Restaurant in Tokyo, Japan
Ten seats, no lunch, book early.

Takiya is Tokyo's most consistently awarded tempura counter, holding Tabelog Gold in 2026 (score 4.55), 97 points in La Liste, and a top-15 OAD Japan ranking. With 10 seats, reservation-only access, and dinners running JPY 50,000+ per head, it is the right booking for a serious special occasion — not a casual drop-in. Chef Tatsuaki Kasamoto runs a fixed-sequence counter in Azabu-Juban.
Yes — if you are planning a serious special occasion dinner in Tokyo and tempura is your format. Takiya holds a Tabelog Gold Award for 2026 (score: 4.55), ranks #14 in Opinionated About Dining's Japan list for 2025, and scores 97 points in La Liste 2026. That track record places it among the most consistently decorated tempura counters in Japan. With only 10 seats and a reservation-only policy, this is not a walk-in option. Book as far ahead as your schedule allows.
Takiya is a 10-seat tempura counter on the second floor of a building in Azabu-Juban, one of Tokyo's quieter, more residential upscale neighbourhoods. Chef Tatsuaki Kasamoto runs the kitchen. The room is small and intimate by design: at 10 seats, the energy is focused and unhurried rather than buzzy or loud. This is the kind of setting where conversation across the counter is possible and the pacing of the meal is the main event. If you arrive expecting the ambient energy of a larger tasting-menu restaurant, recalibrate. The atmosphere here is closer to a private dining experience than a full restaurant service.
Dinner runs from 17:30 with a second seating beginning at 20:30. The format is counter service with two seatings per evening, which keeps covers tight and the kitchen operating at full attention for each table. There is no lunch service. The menu is not published, which is standard practice at this tier of Japanese dining: the kitchen sets the progression and you follow it. That structure suits the tasting-menu format well. Each course arrives in sequence, built around the discipline of tempura at a level where ingredient quality and frying precision carry the entire narrative arc of the meal.
Pricing sits at JPY 40,000–49,999 per head based on listed rates, with review-based averages suggesting the real spend is closer to JPY 50,000–59,999. That puts Takiya at the upper end of Tokyo's tempura category. For context, Tabelog Gold-level tempura in Tokyo typically runs in this range. Payment is by credit card (Visa, Mastercard, JCB, Amex, Diners). No private rooms are available, and the venue does not offer private hire. The building has no parking and is non-smoking throughout.
Getting there is direct: Takiya is a 3-minute walk from either Azabu-Juban Station Exit 7 (Toei Oedo Line) or Exit 4 (Tokyo Metro Namboku Line). For context on the Tokyo tempura tier, compare Tempura Kondo, Tempura Motoyoshi, and Fukamachi. Tempura Ginya and Edomae Shinsaku are also worth evaluating if availability or price is a constraint.
Takiya has won Tabelog Gold in 2022, 2024, and 2026, with Silver in the years between. It has been selected for the Tabelog Tempura Top 100 in 2022, 2023, and 2025. That oscillation between Gold and Silver is not a red flag; it is consistent with how Tabelog's scoring works across a small-sample-size counter with a fixed format. The venue's La Liste score has moved from 96 points (2025) to 97 points (2026), a meaningful increment at that level. Google reviews sit at 4.6 across 157 ratings, which is a reliable secondary signal at a venue this difficult to access.
For special occasion use: the 10-seat counter format and the paced, multi-course structure make Takiya well-suited to a birthday dinner, an anniversary, or a business dinner where the quality of the experience matters more than flexibility in ordering. It is less appropriate for groups larger than the counter can accommodate in one block, and there is no private room option. Solo diners sit at the counter directly and are fully integrated into the experience.
Explore more of Tokyo's dining scene in our full Tokyo restaurants guide, or plan your wider trip with our Tokyo hotels guide, bars guide, wineries guide, and experiences guide. If you are travelling beyond Tokyo, consider HAJIME in Osaka, Gion Sasaki in Kyoto, akordu in Nara, Goh in Fukuoka, 1000 in Yokohama, or 6 in Okinawa. For tempura beyond Japan, Mudan Tempura in Taipei and Numata in Osaka are both worth your time.
Only up to the 10-seat counter capacity, and private rooms are not available. For a group booking, the entire counter would need to be reserved, which is not a standard offering documented for this venue. Parties of two are the practical sweet spot here.
Takiya is reservation-only, dinner-only, and seats just 10 people at a counter on the second floor of a building in Azabu-Juban. Budget ¥50,000–¥60,000 per person based on reviewer spending data. There are two seating times starting at 17:30 and 20:30, so confirm which you want when booking. Payment is by credit card only — no electronic money or QR codes.
Dinner is your only option. Takiya does not offer lunch service. The kitchen opens from 17:30 with seatings at 17:30 and 20:30, seven days a week.
The venue is reservation-only with a set counter format, so dietary restrictions should be communicated when booking by phone (+81-3-6804-1732). No documentation exists of how flexibly the kitchen accommodates changes, so flag any requirements early rather than on arrival.
For tempura at a comparable level, Tokyo has a small pool of Tabelog Gold and Tabelog 100 counters worth considering. If you cannot secure a reservation at Takiya, look at other Azabu-area or central Tokyo tempura counters with similar Tabelog scores. For a format shift entirely — French or Japanese multi-course rather than tempura — RyuGin and L'Effervescence operate in a similar price tier in Tokyo.
Yes, firmly. A Tabelog Gold Award for 2026 (score 4.55), a 97-point La Liste ranking, and a spot at #14 on Opinionated About Dining Japan 2025 make this one of the most credentialled tempura counters in Tokyo. At ¥50,000–¥60,000 per head, the price matches the occasion. The format — 10 seats, counter-only, no private rooms — suits an intimate dinner for two more than a group celebration.
Takiya serves tempura in a counter-course format — you eat what chef Tatsuaki Kasamoto prepares in sequence. There is no à la carte menu to navigate. Focus on confirming any dietary restrictions in advance and arriving on time for your seating.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.