Raika

My wife has chosen this restaurant from a little book to introduce good restaurants by Mizuho(bank) Premium Club and also because evaluation by TripAdvisor and others were quite favorable. Indeed it was a quiet ,cozy place with terrace covered by hedges facing Shinjuku Gyoen Park across unfortunatel...y the busy traffic road. Nevertheless ambiance was very good and services were quite satisfactory. The menu of dinner including stewed sharks fin which was our main target was a little disappointing while chef’s compliment was so delicious that our subsequent expectation could have been misguided. Taste generally was not of Peking style but southern even to Singapore. Most disappointing was the Peking duck which was served quite cold. Seasoning for stewing shark’s fin was not so delicate as we normally expect. All these results indicate that chef in charge that particular evening could have been the one not sufficiently trained as in case of large hotel restaurants recently probably because of shortage of manpower. They tend to show food looking good on the plates irrespective of its taste and temperature. The bill ended up covering a decanter of cheapest Shaoxing wine (5 years old) served in a charming little glass at Yen1600 which was excellent as well as 10% service charge and 8% tax was a little less than Yen28,000. Overall we did not feel like going back there.

Visited June 2018

Raika is a handsome, well-appointed Chinese restaurant right under the Tokyu Stay building in Minato. It gets busy from noon so expect a short wait if you haven’t made a reservation. The food has a distinct Japanese touch to it but is still very much Chinese. In fact, Chinese with a Japanese touch i...s really, really good. The set lunch menus are great value. Service is near impeccable. Worth a visit. Waste NOT. Want NOT.

Visited January 2017

We were just walking all over Tokyo to get a feel for the city and happened upon this little place at lunch time. The dumplings were the best I have ever had. We were fortunate that the weather was perfect for eating outside on their lovely patio. The service was excellent. Probably the best Chi...nese restaurant I have ever tried anywhere in the world. The prices were not too high. The complimentary tea was delicious. If we can find this place next spring when we return to Tokyo, we will be back for lunch or dinner. Great ambiance both inside and out.

Visited November 2014