Nakameguro Naito

Located in the popular nightlife district of Nakameguro, just a single stop from Shibuya, Nakameguro Naito is a small and unassuming kappo restaurant from the outside. But this tiny restaurant — just six seats at its counter — plays host to one of Tokyo's culinary giants. Starting his culinary career at just 18 years old, owner and chef Naito Daisuke trained at a kappo restaurant in his native Kumamoto, before moving to Tokyo to continue training at a slew of Michelin-starred restaurants. Starting Nakameguro Naito in 2018, he applied the wealth of knowledge he acquired in these kitchens to his own kappo cuisine. Naito has since become known to be a restaurant creating healthy Japanese course meals using ingredients that are unique to each season. The drinks menu includes local sake from all over the country, carefully selected by Chef Naito, who also happens to be a certified sake master. Wines from Champagne and Burgundy are also popular drink accompaniment choices, as well as domestic organic tea. Chef Naito creates new menus every day using seasonal ingredients from Toyosu Market and his network of producers from all over Japan. He is only too happy to explain each dish in detail — in English, no less — as he prepares them right before each guest's eyes. The bright and welcoming atmosphere of the restaurant encourages guests to interact with him, as well as each other, throughout the course of the meal. Each meal is a cosy, intimate, and most importantly, delicious experience on the corner of a Nakameguro block.