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Tempura Kitagawa is the Secret Basement in Ebisu Hiding an Amazing Omakase

Update-Date: May 15, 2026

Author: Sydney Seekford

Categories: Tempura

Tempura Kitagawa is the Secret Basement in Ebisu Hiding an Amazing Omakase

Still a fledgling restaurant in the multigenerational world of Tokyo tempura, Kitagawa forges its own path, serving ingredients native to Shizuoka with the personal convictions of the man behind the counter.

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.

A remarkable Omakase Course, Filled with Surprises

This tempura counter is hidden behind an unmarked door on the basement floor of a complex behind Ebisu station. It was awarded a MICHELIN selection in the 2026 Tokyo guide, and has a friendly policy towards non-drinkers as well as some of the most mind-bending ingredients we’ve had so far. Tempura Kitagawa is full of excitement from the live cooking show and pleasant surprises along the way.

If you didn’t investigate, you’d likely assume Kitagawa is the name of the chef, as is tradition, but not the case with self-starter Tempura Kitagawa. Do a little digging, and it turns out that the store’s name is a subtle shoutout to Chef Naohiko Murata’s wife; Keiko Kitagawa is her favorite actress.

Hanadai

Throughout the course, Chef Murata continues to surprise and delight with details that only present themselves if you ask the right questions. Take the salt, for example. It’s a variety from France, infused with minerality and umami that perfectly complements the tempura. The daikon oroshi, which fellow guests scraped into the bowl of gently warmed tsuyu, is a sweet and cooling palate cleanser between bites.

Tempura Kitagawa

Open: [Weekdays, Saturdays, National Holidays, Day Before National Holidays] 5:30 pm - 10:00 pm / Part 1: 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm, Part 2: 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Closed: Sunday
Average price: [Dinner] 25,000 JPY
Access: 4-minute walk from JR Ebisu Station West Exit
Address: B1A, EX Ebisu Minami Bldg., 1-17-15, Ebisu-Minami, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Map
More Details Reservation

About the Chef

Chef Murata serving fresh tempura to guests

Chef Murata comes from a family of restaurateurs. He started working at his family’s sushi restaurant at 17 before moving to Tokyo just three years later. The first decade of his career is as intriguing and vibrant as the menu at Tempura Kitagawa. Going back and forth several years at a time, the chef spent his 20s in various industries between Tokyo and Shizuoka as a DJ, in lounges, and even opening a tanning and nail salon at one point. Still, he says in an interview with a major Japanese restaurant site, he felt the nag of his half-finished quest to become a chef.

Naohiko Murata’s first independent foray into food was a ramen shop back in Shizuoka, which he operated while studying independently to become a tempura chef. The pull of his home prefecture has tinted Chef Murata’s career from the very start. Ingredients sourced from Yaizu port, Fujinomiya and further afield flood the course with reflections of his childhood and a life-changing meal at a Shizuoka tempura legend – the very experience that sparked his own passion for tempura.

About the Ingredients

Ingredients before frying

Tempura Kitagawa’s course consists, in our case, of over fifteen individual morsels. The menu includes prized vegetables and rare seafood tempura, plus a range of small plates called “otsumami”. Despite his culinary upbringing, ramen doesn’t find its way onto the menu, nor does sushi. In this way, the chef forges a path fueled only by his own passion. Instead, enjoy your noodles as kuzu somen and appreciate the nearly raw texture of expertly fried fish.

Despite being spring, seasonal choices such as shellfish and sansai were used sparingly. Sansai are wild mountain vegetables, an iconic menu item used across Japanese cuisines, but particularly tempura, from late January until mid-May or later. The decision to deemphasize them leaves plenty of room for Shizuoka agriculture to shine, though bamboo shoots and hyper-seasonal sakura shrimp as a finishing dish keep the course rooted in seasonality.

Ikejime fish from Sasue Maeda Fish Shop

Some of Japan’s most legendary chefs use the same suppliers as Chef Murata, and it’s only natural that the seafood at Kitagawa be of admirable quality, considering that it’s sourced from the legendary Sasue Maeda Uoten (fish shop/fish monger). Foodies travel just to taste these fish, known to be some of the best catches in the country.

Though the rarified catches circulate Shizuoka’s top restaurants, few gourmets know where to find it in Tokyo. To earn the Maeda brand’s respect, and thus its supply chain, it takes considerable effort and a great deal of talent on the part of any chef. That Kitagawa is already using Sasue Maeda Uoten’s seafood little more than a year on is remarkable.

A rare-fried piece of sawara (Spanish mackerel)

On the day of our visit, Chef Murata proudly explained that due to exceptionally good water conditions, all the fish on our menu had been prepared with the ikejime technique, sparking the excitement of every food-lover in the room. With each carefully watched course, our appetites were sated, but our enthusiasm grew.

About the Dishes

Ruby-toned aji steak served with wasabi

Echoes of the chef’s heroes can be found in bites like the barely cooked aji (horse mackerel). Its ruby-red center is meaty like tuna with no metallic aftertaste; a hearty morsel wrapped in crisp batter. Diners liken this course to a similar signature dish at the restaurant which inspired Chef Murata’s journey, but in many ways the meal at Tempura Kitagawa diverts significantly.

Unassuming tachiuo (beltfish) with a soft center

Unique signature courses include the first tempura of the meal: a practically rare tachiuo steak, which can only be described as molten, akin to Basque cheese or chocolate lava cake in its cravability. Already delicate and well suited to tempura, beltfish filets are further enhanced by Chef Murata’s battering style, which gently steams the meat as the tempura crust crisps up. The secret lies in the way he whips meringue into the batter, introducing air that cushions each ingredient in the bubbling oil.

Red moon potato tempura

Though the restaurant only opened in January 2025, it’s clear that Chef Murata is feverishly evolving his menu, still polishing the skills he developed through self-study and a proving stint at a MICHELIN Two-Star tempura counter right here in Tokyo. It’s worth noting that the chef of that restaurant was known as a pioneer at the start of his own career, emphasizing the potential of vegetables.

Perhaps taking a cue from his time there, other signatures include a two-year aged potato with a distinct red hue, called “Red Moon”. The potato species is a waxy variety, which turns tender and almost translucent after concentrating its sugars and taking a swim in unroasted sesame oil.

Tempura Kitagawa

Personal Touches

gobo

takenoko

A hunk of Oura gobo root (burdock) with the circumference of a silver dollar comes from the same farmer and similarly impresses with its natural sweetness. Chef Murata continues to display his affinity for root vegetables with a spear of takenoko (bamboo shoot) from Ikeda, in Suruga-ku, Shizuoka. He explains that unlike the more famous varieties from Kyoto, Suruga bamboo is gentler on the body and can be fried fresh, without boiling or steaming first. Its flavor and texture are milder too.

Vegetables

White mushrooms moments before being made into tempura

Other remarkable vegetable courses include a fluffy white mushroom and two-way asparagus. First, the crisp tip of the asparagus is fried and served up with freshness intact. Then, the thick base of its stem, which has become soft and almost juicy during the frying process.

Throughout the course, there are moments that move you if you’re present enough to catch them. Many of the places that the chef infuses with the most love are hidden – a sign of his dedication to craft over celebrity.

Pillows of eggplant frying in low-temp oil for the perfect cook.

Look for this devotion in the Akanasu, a popular strain of Japanese eggplant the best of which almost liquify in heat, becoming soft and fluffy like a souffle. Chef Murata’s is treated with extremely fine knife work before it hits the batter. We recommend biting it in half to fully appreciate the attention to detail in this single piece of produce, otherwise hidden beneath a shroud of golden tempura.

Seafood

Kuruma ebi

The seafood covers a wide range of both expected and rare fish. Amakusa kuruma-ebi, large shrimp from Kumamoto prefecture, are coated in hakuriki-ko, flour usually used in pastry to prevent them from getting too dense, before taking a dip in the batter. Watching the chef stare attentively into the golden pot looks a little like a very focused wizard working on some kind of spell. The impression is appropriate, since his tempura is just short of magic.

Koaji

A contrast to the aji from earlier in the course, koaji, a smaller version of the same fish, is presented as veal to steak, with a similar contrast of sweetness and mild flavor. Other fish including hanadai, a more petite seabream known for its excellent flavor, and kaiwari (another species of horse mackerel) also make appearances. As with sushi, similar shapes and preparations of different fish allow diners to appreciate their nuance.

Tempura that speaks of home

The chef dusting fish filets with flour before frying

In the hands of Chef Murata, Kitagawa becomes its own entity. Not just a playful name to delight his spouse or a personal experiment to test his own limits. After decades of finding out, like many young people do, just what he was made for and how to do it well, the chef has cultivated his own taste and garnered the support of fans and officials. With a MICHELIN selection in 2026, a staff of bilingual assistants open to supporting diners in English or Chinese, and his own dreams at the head, Chef Murata has created a repeat-worthy dining experience.

The meal proves that no matter our distance from home, or the lengths we go to forge a path all our own, some things always stay with us. Through ingredients from trusted suppliers and the skillful fruit of years of personal commitment, tempura at Kitagawa has, over the past year and change, become an experience any visitor to Tokyo can appreciate.

Sakuraebi tendon (tempura rice bowl)

Tempura Kitagawa

Disclaimer: All information is accurate at time of publication.

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