Despite Some of World's Highest Prices, Restaurant Scene is Strong

Jumbo Wins for Food; La Belle Epoque for Service;
Ogasawara Hakushakutei for Décor; L'osier is Most Popular;
Botanica is Top Newcomer; Hiramatsu Has Improved Most

While Surveyors Approve of Kitchens' Diversity and Creativity, They Fault Service and Overwhelmingly Call for a Ban on Smoking

TOKYO, JAPAN. October 23, 2007 — Zagat Survey today released the results of its 2008 Tokyo Restaurants survey. The 2008 guide, the tenth anniversary edition, covers 1,243 restaurants and is based on input from 4,790 local diners who separately rate the Food, Décor and Service of each restaurant on the signature Zagat 30 point scale. Despite the fact that Tokyo is the third highest priced of the 88 major cities that Zagat surveys around the world, surveyors on average ate out or purchased 59% of their meals in the past year. Reflecting a strong Tokyo restaurant market, the surveyors report eating out and spending more than they did two years ago, and there are over 200 new restaurants in this year's guide.

And the Winners Are: Surveyors ranked yakiniku specialist Jumbo No. 1 for food; the French L'osier as the Most Popular restaurant; the Spanish Ogasawara Hakushakutei as having the Best Décor and La Belle Epoque for Best Service. The top-rated Newcomer is Botanica and the Most Improved restaurant is Hiramatsu. The following lists reflect the top restaurants for Popularity, Food, Décor and Service:

Most Popular (2007 rank)

1. L'osier (1)
2. Shotai-en (8)
3. Ukai-tei (4)
4. Kyubey (5)
5. Sushi-no-Midori Sohonten (2)
6. Obana (3)
7. Imahan (9)
8. Arizuki (20)
9. Ristorante Hamasaki (34)
10. Au Gout du Jour (11)

Jumping: There were some notable improvements this year in the Top Lists: Most dramatically, Restaurant Hiramatsu moved up 23 spots to reach second place for Food while also dramatically improving its Décor and Service ratings. Le Manoir D'Hastings and Fregoli, previously not even on the Top 40 list, debuted in third and fourth places respectively this year. On the Most Popular list, Shotai-en moved up six places to No. 2 and Arizuki moved up twelve places to No. 8, but the biggest climber in Popularity was Ristorante Hamasaki – moving up twenty-five spots to No. 9. The New York Grill, which underwent a makeover last year, is back on the Top Décor list as No. 7.

Tokyo Dining Overall: Rating Tokyo's dining scene overall, surveyors gave a 21 out of a possible 30 on the Zagat scale for choice/diversity and a respectable 16 for culinary creativity; however, table availability and hospitality scored only 11 and 12, respectively. Confirming this problem, surveyors cited service as the most irritating part of the dining experience. According to Tim Zagat, CEO of Zagat Survey, "The extraordinary strength of Tokyo's dining scene is attributable to talented disciplined chefs, high quality ingredients and a dining public that is willing to pay high prices for fine food. However, 'front of the house' issues such as service and smoking remain problematic for the industry. When asked what they found most irritating about dining out, surveyors answered poor service (36%) and smoking (19%). When asked if smoking should be banned, an overwhelming 80% said yes."

More Foreign Chefs: A procession of big name foreign chefs, including Paul Bocuse (Maison Paul Bocuse and Brasserie Paul Bocuse le Musée), Alain Ducasse (Beige Tokyo), Gordon Ramsay (Gordon Ramsay at Conrad Tokyo and Cerise by Gordon Ramsay), Joël Robuchon (L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon and Château Restaurant Joël Robuchon) and an offspring of New York City's No. 1 Favorite restaurant, Union Square – continue to revitalize operations and set up shop in Tokyo. Also, Nobu Matsuhisa and his famed actor partner, Robert DeNiro, have taken over full ownership of Nobu Tokyo and moved it to a new location in Toranomon. Chef Chikara Yamada, who trained at Spain's El Bulli, is now spinning his own unique take on Japanese cuisine at Yamada Chikara.

The Cost of Dining Out: The average cost to eat in Tokyo is now ¥8,114 (US$69.58). Only two other cities, London (¥9,266) and Paris (¥8,657), are more expensive. Tokyo is far more expensive than New York City (¥4,601), San Francisco (¥4,324) and Los Angeles (¥3,882). Still, despite the high cost of dining in Tokyo, only 1% of surveyors cite cost as the most irritating part of dining out and people are eating out more than ever. Knowing that most diners are sensitive to prices, the new guide lists the prices per meal on each restaurant as estimated by the surveyors and provides extensive lists of places to find the Best Bang for the Buck.

Favorite Foods: When asked to name their favorite cuisine, not surprisingly, 52% of surveyors favor their national Japanese cuisine. Italian comes in second with 23%, and French third with 16%. As for alcoholic beverages, 35% of surveyors report that they typically order wine, 31% order beer, 14% say shochu and 10% sake. Ten percent claim to abstain.

The 2008 Tokyo Restaurants guide (¥1,600) is available at bookstores and other retail outlets.

About Zagat Survey, LLC
Known as the "wildly popular" "burgundy bible", Zagat Survey is the world's most trusted source for information about where to eat, drink, stay and play. With more than 300,000 surveyors, Zagat Survey rates and reviews restaurants, hotels, nightlife, movies, music, golf, shopping and a range of other entertainment categories and is lauded as the "most up-to-date", "comprehensive" and "reliable" guide ever published. Zagat content is available to consumers wherever and whenever they need it: in book format, on ZAGAT.com, via the downloadable ZAGAT TO GO for smartphones and on the mobile web with ZAGAT.mobi outside Japan. For more information, visit ZAGAT.com