Sasanoyuki

You think you know tofu but this place will really open your eyes. Order the set menu to get the full experience. For 320 years they have been making their own tofu with water from a spring on the premise. You start out with soft, natural tofu which has amazing flavor and consistency. This is followed by soups, stews, fried tofu and finally tofu ice cream. you may not like every course but you will gain a whole new appreciation for the humble soybean.

Excellent! Out of the ordinary!!! It’s tofu though, so not for everyone, but if you like it, you’ll love Sasa-​no Yuki.
At 9 course lunch for 2800 yen, it’s also amazing value!!!
Service is very nice, high-​class Japanese style! The atmosphere is calm, you take of your shoes, it’s a hush hush type that is perfect with the menu…
Big time recommendation!

Came here after reading lonely planet, so I decided to eat my very first meal in Japan here. Turned out to be a great experience.
Rumor says this place supplies tofu for the royals. Shrug I can’t verify this but I am definitely interested in trying the royal tofu.
Greeted by a old man in the front where he gave me a wood plate with a number on it. Turned out that you were supposed to take off your shoes. I apologize with broken Japanese and the English. Ambience is very Japanese; they even have a little garden inside the restaurant. Very quiet as everyone was whispering there.
I got the 7 course meal. The main ingredient is of course tofu or product made from soybeans. You would think you wouldn’t be full after eating tofu. Man I was wrong.
Highlights of the meal:
soymilk soup: hearty soup with vegetable and chicken balls. So delish
soy ice cream with plum sauce: the best ice cream that I had in my life. The plum sauce is fresh and green since it is japan plum. perfectly sweetened and sour.
cold tofu with soy sauce: the staple dish of japanese silk tofu. My all-​time favorite. Very silky and smooth. They added a little radish/​ginger into the soy sauce which definitely made the dish tasted better than your plain normal cold tofu + soy sauce dish.
I would highly recommend this place as i feel it is such a epitome of japanese cuisine in terms of tofu.

I’m going to have to be the party pooper here and give a not stellar review. I braved a typhoon on my walk over for lunch so I may have been more critical than usual. As of my visit, there were only normal height tables in the dining room, slightly disappointed.
The food, while all good, felt lazy. Maybe it is the few hundred years of fame that doesn’t necessitate innovation. Though it wasn’t just the lack of variety, the amount of care put into each dish also felt lackluster. The pacing of the meal was way off, I ordered the 9 course set, and my table would have anywhere from 0 to 4 different courses at one time. They make the food in batches, one dish comes out at the same time for different tables, regardless of where they are in the meal. No big deal I suppose. What really turned me off was the order of the dishes. I like tofu, don’t get me wrong, but by the third course I was vowing to not eat tofu again for a few months. They didn’t stagger the texture properly so I was eating way too much mushy tofu texture in a row. The piece of cold tofu was also way too big, and the signature dish in the broth comes in two. If there’s a reason for this overload, please at least explain to me before I force it all down.
Now the good. Once the normal tofu dishes were out of the way, it was smooth sailing. Good variety and tasted much better. Service was ok, I liked the old dude out front with shoe and umbrella service. Worth a visit, reasonably priced, but maybe have some squid beforehand so you get the desire to chew out of the way.

Sasanoyuki is a 320 year old restaurant that counts Emperors and the Imperial family as happy customers. It’s located in the Northern Tokyo suburb of Negishi, close to the Uguisudani station on the Yamamote line. Bookings aren’t nescessary for lunch.
The building is noticeably different to the modern grey concrete high rise buildings that surround it.
Inside, you are greeted by a doorman who stores your shoes in shoe box shelves. A host then greets you and shows you through the lobby to the public dining room, and settles you at your (low) table, where you sit on square cushions on the floor.
The dining room has floor to ceiling glass windows that look out onto a tranquil garden, complete with tiny water wheel and red bridge.
It is decorated with traditional paintings, including an amusing one of Tanuki’s, as well as a large and elegant ceramic cat.
A waitress then greets you, impeccably dressed in a kimono and wearing traditional wooden sandals and two toed white socks. The menu is in Japanese and some English, and includes a la carte and several different ‘course’ degustation options. The waitress happily points out the vegetarian options amongst the a la carte options and any of the degustation menus can also be presented as vegetarian. We opt for the smallest of the available degustation menus, a nine course wonder at only US$ 25 (2600 yen) per person. To accompany our meal we opt for a Kirin beer (700 yen) and a dry sake served room temperature (650 yen), both of which arrive promptly.
They are soon joined by the first course, Ikemorinamasu — Appetizer.
This was a tofu sauce with flavour, savoury sweetness, like it was blended with mayonnaise. To mix in the sauce were lotus root, mushroom, radish and nozawana pickles, fresh grated daikon, freshly pickled ginger and a beautiful flower shaped vegetable (cooked radish perhaps).
Second course was «small dish of the season», a small piece of marinated firm tofu, braised vegetable in yuba (tofu) skin, cooked piece of radish with miso on top, and a vegetable mochi.
Course three was pure cold house made tofu. It had a very smooth texture, was firmer than silken tofu but not at all rubbery like store bought firm variety. It was served with a simple sauce of soy, wasabi, grated ginger and spring onions. Another example of beautiful simplicity, with salt, umami, heat in different bites.
This forth offering was one of my favourite culinary experiences in Japan for this trip. Tofu crafted from sesame and arrowroot is thick, almost jellied, and frangrant with nutty sesame. Sweet miso and a citrus kick from yuzu make for a truly delicious combination.
Fifth course is Sasanoyuki’s singature dish, Annkake-​Tofu, that has been served for 300 years — as two of the same dish.
Silken tofu is served hot within a sweetened soy sauce broth, and is topped with mustard.
The sixth course was Unsui (cloud water) was a yuba parcel containing a scallop, prawn, shitake mushroom and vegetables in a soy milk broth with yuzu peel for fragrance. Mr Wino proclaimed it his second favourite dish of the day (after the sesame tofu).
The vegetarian sixth course was Yuba and Koya-​Tofu — or bean curd skin and freeze dried tofu was served in a sweet broth. The yuba was layered but still soft, and the freeze dried tofu was spongy in texture, full of the sweet broth. The bamboo shoot was crisp and nutty, rounding out a truly unique and memorable dish.
Dish seven was deep fried tofu. The «Kinuage» — fried tofu — had a satisfying crunch with soft tofu inside. Served simply with some grated ginger & daikon, it was a thing of beauty. The best fried tofu I have ever had.
Course eight was Uzumi-​Tofu, a savoury soup with rice, small freeze dried tofu pieces, and nozawana vegetable, topped with nori strips, and a tray of accompaniments.
The final course was a perfect scoop of tofu ice cream, served with kiwifuit sauce. It had a smooth sorbet texture and was a refreshing end to the meal. It was accompanied with a cup of Japanese green tea.
An amazing experience!
Access: Take the north exit out of Uguisudani station on the Yamamote line, and continue along the street which angles slightly to the left. Continue straight by crossing the street under the elevated highway and continue on for about 200 metres. The restaurant is on the left.