TENSUKE

Unique Egg Tempura made by a “Tempura Samurai”
[updated June 2024]

A very popular Tempura restaurant in Koenji since 1987, Tensuke’s specialty dish is “Egg tempura”. It has crispy coating on the outside and runny yolk inside. You can eat it atop rice with a special sauce, or even order it that way as “tamago tendon”. Enjoy the taste of different ingredients and unique texture! Aside from their signature egg tempura, of course they have other favorites such as “tendon” (assorted tempura rice bowl), and lunch sets. Most tempura includes vegetables and seafood. All menu items include green tea, pickles, and miso soup.

For good value, go for the “Egg lunch set” which also includes shrimp, squid and vegetable tempura, so it’s quite substantial. The egg (tamago) tempura is popular and famous at Tensuke, so be advised you may have to wait in line for a bit before entering the restaurant, which has limited counter seating. Now that the restaurant is currently only open during lunch from 12:00 noon until 2:00pm, people usually start to wait around 11:00am to ensure they can get a seat.

Additionally, it’s enjoyable to watch Chef Kurihara’s professional technique using chopsticks to make the egg tempura– he puts on quite a show ending in a samurai/kabuki pose, which is in itself worth the wait in line. Since Tensuke is extremely popular among foreign visitors, Chef Kurihara is also used to communicating with guests using limited English and Chinese.

Lunch goes for an average of 1,700 yen. Only 2 minutes on foot from Koenji station! (JR Chuo Line stop JC07 (weekdays only), 7 minutes from Shinjuku Station /JR Chuo Sobu Line stop JB06, 10 minutes from Shinjuku Station)

ACCESS

Translation: Mariko
Photography: TFF staff