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This Tokyo Omakase Takes Requests: Shimbashi Ren

Update-Date: Jan 16, 2026

Author: Sydney Seekford

Categories: Japanese Cuisine Sashimi/ Seafood

This Tokyo Omakase Takes Requests: Shimbashi Ren

What do you get when you cross a globe-trotting Japanese chef with one of Tokyo’s last bubble-era drinking neighborhoods? An unforgettable omakase where it’s not all left up to the chef. Once a late-night hangout for local office workers, Shimbashi Ren metamorphosed into a space where visitors from around the world enjoy a course menu that is at once exactly what they expect, and full of surprises.

Sydney Seekford

Gourmet Creator

American living in Japan since 2022. Food writer and gourmet content creator for Japan’s most well known food media. Founder of menu translation and language support service MENUWIZ. Work history includes copywriting for booking platforms, video and media production and appearances, and consulting in F&B for household brands. Passionate about regional revitalization and slow tourism with a focus on local food culture.

Shimbashi Ren

Open: [Monday - Saturday] Shimbashi Ren 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm (L.O. 8:30 pm) [Monday - Thursday] SAKE STAND R 9:00 pm - 11:00 pm (L.O. 10:30 pm) / [Friday, Saturday] SAKE STAND R 9:00 pm - 11:30 pm (L.O. 11:00 pm)
Closed: Sunday, National Holidays
Average price: [Dinner] 5,000 JPY
Access: It is within the approach to Karasumori Shrine, a 5-minute walk from the Karasumori Exit of Shimbashi Station
Address: 3F, Shimbashi Edoman Bldg., 2-15-5, Shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo Map
More Details Reservation

Shimbashi Ren

Chef Kanauchi’s elegantly plated gyu-katsu.

Shimbashi Ren is just one part of a multi-national group of “Ren”’s. The owner originally opened the venue as a place to enjoy Shimbashi’s usual nightlife. However, his concept changed when he realized the huge gap in Shimbashi’s food scene: Where were people going for omakase? Attentive to the lack of options for a leisurely, elegant meal in the neighborhood, he developed Shimbashi Ren. In the process, he made a place that subverts what omakase can be.

Location and Venue

The steam locomotive outside Shimbashi station contrasting with the modern train passing behind.

Just five minutes from Shimbashi Station, beyond the impressive steam locomotive and Karasumori Shrine, you’ll find Shimbashi Ren. Its unlikely location is enough to have first-timers pause at the door, only to be shocked that yes, this is indeed the place.

One of two tables. This one features wrap around bench-seating, perfect for dates.

Even with its updated, luxury dining concept, the two marble tables and sofa bench-seating set the space apart from any typical kaiseki venue. It’s pleasant for guests who want to chat while they dine, and makes it easier to accommodate larger groups for special occasions. The unassuming venue proves that top of the line omakase doesn’t need to be limited to cedar countertops. With the right chef and the right guests, anywhere can transform into a high-end restaurant.

A world-class chef

Chef Kanauchi removing pin bones by hand, ft. fresh wasabi.

At Shimbashi Ren, that perfect chef is globe-trotting master Kenichi Kanauchi. He was born in Miyagi prefecture, but later moved on to positions at some of the world’s most widely respected 5-star hotels, such as the Waldorf Astoria Dubai, where he served as head chef of its on-site Japanese restaurant. His experience has brought him to places like the Shangri-la hotel in Beijing China, where he was also head chef, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and beyond. Chef Kanauchi’s over four decades of experience in Japanese cuisine overseas makes him especially qualified for the position.

Two typical sashimi options, and one unexpected, seasonal delight.

Using the know-how he’s learned abroad, the chef produces course menus that hit all the high notes travelers are looking for. But his menus also stay true to Japanese techniques. Dishes like a magical sorbet-gel palate cleanser and unexpected sanma sashimi display chef Kanauchi’s personal talent and creativity.

Satisfying balance of luxury and tradition

The opening assortment of small plates, including house-made tofu and wagyu sushi.

Each course is filled with the kind of craveable ingredients travelers hope to check off when visiting Japan. These range from rich wagyu and bluefin tuna to crab, uni and salmon roe. Wine pairings suited to Japanese ingredients are a particular recommendation of the chef, reflecting an attunement to global palates. Even with its approachable price point, the omakase course features not one, not two, but four opportunities to try domestic wagyu. Despite offering fully vegan menus on request, the restaurant describes itself as a “niku kappo,” where beef is the focus of a loose omakase style.

Chilled appetizer featuring crab, sea urchin (uni) and wagyu.

First, a thin strip is laid over sushi rice to make a wagyu nigiri. Later, soft curls of delicate wagyu are accompanied by crab and ikura in a chilled dish that drips with luxury. For the main course, diners can choose between seafood or meat hot pots, including a classic sukiyaki served with an egg for dipping and packed with tender wagyu.

Classic sukiyaki with premium wagyu

Crab, seabream, and kombu dashi hot pot is a light and warming entree.

The seafood option contains premium crab and seabream. The broth for the seafood hotpot is an excellent example of Japanese food at its best – just kombu kelp steeped in water, infused with the flavor of crab and seabream as it simmers.

Marbled wagyu cutlet seared on a lava stone.

The gyu-katsu, a hunk of succulent wagyu breaded and flash-fried to a rare center, is served on a hot lava stone, allowing guests to continue cooking the meat to their preferred doneness. Typical of wagyu, the slices are buttery and dripping with rendered fat, perfect with a little house-made sauce. In an average omakase setting, if the steak is served rare, that would be the end of the story. Shimbashi Ren invites guests to do a little doctoring to make sure the meal is just as they prefer. It’s a simple gesture, but speaks to the chef’s conscientiousness.

Shimbashi Ren

A customer-first mindset

Eat your fill of donabe rice; this portion was made for two diners.

A gentle understanding between chef and diner, that leaves room for cultural and personal differences, allows both parties to enjoy an authentic meal with no friction. Even more than the unforgettably quirky venue, lack of friction is the defining feature of dining at Shimbashi Ren. Both chef and restaurateur work to craft meals with the guests at top of mind.

Every day’s one of a kind menu is developed and printed just hours before diners arrive.

In addition to the standard omakase menus, made using ingredients procured the morning of service to guarantee the freshest ingredients available, diners can reserve a course menu tailored exactly to their preferences and dietary needs. Yes, Shimbashi Ren is an omakase restaurant. But here, omakase invites diners to play a role, too. When guests want to try seasonal delicacies or enjoy their favorite foods in a new context, the restaurant will build an omakase menu to highlight those ingredients at their very best.

Flash-fried beef katsu

If guests need a vegan omakase or a seafood free course, both of which pose a challenge at traditional kaiseki restaurants, Shimbashi Ren will adjust to suit those needs, all while displaying what it really means to enjoy omakase in Japan. While working within the classic repertoire of washoku, Chef Kanauchi and Shimbashi Ren are able to craft meals that are just as memorable as they are delicious.

Genuine washoku omakase with international appeal, developed over decades

Shimbashi Ren is a rare breed for many reasons. Its hideaway location and setting are one of a kind, just like the customised “omakase” menus that delight guests night after night. It is a restaurant that is especially friendly to international guests, where each dish genuinely expresses Japanese cuisine with a balance of photo-worthy and traditional items.

If there are parts of your Japanese culinary adventure you haven’t managed to check off yet, confidently leave your requests to Shimbashi Ren, and prepare for an unforgettable night of omakase tailored to you.

Shimbashi Ren

The street immediately in front of Shimbashi Ren’s building is packed with small eateries.

Disclaimer: All information is accurate at time of publication.

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