Tempura Kondo

This place is hard to get a reservation and make sure you request Kondo Senior. I believe he is in his late 70’s already. Overall we were quite happy with the overall experience but can’t say it’s the best despite it’s famous. The seafood and veggies served were all good but nothing really stood out. The surprise of the night was the finely julienned carrot deep fried after coated with flour and diluted tempura batter. It came out crisp and didn’t really taste like carrots😅😋. It takes a highly skill s chef to execute it perfectly. The thick Australian asparagus was fiberous and would prefer maybe local ones. The pre-ordered sweet potato was a disappointment as it was dry inside. The chestnut also was dry inside. I once had the chestnut marinated or cured before deep frying it so it was tasty and moist inside.

Pros -Only a thin layer of tempura batter -there are different seasonings for you to eat together with the tempura, and with chef’s recommendation on which food pairs with which sauce. - it is so juicy that I don’t feel like I am eating tempura, it’s like having steamed vegetables/ steamed seafood. Cons - the portion of the lunch set is small.

I recently tried a Michelin-starred restaurant in Tokyo, known for its tempura and often considered the best in town. However, the tempura didn’t quite meet my expectations. It was too oily, lacking the light, crisp texture I typically associate with excellent tempura. Normally, I prefer tempura with a lighter, barely-there batter, and I noticed that the waitress changed the paper with each dish—perhaps due to the oiliness, which is unusual in my experience at tempura restaurants. We opted for the largest menu, featuring 13 pieces of tempura along with a few appetizers like sashimi and tuna. I was hoping for more variety, but we were served multiple pieces of the same tempura, and encouraged to try them with salt, lemon, or tempura sauce. The selection included ebi, sea eel, seasonal fish, and a unique uni tempura. The squid was impressive, as it was perfectly cooked—avoiding the usual risk of becoming chewy. The vegetable tempura was unique and enjoyable, including asparagus, Japanese ginger flower, eggplant, sweet potato, lotus root, chestnut, and onion. We finished with a fried prawn kakiage, served over rice, but by then we were almost too full to eat. As is traditional, we ended the meal with a Japanese fruit platter. Overall, while the food was good, I prefer tempura that’s less oily. I suspect the oil temperature or flour preparation might have been off, as I’ve seen at other top tempura restaurants in Kyoto. Despite these points, it was a lovely way to celebrate a special birthday and well worth the visit.

My friends and I had high hopes for this place, but we were ultimately disappointed with the overall dining experience. I had never tried Japanese tempura fine dining before, so I expected something exceptional, especially given how often it was recommended to me. Unfortunately, nothing really stood out, not even the fried uni tempura. The uni was bland and lacked sweetness, which was surprising considering the price and my expectations for high-quality seafood. The tempura itself wasn’t as crispy as I had heard, and I couldn’t understand why a ‘tempura’ restaurant served mostly fried vegetables that didn’t impress. In the end, the experience was just average at best, and the food and service didn’t justify the cost.

Service is really disappointing. Having dined at around 8 Michelin starred restaurants, I was quite disappointed by the staffs. The service staff was attentive but didn’t give us an introduction nor engaged with any conversation despite speaking ok English when asked questions. Since there were 8 of us, the 2 chefs shared the load to serve us. 1 chef was great, explaining the order we should eat to 4 of us - the other chef kept quiet the whole time. Coming to the food, everything was good but lacked excitement. The only dish I haven’t tried elsewhere is the tempura asparagus and ginger leaves. Others were boring but well executed - such as the prawn, uni, fish, etc. To be honest, none of the dishes wow’ed me. The quality was very assessable in normal tempura restaurants. It was my first tempura fine dining experience- my friends and I were quite sick of oily food around 60% into the meal. Quantity was abundant. I wish they were more experimental so the meal wouldn’t be so monotonous- like the service staff. Talking about price, it certainly feels like most of your money goes to their rent as this restaurant is at Ginza. Very poor value and experience. Food was reasonably enjoyable if you love tempura.

We had an absolutely great time at Kondo. Seeing Kondo-san's dedication to his craft, cooking and focusing on each dish was incredible. We enjoyed all tempura dishes with myself ordering all the available vegetables. The rice-cake was incredible, the lotus great and so was the thinly-cut carrot tempura. All in all, a top tempura experience. Highly recommended!

Reservations required. Tempura was very light and each dish was presented well. Mix of veggies and sea-based food. Note: if you want the sweet potato or kobocha it requires you to order at the beginning of the meal bc it takes at least 30-40 min to prepare and doesn’t come with the set menu.

Food was good, service was good. Only thing was the food was too hot to eat immediately but the pace was super fast. I had to force myself a bit to eat faster since 4 people are getting served at the same time. My tongue was in pain for another day.

This place is hard to get a reservation and make sure you request Kondo Senior. I believe he is in his late 70’s already. Overall we were quite happy with the overall experience but can’t say it’s the best despite it’s famous. The seafood and veggies served were all good but nothing really stood out. The surprise of the night was the finely julienned carrot deep fried after coated with flour and diluted tempura batter. It came out crisp and didn’t really taste like carrots😅😋. It takes a highly skill s chef to execute it perfectly. The thick Australian asparagus was fiberous and would prefer maybe local ones. The pre-ordered sweet potato was a disappointment as it was dry inside. The chestnut also was dry inside. I once had the chestnut marinated or cured before deep frying it so it was tasty and moist inside.

Pros -Only a thin layer of tempura batter -there are different seasonings for you to eat together with the tempura, and with chef’s recommendation on which food pairs with which sauce. - it is so juicy that I don’t feel like I am eating tempura, it’s like having steamed vegetables/ steamed seafood. Cons - the portion of the lunch set is small.

I recently tried a Michelin-starred restaurant in Tokyo, known for its tempura and often considered the best in town. However, the tempura didn’t quite meet my expectations. It was too oily, lacking the light, crisp texture I typically associate with excellent tempura. Normally, I prefer tempura with a lighter, barely-there batter, and I noticed that the waitress changed the paper with each dish—perhaps due to the oiliness, which is unusual in my experience at tempura restaurants. We opted for the largest menu, featuring 13 pieces of tempura along with a few appetizers like sashimi and tuna. I was hoping for more variety, but we were served multiple pieces of the same tempura, and encouraged to try them with salt, lemon, or tempura sauce. The selection included ebi, sea eel, seasonal fish, and a unique uni tempura. The squid was impressive, as it was perfectly cooked—avoiding the usual risk of becoming chewy. The vegetable tempura was unique and enjoyable, including asparagus, Japanese ginger flower, eggplant, sweet potato, lotus root, chestnut, and onion. We finished with a fried prawn kakiage, served over rice, but by then we were almost too full to eat. As is traditional, we ended the meal with a Japanese fruit platter. Overall, while the food was good, I prefer tempura that’s less oily. I suspect the oil temperature or flour preparation might have been off, as I’ve seen at other top tempura restaurants in Kyoto. Despite these points, it was a lovely way to celebrate a special birthday and well worth the visit.

My friends and I had high hopes for this place, but we were ultimately disappointed with the overall dining experience. I had never tried Japanese tempura fine dining before, so I expected something exceptional, especially given how often it was recommended to me. Unfortunately, nothing really stood out, not even the fried uni tempura. The uni was bland and lacked sweetness, which was surprising considering the price and my expectations for high-quality seafood. The tempura itself wasn’t as crispy as I had heard, and I couldn’t understand why a ‘tempura’ restaurant served mostly fried vegetables that didn’t impress. In the end, the experience was just average at best, and the food and service didn’t justify the cost.

Service is really disappointing. Having dined at around 8 Michelin starred restaurants, I was quite disappointed by the staffs. The service staff was attentive but didn’t give us an introduction nor engaged with any conversation despite speaking ok English when asked questions. Since there were 8 of us, the 2 chefs shared the load to serve us. 1 chef was great, explaining the order we should eat to 4 of us - the other chef kept quiet the whole time. Coming to the food, everything was good but lacked excitement. The only dish I haven’t tried elsewhere is the tempura asparagus and ginger leaves. Others were boring but well executed - such as the prawn, uni, fish, etc. To be honest, none of the dishes wow’ed me. The quality was very assessable in normal tempura restaurants. It was my first tempura fine dining experience- my friends and I were quite sick of oily food around 60% into the meal. Quantity was abundant. I wish they were more experimental so the meal wouldn’t be so monotonous- like the service staff. Talking about price, it certainly feels like most of your money goes to their rent as this restaurant is at Ginza. Very poor value and experience. Food was reasonably enjoyable if you love tempura.

We had an absolutely great time at Kondo. Seeing Kondo-san's dedication to his craft, cooking and focusing on each dish was incredible. We enjoyed all tempura dishes with myself ordering all the available vegetables. The rice-cake was incredible, the lotus great and so was the thinly-cut carrot tempura. All in all, a top tempura experience. Highly recommended!

Reservations required. Tempura was very light and each dish was presented well. Mix of veggies and sea-based food. Note: if you want the sweet potato or kobocha it requires you to order at the beginning of the meal bc it takes at least 30-40 min to prepare and doesn’t come with the set menu.

Food was good, service was good. Only thing was the food was too hot to eat immediately but the pace was super fast. I had to force myself a bit to eat faster since 4 people are getting served at the same time. My tongue was in pain for another day.

Tokyo, Ginza. November 2022 Tempura Kondo is located on Namiki-Dori, in the 6-Chome of Ginza, just a few minutes walk from Ginza's best hotels. It is easy to find. There is an English menu which tells you they can do enough limited communication in English to make your meal enjoyable. Chef Fumio Kondo is known for using a bare minimal batter on his tempura. He believes that a tempura fry best steams in the flavor and umami of food. If you sit at the counter you will get to watch him work. He has an efficient team that provides him everything he needs, when he needs it, so he has to do is cook tempura. And Chef Kondo will cook every piece you are served himself. Everyone is soft spoken and you know by watching that everyone hears every word to each other and moves without wasted motion. Meals are set up in group seating times. The best seating is always the first, for lunch or dinner. Patrons in subsequent seatings must wait in a small crowded space outside the elevators until the previous seating leaves. Everything is prepped to order and given to Chef Kondo as needed. That means your shrimp is peeled, a filet of fish or eel is finished, root vegetables are sliced only when they are needed. Oil is changed frequently as deemed necessary by Chef Kondo. He carefully monitors the condition and temperature of each pan of oil. Three items are signature tempura. A very thick piece of a huge sweet potato is sliced and Chef Kondo slowly deep fries it, constantly moving it from a hotter pan to one with a lower temperature. The result is sweet potato which a thin crisp skin and nice moist flesh inside. It must be ordered separately from your course at the beginning of your meal because it will fry for 30-40 minutes. Fine julienned carrot is another signature. It barely has any batter, fries for less than a minute, and Chef Kondo mounds it into a stack that only needs some salt sprinkled on as seasoning. A fist of Shirako cooked as tempura and sliced in two is another signature item. If you like it, I recommend you order it. If you don't know what it is, don't bother. All this tempura can easily cause palate fatigue. You are given daikon oroshi with ginger, a delicate tempura tsuyu, a half piece of citrus, salt. There is also soy and shichimi on the counter. Eat your tempura as plainly as you are able, but season as necessary because otherwise everything will start to taste the same. There are a number of high end tempura restaurants all over Tokyo. They all have slightly different styles. Tempura Kondo is a good choice for an introduction to tempura at the top of its class.

Tempura Kondo is one of the very best tempura restaurants in the world. While its two Michelin stars is a reflection of that, the proof is in what is put on the plate in front of you. Chef Kondo is a true master and he is a culinary treasure.

Oof. Feels sacrilegious giving Tempura Kondo this rating given the legendary status of the place as well as my personal emotional attachment (Kondo was the first high-end tempura spot I'd ever been to). But the simple reality is that the pace at Kondo is way too hectic - and it negatively affects the quality of the final product. I've now been to Kondo twice and it was even worse on my recent visit. The hectic atmosphere is a direct result of Chef Kondo personally frying everything for the entire bar, which seats more than 20. His assistants do some of the prep and they also do the post-fry cutting and final plating. So this means that at least every single thing you get served was tempura'd up by Chef Kondo personally - but this just isn't a net positive. Just to put it in perspective: On multiple occasions, Chef Kondo or his assistants dropped the food while trying to hand stuff off. Then they'd just toss it back into the tempura fryer or serve it to the customers anyway. I posted some pictures of my food where the breading had already fallen off. Maybe it was one of the pieces they dropped. At the level this restaurant is supposed to be at, this is just not acceptable. Why do they think it's OK to serve a piece of tempura where half the breading has come off? It stinks like they're just living off their reputation and mailing it in while trying to serve as many customers as quickly as possible. If you must come here, the sweet potato was a real highlight. Order this early as it takes ~40mins. It's a huge portion but they let us split one order. The other highlights were the scallop and abalone. Service was good and our specific waitress spoke good English. But that said, really, you can do much better than here - and you should especially avoid if you'd prefer an atmosphere that doesn't feel totally frantic and harried.

Deep fry anything and it makes it better right? So what happens when you take the freshest, forged this morning greens, plumpest mushrooms, and shrimp dispatched before your eyes and deep fry them? You earn yourself TWO Michelin stars. This is next level tempura. The oil, a masterful blend including fragrant sesame, is changed, not filtered but thrown out a new oil used every 10 minutes. Two fryers, the first hotter than the second are used to lock in moisture and crisp the batter then to complete the cooking of the seafood or veg. Only the master coats and fries the tempura. His two apprentices continuously prep items. Fortunate enough to be seated in front of Kondo himself, let the meal begin! Tip: there are two counters. The first, closest to the entrance, is where Kondo himself cooks. The second is his apprentice/son. Ordering is simple, three preset menus at different price points. The more expensive uses more luxurious ingredients and does not equal more food. Lemon, salt, and an incredible dipping sauce are offered. Follow the chef suggestions on what to use. Don't, and he won't reprimand you, simply stop talking to you. Tip: the restaurants signature sweet potato tempura must be ordered ala carte at the beginning of the meal. It takes over an hour to cook. All menus begin with to house signature starters. The coldplate includes a sweet shell, marinated fish, and out of this world, almost sweet potato tasting, ankimo (monk fish liver). The warm starter, tofu and broad bean paste wrapped in yuba then poached and served in a konbu aspic with the essence of soy. Elegance. The tempura, rather than going through the entire list, suffice it to say ingredients are brought in that day from all over Japan. These are the freshest examples of each type of produce. Being spring, asparagus, bitter greens, bulbs, the seasons first sweet onions, all adorn the meal. Each and every tempura showcases the natural flavor of what is being fried. For example, the thick, meaty shiitake explodes with umami supercharged flavor. Hasu, tender and sweet, the perfect example of the root. Onions like the best onion ring you've ever had if it were sprinkled with sugar. Finally the sweet potato. Three inches thick, crispy on the outside without being burnt, perfectly "steamed" on the inside, it's sugary sweetness intensified. Just a bit of salt and this is heaven. Seafood items are equally good. Sweetness is teased from plump white fish, anago, and shrimp. All items simply put, the best examples of tempura I've ever had. Three kinds of beer, one hot, one cold sake for alcohol. Outstanding service. No fewer than three servers assist three chefs in each 14 seat dining space. Total check with warm sake and tax, 38,000¥. Two months advance reservations required. Phone reservations only. Reservations from outside Japan not accepted. English menu available but no English spoken. Consider carefully before trying this place out. It will forever alter your perception of tempura. You may never like it in your home town again.

The shopkeeper told me that some people have been coming to me for more than 20 years. I can sympathize with it. After eating, I'm very full, or my clothes are so thin that I almost eat the ingredients. So if you eat seasonal foods, you will not get tired. I want to come again when the season changes. 衣が薄く、野菜を美味しく食べることができる。 店主が私に、20年以上通ってきてくれる方もいらっしゃるんですよ、と話してくれた。 それに共感できる。食べおわってすごく満腹だか、衣がうすいのでほぼ素材を食べてだって感じ。だから季節ごとの旬のものを食べていれば飽きないのだろう。 季節変わったらまた来たい。

This was a great dinner, though I wouldn't say anything really amazed me about this place. The food was on point, but the service wasn't good for Japanese standards. The entrance is not trivial to find, but once you know you're at the right building it's easy enough to just hop in the elevator. I used google translate to confirm the name outside, since there wasn't any English. The food was really good. I enjoyed the tofu a lot, and it may have been the best dish for me. It was like I was eating cheesecake, rich and creamy, but tasted a little bit more like tofu ;). Delicious! Then came some more little appetizers on a plate, followed by copious rounds of tempura which were really good, light, not too crispy, but I wouldn't write home about them. The sweet potato tempura is what they're known for, and you have to order it early as it takes 40 minutes to prepare. I tried it and it was solid, but I would have preferred to share with someone (it was really big and filling!). Dessert was a light selection of very fresh and delicious fruit. Overall, a solid meal. It was the most expensive meal I had in Tokyo but by far not the best. You can find better value for your money, though I'm not sure about tempura since this was the only place I tried in Japan (I'm not a huge tempura person).

Totally not worth the price for this meal. Foreigners are ushered to the back room (Siberia) and seated with Japanese businessmen hiding out with their girlfriends. tempura is light and not greasy, service was not attentive as we had to ask for drink and water refills several times. They did accommodate my request for no shellfish and gave me vegetables and white fish. Chef was more attentive than wait staff. Nothing creative here at all and bathroom was not clean (1st time I have ever seen this in all my visits to Japan) Skip it!

ZOMG, this place was incredible. Reservations were highly recommended, which we didn't realize, but fortunately we were able to get in for lunch during the week. This was by far our favorite meal on our trip to Tokyo; the best tempura we've had by far. A great experience, and we were able to have a great view of the chef preparing each of the dishes. Definitely make a reservation, you will not regret it.

The atmosphere was simple and clean, despite the copious amounts of frying occurring. This is my first time at a tempura bar, where all the cooking happens right in front of you. The chef fries one piece at a time, ensuring optimal freshness. After the sous chef preps the ingredient, the head chef dunks it into the tempura batter and gently submerge it into a mixture of three types of sesame oil. I liked that they gave you options for toppings/sauces to experiment with. The tensuyu and grated daikon added savouriness which complements vegetables, while the simple sea salt and lemon cut through the richness of seafood. We ordered the "Kaede", which included two appetizers, eleven tempura pieces, kakiage plus rice set, and dessert. The first appetizer served was Okara with water shield. Okara has a strong soy taste, which the sweet soy glaze complimented nicely. The whelk and ankimo particularly stood out. The whelk was tender and briny. Ankimo, a Japanese delicacy is made from rinsing monkfish liver with sake and steaming it. It's rich and silky, yet fluffy. Although commonly compared to foie gras, I think the textures are quite different. The fried shrimp heads were served first. It may look intimidating, but if you manage to get past the psychological fear it's quite tasty. The chef removed the inedible and sharp bits so it's pleasant to eat. The actual prawn tempura was succulent. Kondo's tempura is unlike any tempura I've ever had. The batter is extremely light, unlike the typical heavy and thick tempura batter. The high temperature seals in moisture and steams the ingredient, while minimal oil penetrates. Ideally, tempura batter is mixed using cold water and lightly mixed. This is to avoid the creation of gluten, resulting in a crisp and light batter. Other pieces of items fried included: lotus root, shitake mushroom, fish, onion, fiddlehead, etc. I chose the kakiage tendon rice set as my choice of staple. A large chunk of battered shrimp and scallop was served on top of rice. I really enjoyed the red miso soup. It's a pleasant change to the typical white miso soup served. Kondo definitely exceeded my expectations! Not unlike premium sushi, the goal is to take top quality ingredients and prepare them simply, enhancing its natural aroma and flavours. The diversity of the ingredients was also impressive, ranging between the familiar and the exotic. Outstanding!

Best tempura I've had, reservation only place, people who tried walking in we're turned away. The detail put into each piece was remarkable. 2 Michelin stars I believe. Very unique experience and I think it was well worth the price of dinner. The sweet potato takes awhile to make and wasn't worth the wait, other people have said it was their highlight but I would disagree.

Awesome tempura. Waiters are very friendly, they even tell us which condiments go together with the tempura. The tempura are very crispy and lightly battered. I went there during lunch hour and it was very packed. Be sure to reserve before going there.

I've been to Kondo Tempura 4 times over the last 5 years or so. It's the best tempura I've ever had. My recommendation: GO THERE FOR LUNCH. This is a much better price-point than dinner and you'll get your fill of tempura for the day then anyway ;-) In terms of specific items: all their fish items are really great. For veggies, I particularly love: (1) sweet potato (it's very different than what you'd think of as tempura) and (2) their carrot. If these are not on the chef's menu for your meal, add one of them at least. On this particular visit, a friend of mine ordered the uni tempura (I didn't try it). He's a foodie and really enjoyed it - so this may be worth a try too. Currently, there are two seating areas in the restaurant (front and back). As I understand it, Kondo Sr. - the namesake of the establishment - is at the front and Kondo Jr. - the future of the place - is at the back. I love Kondo Sr. and would - while I can - try to secure spots at the front. With that said, I was put in the back at my recent visit and Kondo Jr.'s stuff was just as good. So the future seems to be in good hands (or, should I say "long chopsticks" - which are the hand tools used by the chefs for frying tempura)!!! Side note: Stylistically, the place is clean and simple. You get to see the food being prepared since everyone is seated around a "kitchen bar". Warning: Foreigners may find Kondo Tempura difficult to find!!! It's on an elevated floor in a non-descript building and the restaurant's sign is only written in Japanese. Get the 411 on location before going there!!! In Japan, hotels can be quite helpful for stuff like this in general.

Tempura Kondo is one of the best tempura places to eat in Tokyo (i.e. one of the best in the world). I have had a lot of tempura in Japan and this place was special with an interesting selection of dishes some of which are not typical (piman- green pepper; uni- sea urchin). Though the portions are small by the end of the course you will be nice and full.

Magically light crispy batter around some of the most perfect vegetables and fish I've had in my life. The slight buttery nuttiness of that batter is unreal. Using two bubbling oil pots of two temperatures, the head chef carefully watches your individual piece of tempura. A very comfortable environment, with a beautifully typed English menu. Customers here seemed to be enjoying themselves, laughing and talking, far more than other top Japanese restaurants, which can feel sterile and serious at times. *** 2x shrimp legs (so crispy!) 2x shrimp meat *** asparagus (so juicy!) kisu (a whitefish) lotus root shiitake *** sea bream (so flaky!) myoga (japanese ginger) squash flower onion *** anago *** green bell pepper (unbelievably fragrant and crisp -- favourite) a bundle of small shrimp tempura on rice with miso soup 4 perfect grapes

This was the most delicate tempura I have ever had. Everyone sits around the counter as you watch the chefs make the tempura in front of you. The service was great and the chefs were kind - they would advise us on which ones to dip in salt or sauce. It was tempura perfection - perfectly light and crispy, retaining the full flavour of each ingredient that was fried. Left feeling very satisfied without the usual heaviness I would normally feel after a meal that is entirely fried.

My friend said "the best dish at this tempura restaurant was the soup" It's good but it's not that good. Don't be fooled by the expensive tempura.