How to use Tabelog as a tourist

Tabelog (食べログ) is Japan's main restaurant review site, and it is where Japanese diners decide where to eat. It's also confusing the first time you open it: the scores look low, the filters are dense, and the listing you want often ends with a phone number and nothing else. This guide shows you how to read it.

English site or Japanese site?

Tabelog has an English version at tabelog.com/en. It is useful for browsing, but it shows fewer details than the Japanese site. For a restaurant you're serious about, open the Japanese page and use your browser's translate feature. You get the full review count, booking notes, the closed day and sometimes a separate booking number.

What the scores really mean

Tabelog scores run from 1 to 5, but in practice almost everything sits between 3.0 and 4.0. Reviews are weighted, and scores are adjusted so they don't inflate. Read them like this:

Don't chase the highest number. A 3.4 lunch spot with hundreds of reviews and a 3.6 izakaya near your hotel will make better memories than a 4.1 counter you can't get into.

The badges

Tabelog awards yearly Hyakumeiten (百名店, "top 100") badges by cuisine, such as ramen, sushi and curry. They are a strong shortcut when you're choosing within one type of food. Listings also flag awards and whether the restaurant is on Tabelog's own booking system.

Filters that matter for travelers

• Area and station. Search around the station nearest your hotel, not the whole city.
• Cuisine. Narrow it down. "Japanese food" is too broad to be useful.
• Budget. Lunch and dinner budgets are shown separately, as a band like ¥5,000 to ¥5,999.
• Online booking (ネット予約). This shows the places you can book without calling.
• Open now or open on your day. Always check the closed day (定休日).

Reading the booking information

On the Japanese page, scroll to the restaurant details (店舗情報) and look for these lines:

• 予約可: bookings accepted.
• 予約不可: no bookings. Walk in or queue.
• 完全予約制: bookings only. No walk-ins at all.
• 予約・お問い合わせ: the number for bookings and questions.
• ネット予約 with a calendar: you can book online through Tabelog.

If there is a Tabelog calendar, great. You can try it, though it may ask you to sign up. If there's only a phone number, you're looking at a phone-only restaurant. That is very common, and we explain why in why so many restaurants only take bookings by phone.

When the listing says to call

This is where most travelers give up, and where the best tables are. You can:

1. Call yourself with a script. Our phrase builder writes one for your exact date and party size, and the call-time checker tells you when the restaurant will pick up.
2. Ask your hotel, if it has a concierge.
3. Have Moshicall call. Paste the number from Tabelog into the booking form, and we call in Japanese and email you the answer.

Next steps

Tabelog is the best tool for finding places. Our guide to finding where locals eat covers the rest, from neighbourhoods to street signals. If you're after sushi, read how to book an omakase counter.