Sangenjaya is one of Tokyo’s food heavens! Here are my best restaurants & cafes in Sancha, where you can enjoy a good deal for lunch, Izakaya in Sankaku Chitai (triangle alley), a nice bakery with flower shop + coffee roasters, a cafe for a (cow) milk lover, etc!
Sangenjaya / Sancha
Sangenjaya is an area in Setagaya ward, Tokyo. People including me call it “Sancha”, short for Sangenjaya. It originally meant “3 teahouses.” It used to be a place to enjoy food, and it still is!
How To Get Sangenjaya?
Sangenjaya is also the station name on Tokyu Denentoshi Line. It’s only two stops (local), one stop (express) away from Shibuya station!
It’s a very convenient area with nostalgic atmosphere, modern buildings, and parks with nature.
Santoukou : Soba Noodle Restaurant
Walk to the direction for Ikejiri on Route 246, you will find “Santoukou(Santoko)” which is a soba noodle shop. As soon as I went inside of the restaurant for the first time, I liked it! It’s has a warm atmosphere where you can feel relaxed.
Lunch Set
My recommendation is
- 3 kinds of appetizer
- Tempura – shrimp, chicken + shiso (Japanese herb), and pumpkin
- Sobakiri (soba noodle)
- Takikomi gohan (mixed rice)
- Warabi Mochi
It’s a lot that fills up your stomach so easily! I really like it because I can enjoy a variety of food, and it only costs under 2000 yen!! Don’t you think it’s a great cost-performance?
Santoukou Sangenjaya
Ichigoya : Yakiniku
Yakiniku is Japanese style BBQ. You have a small grill in the center of the table, and you can grill there by yourself.
Ichigoya has multiple locations on the Denentoshi Line, (Tama plaza, Aobadai and Ichigao, as far as i know). The quality of meat is pretty good, in my opinion.
A Lunch Set of Harami & Tongue
- Salad
- Tofu with Kimchi
- Namul (spinach, bean sprout, daikon radish & carrot)
- Korean style seaweed (seaweed with salt + sesame oil)
- Harami (skirt steak)
- Tongue
- Rice
- Soup
All of the above is included in the set! It easily fills up the table. The harami was so tender and it goes well with their “tare” (sauce). The Beef Tongue is perfect!
As you can tell, it’s a great deal that many people would love! I recommend you go as soon as it opens, because it can get busy!
Ichigoya – Sangenjaya
Tokyo Gyozaro : Gyoza
If you are a Gyoza lover, you might have heard of this shop. Tokyo Gyozaro is famous for Gyoza. They don’t have a huge menu; a few different kinds of Gyozas, some appetizers, and rice. Very simple, but so delicious!
Also, it doesn’t take time to be served! That means it’s great when you are hungry and you want to eat something quick! I’ve seen a lot of people having their dinner with a beer on their way home while I lived in Sancha.
They have some styles of how to cook Gyoza;
- Yaki (grilled)
- Yude (boiled)
- Age (deep fried)
We ordered
- Yaki (grilled) Gyoza with garlic
- Yude (boiled) Gyoza without garlic
- Age (deep fried) Shiso gyoza
- Medium size of Rice (comes with soup)
Deep fried Gyoza
I personally like Age (deep fried) gyoza! Honestly, I have made gyoza at home since I was a kid, but I don’t deep fry them by myself. That’s what my grandma used to do.
Anyway, I recommend you order a deep-fried Shiso gyoza that comes with miso-based sauce! Shiso (Japanese basil) makes it feel a little less greasy!
Tokyo Gyozaro Sangenjaya
Kunikage : Izakaya
I somehow didn’t take any picture at this restaurant…sorry ;(
In Sangenjaya, there is an alley called “Sankaku Chitai” where you can find a lot of food!
Sankaku = triangle
Chitai = area
Kunikage is one of the restaurants in that area. It’s small and popular! Better to make a reservation especially on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Uni Shabu (Sea urchin)
At this restaurant, you can enjoy “Uni Shabu”!
Shabu Shabu is a Japanese dish that you cook by yourself by putting some food in boiling water/broth. Uni means sea urchin.
We had some veggies and fish to do Shabu Shabu. Uni soup was so good with them! It’s rich, but not heavy.
Kunikage – Sangenjaya
Junibun Bakery
There is a bakery named Junibun Bakery beside Route 246. You might not even notice it’s a bakery unless you look inside it.
There are breads, pastries, baked stuff (cookies, etc) that might be a good gift or Temiyage (a gift that you bring to someone).
Flower Shop
They also have a flower shop inside. I guess you will enjoy this if you like flowers, dried flower swags, vases, etc.
Nisoku Hokou Coffee Roasters
In addition, they have a cafe upstairs with very relaxing vibes. On weekdays, you can bring what you buy downstairs to upstairs and enjoy it. (as of Nov 2022) You can buy coffee beans there too.
Junibun Bakery – Sangenjaya
Cafe the Sun Lives Here
Around a quiet neighborhood, you can find this cafe. It’s a very small cafe, where not too many people can sit down. We went there as soon as it opened on the weekend, so we could get a table for us.
They specialize in food that is made from milk.
We ordered
- Tiramisu
- Oreo cheesecake
- A cup of tea
- A cup of coffee
Cafe the Sun Lives Here – Sangenjaya
Sangenjaya is a great place for foodies! I have still a long list of restaurants & cafes that I’d like to try there. I’ll update this article whenever I find more good places!
