Kondou

Amazing! Delicious tempura and wonderful to watch the master at work. A warning though...we ordered the largest menu ( figured we might never be there again). It was way, way too much food. It also meant that the food was coming at us much too quickly. But it really was terrific, lovely light batte...r and no taste of greasiness at all. Spectacular ingredients...never seen such big fat asparagus stalks before and the fish was deliciously fresh. We're still debating what were our favourites and the plus of ordering the too large menu is that we had an amazing range of vegetables and fish. Fruit at the end (not tempura!) was fantastic too. Make a reservation well in advance and enjoy!

Visited April 2024

My wife and I had dinner here. We were a little skeptical when we arrived as we were seated at the “foreigners counter” with two young chefs in the back of the restaurant while locals were seated at a counter in the front of the restaurant. The skepticism didn’t seem merited as the food was excell...ent. It was very lightly battered and really highlighted the natural flavor of the vegetables and seafood. I didn’t have anything that was soggy. They have 3 different set price menus and the sweet potato is an add-on. They also offer vegetarian options. We had the mid-priced option with the sweet potato and were quite full. Service was very good and the atmosphere is informal. I wore a sport coat and was overdressed. A lot of diners wore denim including jean jackets. No need to dress up. It didn’t strike me as a Michelin 2 star restaurant but I liked it a great deal. If you want to sample high-end tempura this is likely the best place to go in Tokyo.

Visited March 2024

We virtually had no idea why people rapped about this restaurant as food is oily and not pleasant. We ordered “Yomogi” set, it comes with pre-courses of appetizers and sashimi, then Tempura and so on; the only dishes we like are the the pre-courses not the tempuras, how ironic!! The tempuras are oil...y and non crispy, we needed to order several cups of cold tea to rinse the grease out as we felt quite disgusted halfway; the tea is not even top-up. We weren’t served by Master Kondo as his table was for certain clienteles. Not quite sure if it would improve if he was the one cooked for us. Anyway we ended up spending nearly 90,000 yen (around $1000 AUD) for 3 people, it was just so not worth it.

Visited December 2022

I had the opportunity to snag last minute seat at Tempura Kondo thanks to the hotel concierge. I tried Tsubaki Lunch Course menu. It started off with multiple tempura courses of vegetables, shrimp, fish and Kakiage with scallop and shrimp. This was followed by Tendon style bowl of rice with kaki...age and miso soup. Finally, simple serving of mango for dessert. The experience lived upto its expectations and more. It felt ethereal to have Kondo san prepare his famed dishes at such close quarters and have it piping hot straight off the stove. My favourites of the meal were scallop kakiage and tendon rice. Amazing experience and must go for Tempura fans.

Visited August 2022

Really enjoyed a freindly atmosphere and tasty food cooked in front of your eyes. The place is small but perfectly maintained. Reservations are advisable. This was a wonderful introduction to the art of tempura cooking.

Visited March 2020