I made sure to ask around about Midtown Japanese joint Tokyo Café (1847 Cerrillos Road, (505) 982-1688) before I dined there recently. The general consensus supported my hypothesis: No one I know had eaten there in years, and we all remember the offerings being rather underwhelming. And though I can’t speak to the quality of Tokyo Café during the pandemic years (y’know, because I’ve been wandering around with a memory of it sucking), I have since returned and I want to be perfectly clear—I was wrong, Tokyo Café is an excellent restaurant and I’ve been kicking myself for avoiding it all this time.
Of course, no experience is flawless, and Tokyo Café’s ambiance is nothing special. Some restaurants have that Anytown, USA, feel that doesn’t stand out from millions of other mid-tier spots, but if the biggest complaint I can find is that the restaurant has no particular visual identity…well, that just seems like small potatoes.
My companion and I arrived on a Wednesday evening, post-gym and incredibly hungry because of that. We were greeted within moments by one server who was clearly very busy, and seated less than a minute later by another worker who offered a comfortable booth. All-around, the service was that wonderful combo of attentive but laid-back. From the time our waters arrived through the entirety of the meal, we never went thirsty or wondered where our server went. According to the receipt, her name was Jenny, and we love Jenny now. Hi, Jenny! If you’re reading this, we love you.
The most intense surprise of the evening came in the form of Tokyo Café’s price range. It is, frankly, shocking that it survives while charging so little, but we literally gasped while finding dozens of options under $20. My companion opted for the teriyaki tofu plate, a veritable mountain of tempura’d tofu served with white rice and veggies for a measly $11.99. You’ll forgive me if we continued to doubt the quality at the price point, but our concerns were quickly allayed during the taste test. The breaded tofu was near-perfectly crispy on the outside while the interior tofu sidestepped the hurdles of soggy soy curd. The rice was also steamed to the best possible consistency, and the included broccoli and sautéed onions were fresh and crisp and flavorful.
Tokyo Café also serves bento boxes all day—an item that is often relegated to the lunch special section at many a Japanese eatery—and for just $15.99, I was able to order one of my own absolutely stuffed with teriyaki beef served over fresh broccoli and carrots, shrimp tempura, steamed white rice and a full order of California roll replete with real crab (shout-out to imitation crab, though, because that stuff is delicious). The only challenge at this point became what to eat first. The beef itself was a generous portion and cooked to a satisfying medium. Even better, the kitchen clearly knew how to best make use of its teriyaki, and though the sweet and tangy flavors of the sauce shone through, it didn’t dominate the dish so much as augment it brilliantly. Tokyo Café might also have the best shrimp tempura in town. The prawns were downright massive, and the breading stayed crisp throughout my tentsuyu dipping spree. The California roll impressed as well, from the buttery avocado and sweet-salty crab to the stickiness of its rice. As every sushi lover will tell you, the California roll is not always the best indicator of a sushi shop’s chops, but this one made me want to return when I’m a little more flush with cash and just go nuts at the bar.
So I have to ask—are you kidding me, Tokyo Café!? Our ticket clocked in at $30.27 total, and it included a two-pronged appetizer of warming clear soup and a house salad with that most sweet and earthy ginger dressing we all know and love. Can one crown a restaurant as having the singularly best cost-to-food value in town? Because this might be it. In fact, I will now make it my personal mission to make the world understand that Tokyo Café deserves a second look if you’ve not visited in years.
