We had the best five course lunch ever at Hotel Niwa restaurant! On a recent stay in Tokyo we’d grown weary of walking the Imperial Garden taking in various flora varieties and hunger began to beckon. 

Recalling a fabulous 5-course lunch I’d read about at Hotel Niwa, not too too far away, we called and made a lunch reservation for two at 13:30. 

Scampering across town for nearly an hour’s distance away we Google Mapped ourselves out of the Imperial Gardens, through Tokyo city streets, side streets and alleys to arrive at the hidden elegant Hotel Niwa in time for our reservation. 

We were immediately greeted and seated in a table for two. Cozying up to the table on thoughtfully designed stools that were not too high, we admired the serene peacefulness of dining in a small forest in the midst of a 37 million population city. 

The perfect service was only to support our food experience. Not obtuse or obtrusive like in the typical restaurants in San Diego. We didn’t have to hear what their names were and consistently answer questions. They left us alone allowing us to enjoy the perfect food experience, suddenly reappearing each time our courses had been finished. 

We ordered the five-course fixed price menu and everything was MOST EXCELLENT. See photos with descriptions.l

As lunch was served until 15:00, they indeed collected our payment at 15:00 then let us continue to sit there. 

One server, I might add did ask where we were from, as he had been living in San Diego and went surfing at Mission Beach and Pacific Beach. 

We were so full, and walking home we took our tim, stopping at a few nic-nac shops in a food coma, until we got to our hotel.