Jugemu & Shimbashi Restaurant

This is one place where it's OK to take sides. Jugemu & Shimbashi is split in two, and it executes the divide seamlessly. Both sections share a menu but each has its distinctive style; the service is adept wherever you sit. Jugemu is teppanyaki, its dark wood and red wall lending it a modern Japanese feel. Shimbashi is a traditional noodle house - all mellow yellows and lighter timbers. The excellent, slightly rough soba noodles are hand-made on site, so a noodle dish is a must. perhaps the nourishing tori and kinoko soba (chicken and Japanese mushrooms in a smoky dashi broth). Soba aside, everyone's ordering fat, deeply golden gyoza, jewel-toned sashimi of impeccable quality, and just-cooked, cabbage-filled okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake) with brazen criss-crosses of smoky brown sauce and kewpie mayo. Jugemu & Shimbashi is buzzing most nights; best to book ahead, whichever side you choose.