Our Story

Tokyo Restaurant was founded in 2001 by Chef Young Ho (Philip) Shin. He began his chef journey during his mandatory service in the South Korean army. Once he had completed his service he began working at a 5-star Korean Hotel called Paradise Hotel in Busan. This was where he was trained as a professional chef specialising in Japanese cuisine. During his time working at Paradise Hotel, he was sent to Tokyo for training purposes. This was when he was able to hone his craft and increase his knowledge on the culture, language and food.

His Journey in Kenya began when he was transferred to lead the Japanese restaurant at Paradise Hotel’s Kenyan Subsidiary, Safari Park Hotel, in 1994. His dream of owning his own restaurant came true in 2001 when he founded Tokyo Restaurant. Our first branch was located on Rhapta Road where Tokyo was located for 10 years. During this time, we opened a second branch at Village Market. By 2012, we had expanded to Karen but subsequently closed all other branches.

In 2014, we consolidated our operations to our beautiful property in Lavington. We have been one of the best Japanese restaurants in Nairobi since 2001 and we cannot wait for you to experience our food and garden at our Lavington location! Our facilites include, but are not limited to the following:

Ample Parking Space
Beautiful Outdoor garden seating
Beautiful garden with a playground for children
Spacious and cozy indoor seating
A fully stocked bar
4 Tepanyaki tables for live cooking

We look forward to hosting you, please contact us for any further details.