Restaurant in Tokyo, Japan
Eight seats, no walk-ins, book now.
Wasa is an eight-seat omakase restaurant in Ebisu that has earned consecutive Tabelog Silver Awards since 2024, with a score of 4.36. Dinner runs JPY 60,000–79,999 plus 10% service. Book via the OMAKASE platform four to six weeks out; the format is fixed omakase only, with no à la carte or walk-in option. Worth it if ingredient-focused modern Chinese at this commitment level is genuinely your target.
Wasa is not a Chinese restaurant in any conventional sense you might walk in expecting. Five years after opening in Ebisu, it has climbed from Tabelog Bronze to consecutive Silver wins (2024, 2025, 2026), holds a 4.36 score, and ranks among the top 250 restaurants in Japan. At JPY 60,000–79,999 per head plus a 10% service charge, this is one of Tokyo's most serious omakase commitments in any cuisine category. Book it if ingredient-focused modern Chinese at this price point is genuinely what you want. If you are looking for a comparable splurge in a different register, RyuGin (kaiseki) or L'Effervescence (French) are the natural alternatives.
The most common misconception about Wasa is that "modern Chinese" in Tokyo means something close to a high-end Cantonese or Shanghainese restaurant. It does not. Chef Masataka Yamashita runs a strict omakase format across two seatings per night, Tuesday through Saturday only, in a room of just eight seats. The approach is built around drawing out the flavours of individual ingredients, and the format leaves no room for improvisation on the night: you eat what is served, in the order it is served.
For returning diners, the eight-seat room means the experience evolves across visits in ways that a larger restaurant cannot replicate. The sommelier is on hand, which matters at this price tier, and private room availability makes it usable for small celebratory occasions where discretion is as important as the food.
On the drinks side, the presence of a sommelier signals that wine pairing is taken seriously rather than treated as an afterthought. At JPY 50,000–59,999 per head based on actual review data (lower than the listed ceiling), the room for a meaningful wine pairing is built into the budget. This is not a cocktail bar format, but the drinks programme at Wasa is structured around the omakase progression, which is the correct approach for this type of experience.
The atmosphere across both seatings is quiet and concentrated. Eight seats produces a fundamentally different energy from a 30-cover room: conversation stays contained, service attention is high, and the noise level at any point in the evening is low. If you want energy and buzz, this is the wrong room. If you want to eat without distraction, it is exactly right.
Reservations: Required; bookable via OMAKASE platform only. No phone reservations available. Seatings: First seating 17:00–19:30; second seating 20:00–22:30, Tuesday through Saturday. Closed Sunday and Monday. Budget: JPY 60,000–79,999 listed; actual spend based on reviews closer to JPY 50,000–59,999. Add 10% service charge. Seats: 8 total; private room available. Payment: Credit card accepted; electronic money and QR code payments not accepted. Parking: Not available. Smoking: Non-smoking throughout. Booking difficulty: Manageable with planning, but the small seat count means any popular date fills quickly. First seating on a Tuesday or Wednesday gives the leading chance of availability.
The trajectory from Bronze to consecutive Silver wins over five years of operation, opening in October 2020, is the clearest signal of consistent quality improvement rather than a single-season peak. For a venue that opened mid-pandemic and has never had an official website, the award record is the most reliable external reference point available.
If you are planning a Tokyo trip around restaurants at this level, see our full Tokyo restaurants guide. For where to stay, our Tokyo hotels guide covers options near Ebisu. For drinks before or after, our Tokyo bars guide is the place to start.
For other high-end Chinese in Tokyo, Chugoku Hanten Fureika, Chugoku Hanten Kohakukyu (Amber Palace), Ippei Hanten, itsuka, and Koshikiryori Koki are the most useful comparisons in the same city.
If you are travelling around Japan, the equivalent conversations are happening at HAJIME in Osaka, Gion Sasaki in Kyoto, akordu in Nara, Goh in Fukuoka, 1000 in Yokohama, and 6 in Okinawa. For how Tokyo-style modern Chinese compares internationally, Restaurant Tim Raue in Berlin and Mister Jiu's in San Francisco are the closest reference points. Explore the full Tokyo wineries guide and Tokyo experiences guide for broader trip planning.
Yes, and the eight-seat counter format is well suited to it. A solo diner at an omakase counter of this size receives the same course progression as a couple or group, and the service-to-seat ratio is high. The first seating at 17:00 tends to be quieter if you prefer a less formal atmosphere. Budget around JPY 50,000–60,000 all-in before wine.
It works well for a celebration where the meal itself is the event. Private room availability means you can request a degree of separation from the main counter, which is useful for anniversaries or business dinners where privacy matters. The Tabelog Silver Award trajectory (Bronze 2022–2023, Silver 2024–2026) and the OAD Japan ranking give external validation if you need to convince a guest the spend is justified. For a larger group celebration, the eight-seat total capacity is the hard constraint to check first.
The maximum is eight seats across the full restaurant, and private use of the entire space is listed as available. That means a group of six to eight can in principle take the room exclusively. Parties of four or five are more practical than the full eight from a booking standpoint. Contact via the OMAKASE reservation platform is the only confirmed channel; there is no public phone number.
For high-end Chinese in Tokyo specifically, Chugoku Hanten Fureika and Chugoku Hanten Kohakukyu are the most direct comparisons. If you want a comparable spend in a different cuisine, RyuGin (kaiseki) and L'Effervescence (French) are both operating at roughly the same price tier. Harutaka is the sushi equivalent if omakase format is the draw rather than the Chinese cuisine specifically.
The eight seats are counter seats in format, so the distinction between "bar" and "table" does not apply here in the conventional sense. The entire experience is counter-based omakase. There is no walk-in bar section or à la carte option. You book a seat, you eat the omakase. Private room availability suggests some seats may be positioned separately, but the format is the same regardless.
With only eight seats and five service days per week, popular dates fill several weeks out. A reasonable target is four to six weeks ahead for a Friday or Saturday second seating. Midweek first seatings at 17:00 tend to be more available. Booking is through the OMAKASE platform only; there is no phone reservation option.
The format is fixed omakase, so menu choice is not part of the experience. The price of JPY 60,000–79,999 listed is the official range; actual spend based on reviews runs closer to JPY 50,000–59,999, plus 10% service charge. A sommelier is available, so wine pairing is a genuine option rather than a token one. The room seats eight and is non-smoking. Arrive on time: seatings are structured with hard start and close times (17:00–19:30 and 20:00–22:30), and there is no extended lingering window built in.
Yes, and arguably the format suits solo diners well. With only 8 seats and an omakase-only structure, the counter experience is designed around individual engagement with each course. Solo guests avoid the coordination problem of a shared-format meal. Book the second seating (20:00) if you want a quieter room.
It is, provided the occasion calls for an intimate, format-driven dinner rather than a celebratory group meal. At JPY 60,000–79,999 per head plus a 10% service charge, the spend is serious. Tabelog Silver from 2024 to 2026 and a score of 4.36 confirm this is a restaurant delivering at that price point, not just charging for it. Private room use is available, which helps for milestone dinners.
The dining room has 8 seats in total, so large groups are not viable in the main space. Private room and full private-use bookings are listed as available, which makes small groups of 4–6 the practical ceiling. For a group expecting a communal, share-plate Chinese dinner, this format will feel constraining — Wasa is structured as a progressive omakase, not a table-service meal.
For modern Japanese tasting menus at a comparable price point, RyuGin and L'Effervescence are the obvious benchmarks, though neither operates as a Chinese kitchen. If you want Tabelog-decorated Chinese specifically in Tokyo, Wasa sits at the top of that shortlist — its consecutive Tabelog 100 Chinese Tokyo selections in 2023 and 2024 reflect that. For French-inflected tasting menus at a slightly lower spend, HOMMAGE is worth considering.
Wasa operates reservation-only with two fixed seatings per evening, and all dining is omakase format. There is no walk-in bar counter or à la carte option. All 8 seats follow the same timed progression — arriving without a reservation is not a realistic option.
Book as early as the OMAKASE platform allows — for a restaurant of this size and Tabelog standing, seats at this level typically open weeks to months out and fill quickly. Wasa is closed Sundays and Mondays, runs only Tuesday through Saturday with two seatings per night, and has 8 covers per seating, which means availability is structurally tight regardless of season.
The format is omakase-only, so you are not ordering from a menu. Dinner runs JPY 60,000–79,999 per head by posted pricing, with reviews averaging in the JPY 50,000–59,999 range, plus a 10% service charge — budget accordingly. A sommelier is on staff, so wine pairing is a real option. The restaurant opened in October 2020 and has held Tabelog Silver for three consecutive years, which means the kitchen is consistent, not just well-launched.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
