Rengatei Carries on Tradition of Yoshoku Cuisine in Tokyo’s Ginza District; Restaurant Has Served Western-Influenced Japanese Food for 130 Years

By Manami Nishida / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

17:24 JST, July 22, 2025

A block away from the fashionable main street of Tokyo’s glitzy Ginza district is Ginza Gasuto Dori (“Gaslight street”), where a building with simple brick exterior stands: It is Rengatei, a restaurant that has been serving up yoshoku — Western-influenced Japanese cuisine — for well over a century.

It was Rengatei that was responsible for popularizing famous yoshoku dishes such as omurice (stir-fried rice wrapped in an omelet), katsuretsu (cutlet of beef, pork or chicken) and hayashi rice (a plate of rice with beef and sauce).

The restaurant is believed to have helped spread a culture of restaurants offering Western-style food at reasonable prices for ordinary people.

Rengatei opened in 1895 (the 28th year of the Meiji era) in the Ginza district. The restaurant underwent the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake and World War II, which burned down the restaurant. Its current building was constructed in 1964.

Items inside the restaurant, such as a red public rotary telephone and a cash register which has been used for about 60 years, give customers a deep sense of the establishment’s long history.

I quickly ordered one of best-selling dishes, Meiji Tanjo Omurice, priced at ¥3,000 including tax.

Firstly, I broke the firm omelet with a spoon and scooped up a mouthful of the food. I was surprised by the way the taste of egg softly spread through my mouth.

The stir-fried rice contained seasoned minced beef and pork, and ketchup added to the overall flavor.

Though the taste was simple, it precisely balanced the flavors of the egg and the rice.

In a happy mood, I looked over the menu again and saw many delicious-looking yoshoku foods.

Masahisa Nakamura, grand chef of Rengatei, said, “I also recommend the katsuretsu, fried oysters and other fried dishes.”

The restaurant’s way of preparing fried foods has not changed since it opened, and its chefs have always been very particular about the blend of cooking oil they use. They also use fresh breadcrumbs, giving Rengatei’s fried food a crispy texture.

Rengatei’s dishes have been loved by several famous people over the years, such as novelist Shotaro Ikenami, who was fond of their pork katsuretsu. After some cutlets and alcohol, he would always finish with a plate of hayashi rice.

Osamu Tezuka, a legendary manga artist, was another frequent customer.

Koichiro Kida, the fourth-generation owner of Rengatei, said with a smile, “Each frequent customer has their own favorite foods.”

Kida’s own favorites are ham steak and ham rice, which his grandfather, the second-generation owner, often cooked for him.

Rengatei has passed down traditional flavors from the Meiji era to the Reiwa era. The restaurant marked the 130th anniversary of its opening this June. It feels luxurious to come into this comfortable space and enjoy the yoshoku cuisine which has been loved for so long in the Ginza district.

The next time you want to reward yourself for all your hard work, this restaurant is an excellent choice.

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Rengatei

Address: 3-5-16 Ginza, Chuo Ward, Tokyo

Access: 3-minute walk from Ginza Station on Ginza Line

Hours: Open from 11:15 a.m. to 3 p.m. and from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Closed on Sundays.