Why eat a burger while in Tokyo? Why not!
Japan has its own wide range of restaurants, as well as its unique brand of Western food. But it can be fun to check out a local location’s take on your favorite food when you’re traveling. And for us Americans who live here, a nice, juicy burger can also counter a bout of homesickness.
Recently, Japanese food influencer Tabe Megumi (39K followers on Instagram, 10K on X) made her recommendations on the best burgers in Tokyo in a post on her X account. Here are her six recommendations, plus another two recommendations from myself and the folks on the UJ Discord.
JB’s Tokyo
“Gourmet burgers” are all the rage these days. JB’s eschews the label, instead branding itself as “the ultimate fast food burger.” Despite not aiming for a gourmet label, all of JB’s burgers are handmade, with even the buns freshly baked in-store. Their recipe for success seems to have worked: this year, JB’s ranked for the first time in Tabelog’s list of the Top 100 burgers in Tokyo.
Locations: Shibuya City, Yoyogi 1-33-3. The company has also opened a new store at the Ebina Service Area.
Price: Around 1,000 yen (USD $6.50)
Shogun Burger
A popular chain in the Tokyo area, Shogun advertises itself as “food for adults.” The patties are made with roughly-chopped Kuroge Wagyu beef and topped by default with their Aurora and Mustard sauces. Plus, you can customize your burger to your liking from the chain’s slick digital self-order kiosks.
Locations: Megumi highlights the Shibuya Shogun but you can also find stores in Ikebukuro, Azabudai Hills, Shinjuku, Akihabara, and elsewhere. (Picture above from the Ikebukuro location.)
Price: Around 2,000 to 3,000 yen ($13 to $19.50)
Viva la Burger
Another Tabelog Top 100 Burgers joint, this place serves voluminous burgers that reviewers say are surprisingly easy to eat. The menu sports a variety of sandwiches, including a guacamole cheeseburger, a red hot chili burger, and a fancy-sounding fig compote with red wine and vanilla butter burger. Their trademark Viva la Burger comes topped with porchetta and bacon.
Location: Toshima City, Ikebukuro 2-59-5. Evening reservations recommended – use the links on their Instagram page to score a table. Also, some reviewers say the place is a little hard to find, so give yourself a few extra minutes.
Price: 1,000 – 2,000 yen for lunch; 2,000 – 3,000 yen dinnertime
The Good Vibes (ザグッドバイブス)
I saw this place in Nakameguro recently on my way to another area staple, Breakfast Club, which serves all-day breakfast. (Highly recommended!) I haven’t gone yet – and, looking at their food, it’s clear that I’m missing out. This store’s American diner-looking menus list several burger variations, including several types of dry aged beef burger and even a homemade pastrami burger.
Location: Meguro City, Kamimeguro 1-6-10 (moved from Minato City)
Price: 1,000-1,999 yen for lunch; 2,000 – 3,000 yen for dinner
Sunday
Touting itself as a “New York style” hamburger shop, Sunday in Suidobashi is one of the more higher-end, bistro-type places on this list. The shop styles itself as a meeting place for friends with a retro feel. Their burger menu is fairly standard, including cheeseburger, avocado burger, and a bacon cheeseburger. Their dinner menu goes beyond burgers, offering dishes such as spicy beef steak, chili, and a fresh apple sandwich, among others.
Location: Chiyoda City, Misakicho 3-10-4, Chiyoda Building 1F. Reservations available.
Price: 1,000 – 1,999 yen for lunch; 4,000 to 4,999 yen ($26-$32) dinner
BRISKSTAND
Originally launched in Kobe, BRISKSTAND is a good spot if you’re soaking up the multiple tourist sites in Asakusa. This small chain says it aims to create a burger where the bun’s exterior crispness, interior fluffiness, and taste stand out as much as the patty.
Locations: The Asakusa location is in Taito City, Kotobuki 2-9-16. There are also shops in Kabukicho, Omotesando, and Tokushima.
Price: 1,000-1,999 yen for lunch; 2,000 – 3,000 yen for dinner
Runner-up: Burger Mania
One option that Megumi left off her list – but which she mentioned in a reply to a follower as another personal favorite – is Burger Mania, a chain of four stores in Minato City. Their Ebisu store ranks in Tabelog’s Top 100 burgers list, with over 1,035 reviews and 48,000 bookmarks on the site. It’s also a favorite of folks on the UJ Discord.
Touting themselves as “the best burger in Tokyo,” their signature meal is a 100% Kobe beef burger. They also offer a slew of other options, including a Mexican burger, cherry burger, and a “15 kinds of cheese burger.” Their extensive menu also features steak, pancakes, coffee and dessert, and Japanese craft gin.
Locations: Four in Minato City – two in Shirokane and one each in Hiroo and Ebisu. Burger Mania also runs the wonderful sandwich and coffee shop Day & Night in Shirokane, which I also recommend.
Price: 2,000 yen to 2,999 yen for lunch and dinner
My Favorite: FIRE HOUSE Burger
My own personal recommendation is another Tabelog Top 100 entry that sports a stunning (for Tabelog!) rating of 3.7 and a 4.4/5 star on Google Reviews. Running since 1996, FIRE HOUSE isn’t in a heavily trafficked tourist area – you have to go a little out of your way into the Hongo neighborhood in Bunkyo City to get there. But it’s worth the trip.
Boasting a taste that the store brags Americans say they can’t even find in their home country, FIRE HOUSE serves up good ol’-fashioned American burgers, including an avocado burger, a mozzarella mushroom burger, and a so-called “Mad Burger” – a piled-high monstrosity for “those who don’t f*ck with Japanese sizes.”
Location: Bunkyo City, Hongo 4-5-10
Price: 1,000 to 1,999 yen for lunch, 2,000 to 2,999 yen for dinner
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