Early-Summer Daytime Drinks at Luncheon, a Jimbocho Beer Hall Founded in 1909 | Photographer ELLI’s Town Walks #1

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Luncheon, the beer hall in Jimbocho founded in 1909. Photographer ELLI took these pictures while talking with fourth-generation owner Hiroshi Suzuki: an omelet rice with soft, silky egg, a melt-in-your-mouth beef stew, escargots served as a snack with beer, and the draft beer the house has been pouring since it opened. (From installment 1 of “Photographer ELLI’s Town Walks,” Hon no Machi, June 2025 issue)

Hiroshi Suzuki, fourth-generation owner of Luncheon, beside the beer tap — Hiroshi Suzuki, fourth-generation owner (photos by Eri Ito unless otherwise noted)

“Well, the customers keep coming, you know.”

—Fourth-generation owner Hiroshi Suzuki, asked whether staying open all day without a break is hard

A new series has begun in which photographer ELLI (Eri Ito), who says she “hardly had any connection to Jimbocho,” walks through Book Town with fresh eyes. For installment 1 she visited Luncheon, the celebrated restaurant known for its yoshoku (Japanese-style Western cooking) and draft beer, photographing it while talking with an owner she was meeting for the first time.

Early-summer daytime drinking.

The restaurant: up a retro staircase

Exterior of Luncheon in Jimbocho — Luncheon’s entrance on Yasukuni-dori Avenue

From the entrance on Yasukuni-dori Avenue, a retro staircase leads up to the dining room on the second floor. When the magazine visited, weekday hours were 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Staying open straight through from lunch to dinner is part of what makes this place what it is.

Luncheon’s retro staircase — Up the retro staircase to the second floor

Signature dishes: beer, and escargots

Escargots and draft beer at Luncheon — Escargots, the perfect match for beer

Escargots are usually eaten with wine, but for about 30 years Luncheon has served them as a companion to beer. The Luncheon way is butter and garlic with shallots and parsley added. Even a single dish carries the thinking of the generations of owners who have run the place.

Omelet rice at Luncheon — A favorite: omelet rice with soft, silky egg

Beef stew at Luncheon — Beef stew with delicious, fall-apart-tender beef

The manager pouring draft beer at Luncheon’s counter — Since the founding, only the manager pours the draft beer, and it tastes exceptional

The owner: fourth-generation Hiroshi Suzuki

Asked what the hardest moment of his career had been, he answered instantly: “Yesterday.” He had been scrambling to cover for a staff member who called in at the last minute. Since the pandemic, staff shortages have been a worry shared by restaurants everywhere.

Sure enough, even past 3 p.m. in the lull of the afternoon, regulars and visitors from abroad kept arriving, one group and then another. There never seems to be an empty hour. Behind his gentle gaze he hides the hardship of carrying the destiny of a storied restaurant and quietly fighting for it day after day.

Luncheon’s fourth-generation owner Hiroshi Suzuki smiling — Hiroshi Suzuki, fourth-generation owner

Shop information

▶Shop page (map and related articles)

Beer Hall Luncheon
Address: 1-6 Kanda-Jimbocho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Phone: 03-3233-0866
Founded: 1909
Closed: Sundays and national holidays
Hours: Weekdays 11 a.m.–9:30 p.m. (as of our 2025 visit)
Nearest station: Jimbocho
▶Official website　▶View on Google Maps
*Address, phone and closing days are from the Hon no Machi member shop list (September 2026 issue). Hours may change; please check before you visit.

Photographer ELLI’s Town Walks: All installments

▶See every installment and a map of the shops ELLI has visited on the series page

#1　Luncheon (this article)
#2　The Adirondack Café
#3　Hasebe
#4　Toyodaen & Daisen
#5　@Wonder
#6　Book House Cafe
#7　Kissa Hotaka
#8　Mamekobo
#9　Banuken
#10　Asanoya
#11　Yamagataya Paper Shop
#12　Kissa Poupée
#13　Ochanomizu Hotel Shoryukan
#14　Kanda Awahei
#15　Daiki Shoe Store
#16　Sakaiya Sports
#17　Fuji Record Sha

Eri Ito (ELLI)
Photographer. In her Hon no Machi series “Photographer ELLI’s Town Walks,” she visits shops in Kanda, Ochanomizu and Jimbocho every month.

This article introduces installment 1 of “Photographer ELLI’s Town Walks” (photos and text by Eri Ito), published in the June 2025 issue (Vol. 2) of Hon no Machi, the community salon magazine of Kanda, Ochanomizu and Jimbocho.

▶Read the June 2025 issue of Hon no Machi (PDF, in Japanese)

Founded in 1980, Hon no Machi brings you the latest from Book Town every month, together with Jimbocho’s bookstores, publishers, cafés and galleries.

▶Back issues of our series are being published on our note page (in Japanese)

日本語で読む — Read this article in Japanese