10-Second Review: Tempura Omakase at Tenshiba, Tokyo

In the basement of the Prince Park Tower Tokyo Hotel, accessed through a nondescript hallway off the lobby, you’ll find a cluster of hushed, almost-secret dining counters, each dedicated to a specialty craft: sushi, yakitori, grilled Wagyu, kaiseki, tempura and even Chinese dim sum. The hotel has a fancy cocktail lounge and private-dining French restaurant at the top of the tower, but I was instantly drawn instead to these little specialty diners. The toughest reservation of this collection is the sushi bar, Hamashiba, which was fully booked two weeks in advance, so I didn’t get to try that one. I opted instead for Tempura Tenshiba, making this my urgent first stop upon arrival in Tokyo — almost literally straight from the plane.

The tempura omakase begins with a pristine sashimi course before spiraling into a decadent procession of perfectly dipped and fried (directly in front of me) shrimp, clams, various one-bite fishes whose names I don’t remember, abalone, gorgeous mushrooms and vegetables… This could have gone on all night (and for the couples seated next to me, I think it did), but I was jet-lagged and cried uncle after 15 courses and a much-larger-than-intended bottle of sake. I highly recommend this place — just make sure to reserve at least several days in advance (two weeks if you want to try the sushi bar).

Tempura Tenshiba, Prince Park Tower Tokyo Hotel, 4-8-1 Shibakoen Minato,Tokyo; Tel: +81-(0)3-5400-1170; princehotels.com/parktower.

For more travel inspiration, photos and random commentary, I invite you to follow me and join the conversation on Instagram, Facebook and Threads. (I’m no longer active on Twitter/X.)

10-Second Review: Tempura Omakase at Tenshiba, Tokyo

Room with a View: Prince Park Tower Tokyo Hotel

Magazine Columnist of the Year!

You May Also Like