Sawada (Tabelog Gold) and Shimbashi Shimizu (Tabelog Silver) – Tokyo, Japan

I recently returned from a two-week trip to Tokyo, where I ate at 12 fine dining establishments (7 of which were sushiyas), as well as a number of casual spots. The summary of each of these visits can be found at the following link: https://www.reddit.com/r/finedining/s/fu79pmg4dp

I have lumped reviews for Sawada and Shimbashi Shimizu together, as both of these visits were nigiri lunches, and neither of them allow photos inside the restaurants. I attended Shimbashi Shimizu on 10th November at midday, and went on to attend a 9pm dinner service at Sushi Akira on the same day. Similarly, I attended Sawada the following day at midday, and went on to attend Florilège at 6.30pm on the same day. My enjoyment of the evening meals was not hindered at all by the earlier sittings, so I mention this because a lot gets said about the nigiri volume at Sawada. While Sawada serves at least 20 nigiri in a sitting (I think mine was closer to 24), it is – after all – sushi, and so that full feeling did not last through to dinner time; I was plenty hungry by the time dinner rolled around, but then I was also walking a tonne in the interim. If you stay active during the day, taking a dinner reservation as well should not pose a problem.

I booked a nigiri lunch at Shimbashi Shimizu around a month before the reservation date, through Autoreserve. At 16000 JPY, this was the cheapest of my fine dining outings, and was very good value for money. I have seen a certain amount said about Shimbashi Shimizu not allowing non-Japanese-speaking guests unless they are accompanied by a Japanese speaker. This is not true, or at least was not true when I dined earlier in the month, as I do not speak Japanese at a conversational level, and also dined alone. Having said that, none of the chefs speak English at a conversational level either, so be prepared to have a rather quiet meal with minimal chef interaction.

Down an alleyway next to a shrine in Shimbashi, Shimbashi Shimizu felt like the most traditional of the Edomae sushiyas that I visited over the course of my trip; counter top seating on stools, everything prepared in front of you (no back room), and nigiri (and sashimi, for those that went for the full lunch) placed on the countertop before you. At just over an hour for the nigiri lunch, the dozen or so pieces (plus tamago to finish) were served at a rapid pace. Squid, sea bream, akami, chutoro, anago, uni and kohada all made an appearance, with hard and soft-shell clams being pounded against the worktop by Shimizu-san, whose chosen method was repeatedly throwing them down onto the work counter, no knife needed. The shari used for the nigiri was nicely acidic, though slightly less so than that used at Sushi Mizukami. Though better cuts were to be had at some of the other sushiyas that I visited, I still thought this was good value for money, and wouldn't have a problem with returning again for the same lunch (which may also be beneficial, as I noticed that what I presume to be a regular was treated to more cuts than the rest of the customers; I've no issue with this, as it makes sense for a restaurant to cater to the people that keep them in business, and if anything it shows that repeat business is appreciated).

The next day, I went to the third floor of a nondescript building in Ginza to have the best meal of my trip (and one of the best of my stupid little life): nigiri-only lunch at the Tabelog Gold-rated Sawada (there are five Tabelog Gold sushi restaurants in Tokyo as of the 2025 awards, and Sawada is considerably easier than any of the others to get into for first-timers; a bit of luck is all that is required to secure a next-day reservation, either for the lunch or dinner service. Note though that it is much easier to get a seat for one; I did not see any seats for two or more open up during my two-week trip. In addition, there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to when a seat becomes available (though always the day before), and Omakase (where you can book) does not send email notifications for when a seat becomes available. As such, some diligence and chance refreshing of the reservation page is the only way for first-timers to get lucky with a reservation. Final note on reservations: dinner seems to be a lot easier to book than lunch, possibly because more nigiri is served at lunch than at dinner; I could have booked a couple of times for dinner, but chose to wait to see if I could grab a lunch res).

Sawada is a very classic Edomae sushi restaurant, where pictures aren't allowed, the loudest thing you're likely to encounter will be Sawada-san's booming voice as he laughs with customers, and the nigiri is prepared simply – the rice being paired with white vinegar – and placed before you on the countertop. A husband and wife team, with Koji Sawada being the man with the knives, the six-seat counter is nothing if not reverential. I was the only foreigner that attended, though fortunately the person I sat next to was an academic who had worked extensively in Europe, and so he was kind enough to translate some of the conversation that Sawada-san was engaged in with himself and other guests.

As for the food itself: stunning. I wish I could have taken pictures of the cuts of tuna in particular, as the belly tuna striped with fat was a wonder to look at, and tasted just as delicious as it looked. Shari rice stuffed inside baby squid was a particularly interesting offering, and though I'm not a great fan of the texture of squid (or cuttlefish, which was also served, for that matter), this was still the least stubbornly chewy that I had encountered on my trip. Bonito was offered with a ginger soy sauce or garlic accompaniment (I chose the former, and though I can't imagine either being a bad choice, I was happy with mine), and mantis shrimp, kohada and horse mackerel all made appearances, as well as chewy, sweet clams to boost the variety on offer. To round out the meal, hosomaki was made to guests' specifications, seeing the delicious cuts of tuna (akami, chutoro and otoro had all been present, as well as a cut that was somewhere between chutoro and otoro) piled into the middle of the roll.

At 45100 JPY for the lunch sitting, this is more than twice the cost of lunch at Shimbashi Shimizu. However, I think that both are great value for money, with Sawada providing an incredible sushi experience. I am very glad that I made the effort to repeatedly check Omakase for availability; Sawada-san's business card is now taking pride of place in my wallet.