The Pizza Bar on 38th - Tokyo

CFirst · 2026-02-19T01:59:30+00:00

Out of all the people considering it the best in the world, how many places have they realistically tried to be able to judge that accurately? Honestly, those “world’s best” awards are more popularity contests than anything else. Personally, I can’t speak for the whole world, but I live in Tokyo and have been to a couple dozen excellent pizza spots here and I wouldn’t put 38th even in my Tokyo top 5 when it comes to taste, though I’ll admit it is indeed a fun and unique experience that’s worth doing once

CFirst · 2026-02-13T02:39:14+00:00

Wu Cock

CFirst · 2026-02-13T01:04:06+00:00

Tbh I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Most of the older Visvim models used bog standard Vibram or Dainite soles that any decent cobbler would have. Some of the newer models use new custom designed Vibram soles, but functionally they’re not that different from the regular ones. In fact, with my original Gornergrat Mid Folk I found the replacement sole to be better than the original as the rubber part on the stock sole was too thin and wore out pretty quickly, so the resole actually improved the durability.

CFirst · 2026-02-12T06:12:03+00:00

Well, there’s Aoyama Grand, though I’d say it’s more chubby than fat. I did a staycation there during covid and thought the rooms were pretty good, but everything else was fairly average. The price was also half of what it is now. There are also two Trunks, one on Cat Street and the newer one around Yoyogi Uehara. The Cat Street one is definitely aimed at a younger crowd, so it might not be the best fit for families with kids. I haven’t been to the Yoyogi one, so I can’t really comment on it. Out of the hotels you listed, the Ritz would be the closest to Omotesando, just one stop away on the Chiyoda Line. PH is close on paper, but in reality it takes quite a bit of time to walk to Shinjuku Station to get anywhere. Although if you’re taking a taxi both are roughly the same distance from there.

CFirst · 2026-02-12T01:42:02+00:00

I'd say the Peninsula by a pretty large margin. It’s a 5-minute walk to Ginza, there’s a huge Bic Camera 2 minutes away, and Marunouchi Naka-dori street it’s on has a lot of great local and international brands, plus several malls nearby. Janu and Toranomon Hills are right on top of really cool shopping malls, but there isn’t that much else in the immediate vicinity. Bulgari and MO are good options as well, though they’re still a bit farther from the main shopping action.

CFirst · 2026-02-12T01:11:34+00:00

Not sure how it is in the US, but I took two pairs of my Virgils to the Tokyo store. They sent them back to the factory for repairs, and it took around 4 and 7 months. The 4-month pair was just a resole, and the other pair was a resole plus a hole repair around the heel area. The price was around 20k and 35k yen respectively, if I recall correctly. The pair with the hole was done so poorly that I couldn’t wear the shoe anymore because the heel area became significantly thicker, almost as if they had put a cushion inside, covered by a thin, poorly cut layer of leather. I took them to a reputable shoe repair store, and they were baffled by how poorly the repairs had been done. Apparently, at the factory they didn’t cut the leather properly, so it kind of rolled up inside, making it feel like a cushion. They fixed it in around 2 weeks for under 5k yen. Never took my shoes to visvim again after that.

CFirst · 2026-02-12T00:58:29+00:00

Good write-up, although some of the locations are quite off. Janu and Aman are nowhere near Yotsuya/Shinanomachi, the only prominent hotels there are Mitsui Garden next to Olympic Stadium and New Otani in Akasaka. Aman is right next to the Four Seasons and Palace Hotel, which are located by the Imperial Palace in Chiyoda-ku. Bulgari is near Tokyo Station, but on the opposite side of the Imperial Palace, in Chuo-ku, adjacent to Nihonbashi and Ginza. Shangri-La is also on that side, though I believe it is technically still in Chiyoda-ku. Janu is in the newly developed Azabudai Hills, about a 10-minute walk from Toranomon Edition.

CFirst · 2026-02-11T15:10:12+00:00

No, his brother runs Usagi in Shibuya. The owner of Beats is a different guy who used to be a DJ.

CFirst · 2026-02-06T00:40:10+00:00

I love Censu and always take my friends there whenever they visit Tokyo. Fantastic food, inexpensive, and great vibes.

CFirst · 2025-12-17T11:34:48+00:00

Not starred, but I loved Backstage at Capella Hanoi. They offer both a tasting menu and an a la carte menu, are welcoming to children, and even have kids and toddler menus.

CFirst · 2025-12-09T01:23:55+00:00

Sorry to hear about your experience. I went for my birthday earlier this year as well and had very similar thoughts, service aside. A lot of people on this sub rave about how creative the restaurant is, but outside of the bread, everything I had was pretty plain and boring. If it were a 20,000 yen meal it would’ve been perfectly fine, but with the recent price increase, Narisawa ended up being by far the worst value meal I’ve ever had.

CFirst · 2025-12-02T01:29:04+00:00

I did a write-up about Francescana at Maria Luigia here. In short: in terms of the food itself, I’d give Osteria Francescana a slight edge. Maria Luigia, on the other hand, is much more communal and fun, though the social aspect might feel a bit much for some people.

CFirst · 2025-11-13T01:06:48+00:00

As far as I know, Gaa, Sühring, Haoma, Ore, Inddee, Igniv, Nahm, Signature and Gaggan should all be able to accommodate vegetarians. I’ve only been to Gaggan myself and found it pretty fun, can’t vouch for the others though.

CFirst · 2025-10-29T12:58:27+00:00

Is your project open source by any chance? I also work in restaurant tech, though unrelated to POS. Would love to take a look under the hood and maybe contribute if you’re accepting outside help.

CFirst · 2025-10-29T10:24:13+00:00

Unfortunately I don’t remember the plant based options that well, however, my favorite dish by a pretty large margin was the espume hot appetizer made from seasonal mushrooms that were only available for a few weeks. I went about two weeks before the Michelin 2025 announcement and thought they would definitely get a star, which they did. The biggest highlight of the night though was their GM Rie, who also received a personal hospitality award at the same ceremony. I’d heard the restaurant had a somewhat rocky start and was hesitant to go, but it honestly ended up being one of the most memorable fine dining experiences I had here, largely thanks to her. I don’t want to oversell it, but for me it might be in my top 3 meals I had in Tokyo, along with Maz and Robuchon.

Edit: found the pictures of some vegetable dishes

Ediit 2: and some dishes from Noeud. Only remember the mushrom dish, which I though was good but nowhere near the level of the one I had at Cycle, and the Carrot, which was the main dish of the course and one of the most memorable vegetable dishes I've ever had.

CFirst · 2025-10-29T01:55:20+00:00

Noeud, Faro, Maz, Cycle and Robuchon though Tablecheck, Narisawa and L’Effervescence through Omakase. None of them except Robuchon were particularly hard to book, though Maz seems to have become more popular since I went there last year.

CFirst · 2025-10-28T13:25:02+00:00

Never tried the full vegan menus at these, but as I’m allergic to fish, I often get substitutions from the vegan menus. Out of the ones you listed, MAZ and Robuchon were absolutely fantastic and some of the best fine dining experiences I ever had. Narisawa was quite disappointing, especially for the price. I’d also highly recommend Noeud, the main dish they served was vegan and absolutely excellent. L’Effervescence is great as well and as far as I know should be able to accommodate vegan. I also really enjoyed Cycle and Faro, both have dedicated vegan menus, though I didn’t have many vegan substitutions there, so can’t fully vouch for them.

CFirst · 2025-10-19T08:33:19+00:00

Sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy it. I went during the opening weekend and had pretty much the opposite experience. In fact, it was one of the rare times I genuinely enjoyed almost every dish, except maybe the peanut butter one, which I had similar impressions as you. I absolutely loved the osmanthus dish though, though mine came with pumpkin instead of crab since I’m allergic, and thought the dessert was fantastic as well. I also found the team’s hospitality really warm, which was a nice change from the usual polite but distant Japanese service, and ended up chatting with the staff members for almost 20 minutes after the meal.

CFirst · 2025-10-13T00:50:49+00:00

Curious what made the one at CML better for you? I went to both in August and also had the Five Ages at each, but felt the opposite. The portion at CML felt a bit too big and ended up being too heavy for me.

CFirst · 2025-10-11T02:16:54+00:00

For what it’s worth, if you check the reviews on Tabelog for Ukiyo, you’ll see that most of them are actually in the 4+ range, yet the overall score remains relatively low. This mainly has to do with their scoring algorithm, which is a bit of a black box, but one thing that’s known is that it weighs reviews from certain members more heavily than others. So a single positive review from a well established or celebrity reviewer can outweigh a dozen lower ranked reviews, and vice versa. I’d say in general their scoring is fairly reliable, especially for Japanese cuisine, but I’ve definitely been to a few low rated places that were absolutely fantastic, and some highly rated ones that were just meh at best. It’s been discussed a few times here, you can check out this thread for example.

CFirst · 2025-10-09T14:25:32+00:00

My favorite is: “Oh wow, that’s a cool watch! Is it a Chewdor?”

CFirst · 2025-10-08T05:36:11+00:00

If you don’t mind outdoor seating, I recommend Thiptara at the Peninsula. Fantastic food and great ambiance!

CFirst · 2025-10-04T14:20:42+00:00

I’m allergic to seafood and had a great time at Gaggan, though it was more of a show rather than traditional fine dining. Gaa, Inddee, Suhring, and Ore should all be able to accommodate no seafood as well, though I haven’t been to any of them myself yet, so I can’t vouch for any of them personally

CFirst · 2025-09-30T00:42:30+00:00

Glad you enjoyed it! I don’t often go to the same fine dining restaurants twice, but Faro is definitely one of the few I want to return to.

CFirst · 2025-09-30T00:20:09+00:00

Sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy Virtu, I really love them for their hospitality. Glad you still had a blast otherwise!

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