding whether to book here or one of the more central options, the answer depends on whether you are willing to travel to Higashi Kitazawa, a quiet residential pocket of Setagaya that sees few tourists. That willingness is the single biggest variable in this decision.
Nishizaki operates from a basement counter in Kitazawa, Setagaya, open Monday through Saturday from 18:00 to 23:00, with a Sunday lunch seating from 12:00 to 14:00 and dinner service resuming at 18:00. The room holds 12 seats in total: an eight-seat main counter and a four-seat private counter that can be reserved as a private room. Reservations are mandatory , walk-ins are not a realistic option at a 12-seat reservation-only restaurant with a 4.34 Tabelog score. Credit cards are accepted; electronic money and QR code payments are not. There is no parking on site.
This is the most consequential practical question for anyone planning a visit. Dinner is priced at JPY 20,000–29,999, but actual spend based on reviews trends higher, towards JPY 30,000–39,999. Lunch, available only on Sundays, comes in at JPY 15,000–19,999 , meaningfully lower, and with the same award-level kitchen producing it. If a Sunday works for your schedule, the lunch seating is the better value entry point into Nishizaki's cooking. The format is counter sushi, so the difference between lunch and dinner is primarily price and duration rather than a fundamentally different experience. For a first visit, Sunday lunch is the recommendation: lower cost, same quality, and a shorter two-hour window that suits a half-day Tokyo itinerary without committing an entire evening.
For a date or small celebration, the eight-seat main counter format works well , intimate enough for a meaningful meal, without the sometimes-performative atmosphere of larger omakase rooms. The four-seat private counter is available for groups who want full separation, which makes it a reasonable option for a business dinner or a quiet anniversary. The dress code is not formal, but the restaurant asks guests to avoid strong fragrances including perfume and heavy fabric softener , worth noting if you are dressing up for the occasion. Sake and wine are both taken seriously here, with the menu specifically flagging careful curation of nihonshu and wine selections. For a Tokyo special-occasion sushi meal that does not require navigating Ginza, Nishizaki is a credible choice at its price point.
The address is 5 Chome-3-12 Kitazawa, Setagaya, Tokyo, B1F , approximately 413 metres from Higashi Kitazawa Station. The Odakyu and Keio Inokashira lines both serve that station, making access from central Tokyo direct. Budget 20–30 minutes from Shinjuku. There is no official website listed and no phone number in the public record, which means reservations must be made through Tabelog or a third-party booking channel. Booking difficulty is rated Easy by Pearl, but given the 12-seat capacity and strong Tabelog credentials, booking well in advance , ideally two to three weeks out , is the sensible approach, particularly for weekend sittings.
Dinner: JPY 20,000–29,999 (review average: JPY 30,000–39,999). Sunday lunch: JPY 15,000–19,999. Hours: Mon–Sat 18:00–23:00; Sun 12:00–14:00 and 18:00–23:00. Seats: 12 total (8 main counter, 4 private counter). Reservations required. Credit cards accepted. No parking. Fragrance-free dress requested.
See the comparison section below for how Nishizaki sits against other Tokyo venues in the same price bracket.
Yes , the eight-seat main counter is well-suited to solo diners. Counter sushi in this format is designed around individual interaction with the chef, and a single seat is typically easier to book than a table for two or more. At JPY 20,000–39,999 per head depending on drinks, it is a significant solo spend, but the 2026 Tabelog Silver and 4.34 score support it as a worthwhile solo splurge in Tokyo.
Lunch is better value. Sunday lunch is priced at JPY 15,000–19,999 versus JPY 20,000–29,999 for dinner (with actual spend often reaching JPY 30,000–39,999 at dinner). The kitchen producing both seatings carries the same award credentials. If Sunday works for your schedule, lunch is the recommendation for a first visit , same quality, lower cost, and a more manageable two-hour window.
For counter sushi at a comparable or higher tier, Harutaka is the most direct peer comparison , also a top-ranked Tabelog omakase counter, but located in Ginza. If you want to stay in the ¥¥¥¥ bracket but shift format, RyuGin offers kaiseki rather than sushi. For creative cooking at a lower price point, Crony is worth considering. Nishizaki's edge over more central sushi counters is the Setagaya location , less tourist traffic, quieter room, same award-level quality.
Two to three weeks in advance is the practical minimum given the 12-seat capacity, reservation-only policy, and Tabelog Silver status. Sunday lunch seatings may be slightly easier to secure than weekday evenings. Booking is rated Easy by Pearl, but that reflects process rather than availability , the room fills fast at this level of recognition.
Yes, with caveats. The four-seat private counter is available for small groups wanting separation, which works well for an anniversary or business dinner. The main counter fits up to eight and is intimate enough for a date. Avoid heavy fragrance as the restaurant explicitly requests this. At JPY 20,000–39,999 per head with a curated sake and wine list, it holds up as a special-occasion venue at the mid-to-upper end of Tokyo sushi pricing.
Three things: it is reservation-only with no walk-in option, it is in Setagaya rather than central Tokyo (about 20–30 minutes from Shinjuku via Higashi Kitazawa Station), and Sunday lunch at JPY 15,000–19,999 is the most accessible entry point. The format is counter sushi across 12 seats. Credit cards are accepted. No phone number or website is publicly available, so book through Tabelog or a third-party channel.
The main counter at Nishizaki has eight seats , this is the primary dining format. There is no separate bar for drinks-only. The four-seat private counter functions as a private room rather than a casual overflow space. All seating requires a reservation, and the restaurant does not accommodate walk-ins.
No formal dress code is specified, but the price point and award standing suggest smart casual at minimum. The single explicit instruction from the restaurant is to avoid strong fragrances , perfume and heavily scented fabric softener are both called out. For a dinner spend of JPY 20,000–39,999, treat it as you would any serious counter sushi experience: dressed neatly, fragrance-free.
Yes, and it may be the ideal format. Eight of the twelve seats are at the main counter, which suits solo diners far better than table-based restaurants in the same price range. At JPY 20,000–29,999 per head for dinner, solo diners get the full counter experience without the awkwardness of booking a table for one.
Lunch is better value on paper — priced at JPY 15,000–19,999 versus JPY 20,000–29,999 for dinner — but review-based actual spend at dinner runs JPY 30,000–39,999, suggesting the full experience comes out at dinner. Sunday lunch is the only midday service, so if you want to reduce spend and still experience the counter, that is your window. Dinner is the primary format and likely the more complete offering.
For sushi in a similar price range with comparable Tabelog recognition, Harutaka in Ginza is a well-documented alternative at the higher end of the same bracket, though it sits in a more central location. If you want to compare formats rather than proximity, RyuGin offers a kaiseki approach at similar spend levels. Nishizaki's case is specifically its Setagaya counter format and a 4.34 Tabelog score — if that neighbourhood positioning does not work for your itinerary, Harutaka is the closest peer comparison on credentials alone.
Nishizaki is reservation-only with 12 seats total, and holds a 2026 Tabelog Silver Award — demand is not casual. Book at least four to six weeks out for a weekday dinner seat; Sunday lunch may have slightly more availability but is the only midday service of the week. No phone number is publicly listed, so confirm the booking channel via Tabelog's reservation system before assuming availability.
Yes, particularly for parties of up to four. A private counter room is available for four people, which separates it from most sushi counters in Tokyo where privacy is not an option. The main eight-seat counter suits an intimate dinner for two. At JPY 20,000–29,999 per head, the price point signals the occasion without reaching into three-Michelin-star territory.
It is a basement counter restaurant in Kitazawa, Setagaya — about 413 metres from Higashi Kitazawa Station, not in the central sushi districts of Ginza or Minami-Azabu. The format is counter sushi, reservation-only, with no walk-in option. Actual spend based on reviews runs higher than the listed price range, so budget JPY 30,000–39,999 for dinner to avoid surprises. The restaurant holds a 4.34 Tabelog score and a 2026 Silver Award, which is meaningful context for the format and price.
The main counter has eight seats and is the primary dining format — so yes, counter seating is the default experience here, not an alternative to tables. There is no walk-in bar option; all seats require a reservation. A separate four-seat private counter is available for smaller groups wanting more privacy.
Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat 18:00 - 23:00
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