Tempura Kondo

The story

Tempura Kondo, Ginza, Tokyo | Two Michelin Star Japanese Tempura

Tempura Kondo is a Japanese tempura counter at 9F, 5-5-13 Ginza, Tokyo, and it holds two Michelin stars in 2026 for what the guide calls excellent cooking. Chef Fumio Kondo has worked here since opening the restaurant in 1991.

Fumio Kondo at the counter

Kondo was born in Tokyo in 1947 and joined the tempura and Japanese restaurant Yama no Ue after high school. He was running its kitchen at 23 and stayed for more than twenty years before going independent. Lunch or dinner, he stands at the counter himself, since he sees tempura as a dish in which the cook receives guests. In 2019 the Japanese government named him a Contemporary Master Craftsman, the first tempura chef to receive the honor.

A very thin coat

The batter is pared down until it barely registers. It takes up little oil and lets the color and aroma of each ingredient come through. Kondo treats tempura as steamed as much as fried. The coating seals in moisture, and residual heat finishes the cooking, so the timing has to account for it.

Vegetables and the sweet potato

Edo-style tempura was traditionally about seafood, with vegetables left to delicatessens. Kondo insisted on bringing them in so a tempura course could hold interest from start to finish. He tastes produce at the farm before agreeing to a contract. His signature is a stump-thick sweet potato, more than 10 cm long, fried for about 30 minutes to concentrate its sweetness. The aim was to beat a roasted one.

Two counters

Seating is at two counters, one with 12 seats and one with 8. Lunch runs in two seatings, dinner in four start times, and each sitting lasts two hours.