Drank too much last night? Here’s where to eat. Today: the most forgiving luxury in Tokyo — a tempura counter where lunch costs a third of dinner.
Quick Facts
| Nearest station | Ginza Station (exit B5), 3-min walk |
|---|---|
| Budget | Lunch ¥8,800–12,100 (about $60–85); dinner ¥20,000+ |
| Cash or card | Cards accepted (Visa, Mastercard, JCB, Amex, Diners, UnionPay) |
| Smoking | Non-smoking |
| Reservations | Essential — book roughly a month ahead |
| Hours | 12:00–15:00 (L.O. 13:30) and 17:00–22:00; closed Sundays |
| Seats | 20, on the 9th floor |
Lunch Is the Smart Way Into Kondo
Tempura is seafood and vegetables in a thin batter, fried in sesame oil, served piece by piece as it leaves the pan. Tenpura Kondo is one of the most decorated tempura counters in Tokyo, and Chef Fumio Kondo is a household name in Japan. Dinner runs well past ¥20,000. Lunch is ¥8,800, at the same counter, with the same chef frying in front of you — which makes it one of the better value-for-prestige trades in the city.
Take the lift to the 9th floor and the noren curtain is right there. I booked about a month out by phone; the seat I wanted was gone, the one I got was fine. Do not expect to walk in.
Choosing Your Course (and the Sweet Potato Question)
There are two lunch courses: Sumire (¥8,800) and Tsubaki (¥12,100). Before you decide, know this: Kondo’s signature is a thick-cut sweet potato tempura, and it is not included in either course. You add it. The move is to order the smaller Sumire and add the sweet potato, rather than take the larger Tsubaki and find yourself too full for the one thing you came for.
A warning learned the hard way: there is a dish of salt and a wedge of lemon. Squeeze the lemon into the salt and every piece for the rest of the meal is lemon-salted. Keep them apart.
The Pieces That Matter
The prawns come twice and both times the batter shatters into something juicy underneath. Asparagus is cut in three so you can taste how the texture shifts from tip to base. Lotus root arrives halved so you can try it with salt and with tentsuyu dipping sauce side by side. The scallop is thick enough to still be translucent in the middle — recommended with wasabi salt, and it is the piece I would go back for.
Then the sweet potato, which has been quietly frying since roughly the moment you sat down and is held warm until its turn. It comes out dense, steaming and so sweet it works as dessert. People book this restaurant for that single piece, and after eating it that stops being funny.
The finale is anago, saltwater eel, split with a satisfying crack of the chopsticks and eaten like a crisp. Ask for rice alongside it — that combination is the best bite of the meal, and it costs nothing to request.
Access & Practical Tips
- Book ahead. A month is realistic for lunch. The restaurant is closed Sundays.
- Three minutes from Ginza Station, on the 9th floor — the building looks like nothing from the street.
- Cards are fine here, which is unusual for this kind of place in Tokyo.
- Sit at the counter if offered. Watching each piece come out of the oil is most of the experience.
Hangover Recovery Index
My completely unscientific Hangover Recovery Index: 2 out of 5. This is not hangover food and I will not pretend otherwise — a fragile, twelve-course fried lunch deserves a clear head and a working appetite. Go on a good morning. Save the eel and rice for the bad ones.
Eat well, drink better, and see you at the next hangover.
