Review process

Restaurant/Bar/Cafe/Shop

1.

All nominated venues were initially featured in one of Time Out Tokyo’s ‘Best of Tokyo’ articles, such as ‘The 100 best Tokyo restaurants’.
2.

Nominations for the Love Tokyo Awards were done by the Time Out Tokyo team.
3.

All nominated venues were then rated by Time Out editors from around the world, who ranked them based on the criteria listed below.

Originality

Forget chain joints and corporate-backed operations – we’re all about highlighting unique, independent places loved by the locals.
Service

Friendly, attentive service can make a good meal great, while being treated arrogantly or dismissively will have us storming through the door in no time.
Quality/Price

Pay more, get more? Well, sure, but not all of us can burn money at will. Value thus becomes a crucial factor in rating any restaurant, bar, café or shop.
Atmosphere

No matter how well you score in the previous three categories, shamelessly subjective feelings are sometimes what make or break a place. Simply, did we like the atmosphere or not?

Originality

Forget mass-produced machinations – we’re all about highlighting unique, truly innovative products that excite their users.
Quality/Price

Pay more, get more? Well, sure, but not all of us can burn money at will. Value thus becomes a crucial factor in rating any product.
Desirability

In the end, it comes down to a simple question: would we buy this? Does the product feel relevant to people’s needs, and does it have the potential to make our lives better?

Chosen by the Time Out Tokyo team, the winners in these categories are our ideal representatives of Tokyo in 2016.