Robbie Swinnerton - The Japan Times

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Robbie Swinnerton

Robbie Swinnerton has been living, eating and writing about food in Tokyo for over 30 years. His column, Tokyo Food File, has run in The Japan Times since 1998.

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE

Apr 15, 2014

Muto: Handmade soba noodles with their own Michelin star

Who would choose to become a teuchi soba specialist? Kneading and rolling the dough, cutting it by hand, then carefully cooking and serving the delicate buckwheat noodles — it's a long, laborious job to prepare a meal that can take mere minutes to consume.

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE

Apr 1, 2014

Pizzeria Tonino: Some of the best Italian pizza in town

Any al fresco seating is good now that the weather's warming up. If there's a view, that's an added bonus. At Pizzeria Tonino, you get to watch colorful streetcars going past from the luxury of your terrace seat.

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE

Apr 1, 2014

Ostü: Great Italian across the way from Yoyogi Park

The only drawback to the sakura season is that no matter how beautiful the blossoms, the celebrations can get very chilly. You need somewhere you can repair to for warmth and sustenance. If you're anywhere near Yoyogi Park, you won't do better than Ostu00fc.

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE

Mar 18, 2014

Saru: Fresh ingredients take center stage at bistro

The little enclave underneath the expressway flyover at the intersection of Shirokane and Ebisu has always attracted an interesting and idiosyncratic selection of restaurants. Saru fits in there perfectly.

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE

Mar 18, 2014

Ajisen: Seasonal seafood and more in Tsukishima

There are many reasons for heading across the Sumida River to Tsukishima. Most of them involve monja, those griddle-splattered, dogs-dinner "pancakes" that are Tokyo's unconvincing answer to the okonomiyaki of western Japan. The one blessed anomaly is Ajisen.

Japan Times

LIFE / Lifestyle

Mar 10, 2014

There is a giant serving of culture in one bowl of rice

Rice. A bland, white carbohydrate? Staple food that forms the nourishing core of every meal? A crop that has molded culture and society? Or primal sustenance imbued with mystic life force of the gods?

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE

Mar 4, 2014

Kagari: Creamy soup and noodles worth lining up for

Tracking down tiny, one-counter restaurants in Tokyo's narrow backstreets can often feel like the proverbial haystack needle-search. No such problem finding Kagari. The giveaway is the perpetual line of people outside.

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE

Mar 4, 2014

Fuku: Your new local yakitori stop

Yakitori is neighborhood food, not destination dining. When you feel like nibbling on skewers of grilled chicken, you don't go across town; you head for your local. If you're lucky, it will be good. But it's unlikely to be as good as Fuku in Yoyogi-Uehara.

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE

Feb 18, 2014

Bettei: Duck shabu-shabu you'd be quackers to miss

Even a lingering winter has its upsides. The longer and harsher the conditions, the more appealing it is to sit down to a bubbling, warming nabe hot-pot — especially if it comes with a dash of contemporary style, as it does at Bettei.

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE

Feb 18, 2014

Bistro Aligot: French pie and mash at its best

Aligot: a traditional dish from central-south France, made from mashed potatoes blended with melted cheese, butter, cream and garlic. Aligot: one of Tokyo's tastiest, most unusual and atmospheric little bistros.

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE

Feb 4, 2014

Butcher Brothers: Quality meat dishes that won't break the bank

Rib steak, bangers and mash, lamb chops, simmered tripe: At Butcher Brothers, meat is much more than just an option; it's the main event, the reason you're there. And with a name like that, what else would you expect?

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE

Feb 4, 2014

Gogyo: Where there's smoke, there's kogashi ramen

All ramen is good ramen when you're craving warmth in your belly. But you won't find a noodle shop in town that fights the cold in more dramatic style than Gogyo.

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE

Jan 14, 2014

Maishin: Safe haven in Shibuya for sake-loving adults

Shibuya is not a neighborhood where you head for haute cuisine. But all that window-shopping, people-watching, hanging out and having fun can be hungry work. So it's good to have a few places up your sleeve that offer sustenance and respite from the crowds and noise.

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE

Jan 14, 2014

Le Petit Kanda: Oden with a strong Gallic accent

In Japan, it's not winter without oden. Some people find it hard to get excited about the idea — and the redolent reality — of kamaboko fish cake, hard-boiled eggs or chunks of daikon simmered interminably in murky baths of odoriferous dashi stock. But Le Petit Kanda makes this cold-season specialty...

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE

Dec 31, 2013

Cork: Meals start from the wine list at this L'As spinoff

As we gallop into 2014, how better to start this Year of the Horse than with a toast? Sake may be traditional on this auspicious day, but wine is just fine — as long as the setting is as bright and shiny as this brave new year, and if there's great food to match. Cork fits the bill perfectly.

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE

Dec 31, 2013

Shonzui: Aging like a fine wine bar

New is good; but sometimes a favorite old place is even better, especially when it comes to relaxing over a nice bottle. Shonzui is one of Tokyo's oldest specialist wine bar/diners, and it's still one of the best.

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE

Dec 26, 2013

Favorite finds from 2013's Food File

As 2013 draws to a well-replete coda, there's just enough time to stop, pause and ponder the culinary highlights of the past 12 months. Tokyo has never been better for eating out, and this year has brought a further glut of excellent restaurants at every point on the budget spectrum. Here are a few,...

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE

Dec 5, 2013

Kagurazaka GiroGiro: Kyoto import brings a youthful buzz to kaiseki

The plate is a deep turquoise blue, hand-thrown and uneven. The sliver of fish on top, its skin grilled to a burnished copper, sits on a jade green sauce. The place mat depicts a neon psychedelic geisha. Welcome to the Technicolor world of dining, GiroGiro style.

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / SWEET INSPIRATIONS

Dec 5, 2013

Satisfy that sweet tooth with a limitless pick of the trolley

Nothing beats a great dessert at the end of a memorable meal — and never more so than when you're out for a yearend splurge. Many high-end restaurants offer double the pleasure, laying on two sweet courses, or even three if you count the chocolates and other tidbits served with your coffee.

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / FOOD MATTERS

Nov 28, 2013

Quality rises above the menu scandals

Since the first Tokyo Michelin guide was published in autumn of 2007, the unveiling of each new edition has become one of the major events of the gastronomic calendar. Despite the initial indignation that a foreign tire company could dare to judge Japanese restaurants, the local media have embraced the...

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.

The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan

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