Tameiken street front, Marunouchi & Nihombashi.

©Rebecca Milner/Lonely Planet

Taimeiken

Tokyo

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This classic restaurant, open since 1931, specialises in yōshoku – Western cuisine adapted to the Japanese palate. Its signature dish is omuraisu (an omelette stuffed with ketchup-flavoured fried rice), to which you can add a side of borscht and coleslaw for the very retro price of ¥50 each. The tampopo omuraisu was created for Itami Jūzō's cult movie.

It's easier to get a seat on the 2nd floor, where the prices are higher, but the old-school atmosphere on the 1st floor is worth the wait if there's a queue.

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