A busy night in Torikou, crowd seating fully wrapping around the chef area (Photo: Geoff Day)

Torikou, Yakitori Restaurant

Premium grilled chicken selections in Tokyo

A busy night in Torikou, crowd seating fully wrapping around the chef area (Photo: Geoff Day)
Geoff Day   - 3 min read

Nogizaka Torikou is a premium restaurant located near Nogizaka and Roppongi, that specializes in authentic Japanese, high quality yakitori. If you are a fan of yakitori, you will be hard pressed to find a better environment and larger selection in Tokyo.

Torikou is committed to creating an authentic dining experience that will appeal to locals and travelers alike. The restaurant surrounds a large preparation area where 4-6 yakitori chefs operate in a bustling and entertaining setting. The restaurant is bar seating only, but it is fun to go in groups and sit in a row. A large grill in the back is used for cooking the yakitori, and unlike many yakitori restaurants you will not need to worry about the smoke as there is enough distance between the seating and the grill.

The food and drink choices are numerous, but luckily the chefs and waiters are quite willing to give suggestions and recommended food and drink pairings. There are a total of 40 yakitori varieties and you can try many parts of the chicken including tenderloin, neck, heart, thigh and even heart (which was surprisingly one my favorites). The chicken selected are all raised on corn and underground water from Mount Yatsugatake so the quality is quite high. Aside from the yakitori there are side dishes such as grated daikon, baitan soup, liver mousse and several salad and vegetable combinations including grilled zucchini and mushrooms. If you need something more to fill you up the oyakodon rice bowl is a nice way to end the meal. Don't forget the home made premium egg pudding for dessert. There is a large drink menu including beers on tap, wine selections and several sake choices that go well with the food. The wine selections in particular are impressive with over 100 selections from around the world selected by a famous sommelier.

Pricing is moderate, targeting a sophisticated adult audience. Expect to spend 5,000 - 10,000 per person if you are looking for a complete meal with drinks. There are English menus available and most communication can be understood through simple English and body language.

Access and Reservation

Torikou is a three minute walk from Exit 2 of Nogizaka Station on the Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line. Also can be reached in eight minutes from Roppongi station.

Reservations can be made by telephone or the English form here.

Geoff Day

Geoff Day @day.geoff

Explorer and COO for the Japan Travel team. Always on the lookout for unique adventures and opportunities so feel free to send me a message.