10 best food trucks in Tokyo

Cagna Passo’s Sapporo-style soup curry is the perfect meal to warm up on a cold day. The menu always has five standard soup curries plus four seasonal options with different vegetables and proteins. All of them punchy and hearty, made with 32 spices, house-made bouillon and a special tomato sauce. 

The braised pork and veggie soup curry (¥1,150) is a crowd-pleaser, and it comes with a thick slab of melt-in-the-mouth pork belly and a variety of thick cut veggies that are grilled to order, like kabocha squash, eggplant, carrot, green pepper, lotus loot and mushroom.

You can choose the level of spiciness depending on how much heat you can take. Also, add on a side salad with house-made french dressing for just ¥150.

Omelette rice, known affectionately as omurice, is a classic Japanese comfort food. And at Olive-tei food truck, you’ll find six kinds of omurice. Aside from the standard ketchup drizzle (¥650), chicken tomato sauce (¥800) and beef demi-glace (¥800), you’ll also find keema curry (¥800) as well as shrimp white sauce and salsa (¥800), all served atop a generous serving of ketchup fried rice.

Can’t decide on one? Order a half-and-half and have two types of gravy/topping. You can also upgrade your meal with extra cheese (¥100), or a side of onion soup (¥100) or salad (¥200). You’ll be glad to know that the food truck carries plenty of hot sauces to spice up your meal.

Japanese salt company Amashio has its own food truck in Tokyo offering a classic cheap and cheerful bento box. For ¥700, you can get two freshly made onigiri: one riceball served plain, seasoned with just the company’s signature salt, and another with your choice of filling including salmon, ume (pickled plum) or mentaiko (cod roe).

The bento box makes for quite a substantial meal as it also comes with a side of veggies and a serving of grilled chicken (mayo mustard sauce or salt lemon sauce). If that’s not enough, you can always add another onigiri for another ¥150.

Taco rice is a Mexican-Japanese fusion dish originated in Okinawa prefecture, and Pieni Kissa offers this dish in eight variations. While you can’t go wrong with the food truck’s original taco rice with organic lettuce, taco meat, salsa, onion chips and cheddar cheese on a bed of rice, we recommend getting the guacamole or roast pork taco for the protein boost.

In fact, it's not necessary to pick any of the taco rice options on the menu. Just customise your own by choosing the toppings individually. Make sure you check out the lineup of hot sauces to add more flavour to your meal.

If you’ve had your fill of cheap bento options, upgrade your rice bowl with a visit to Street Farm Kitchen. This food truck offers Thai-style chicken and pork, grilled right in front of you. The meat is marinated in a special, original sauce made from a mixture of Asian spices to give it a flavourful punch. 

You can choose from three options – grilled chicken, grilled pork or roast pork – or order the BBQ Special Set (¥1,000) and get all three. The meals here come with a bed of jasmine rice, coriander, fish sauce and your choice of chili sauce to drizzle on top.

Where: Varies depending on the day. Check Street Farm Kitchen's Instagram for the latest monthly schedule.

Bonnie and Fried is known for its pitch-black bamboo charcoal burger buns that the shop says have a higher concentration of vitamins compared to your average bun. They’re paired with 100-percent beef patties and an original sauce, made by the owner-chef, who spent more than a decade cooking in Italy.

Get the standard cheeseburger (¥1,100), which is filled with greens and a slice of American cheese, or if you’re feeling adventurous, go for the Hamburger DC (¥1,350), which is the food truck’s take on a sloppy joe. It has a dollop of housemade dry curry and a fried egg in the burger. All burgers come with a side of fries to complete the meal.

Where: Varies depending on the day. Check the website for the monthly schedule.

Standing right in front of craft beer shop Øl in Shibuya is La Cabina Tokyo with a selection of Mexican street food. Owner Haim serves up some of the city’s best tacos, made with blue corn tortillas, with half a dozen different fillings. First-timers should try the classic carnitas (traditional Mexican shredded pork), deep-fried fish with craft beer batter, or the al pastor (grilled pork) topped with pineapple for a tropical kick. You can get two tacos for ¥900, three for ¥1,200 or four for ¥1,400.

The quesadilla (from ¥800) is also a satisfying option, with generous amounts of cheese and your choice of filling, topped with freshly made salsa. Haim says that the ‘soul of the taco is in the sauce’, so naturally, all three types of hot sauce on offer are handmade by the owner himself. The ingredients that aren’t grown locally are sourced from Mexico, so you know the meals here are the real deal.

Where: In front of Øl by Oslo Brewing (37-10 Udagawa, Shibuya)

Mr Chicken serves a range of Asian chicken dishes at its Gotanda and Kita-Shinagawa stores, but offers its most popular item, Singaporean chicken rice, in food trucks around Tokyo. Choose between the classic steamed chicken (¥700) or the roast chicken (¥750), or go for the mixed bento (¥800) if you want to try both. For a larger portion, just ask for more rice (¥50) or get double the amount of chicken (¥200) – the latter is an especially good deal. 

Where: Varies depending on the day. Check the website for the weekly schedule.

Balinese food is generally hard to come by around Tokyo, but Manis Pedas offers a range of traditional dishes from its food truck. Fans queue up for the nasi campur (¥1,080), a plate of white rice with small portions of side dishes including meat skewers, braised pork, pan-fried veggies and more. 

One bite of this dish will transport you to the Indonesian island, especially if it’s topped with sambal chili sauce (¥100 each). Add a piece of crispy chicken or an Indonesian corn fritter on the side for ¥150 if you want a little more. The dish sells out fairly quickly, so we recommend visiting earlier during the lunch hours or making a reservation via Line before 10am.

Where: Varies depending on the day. Check Manis Pedas's Twitter for the weekly schedule.

For an easy grab-and-go lunch, visit Mika Bánh Mì and pick up a delicious Vietnamese sandwich. Most of the bánh mì here are made with pork, but there is a vegetarian option filled with egg and veggies (¥550). You can’t go wrong with the classic grilled pork bánh mì (¥650), which has pickled greens and coriander, or the special bánh mì (¥800) that also includes ham. 

You can always ask for extra meat (¥150) or top your sandwich with a fried egg. Not a fan of coriander? Don’t worry, you can swap it out with sliced cabbage at no extra cost.

Where: Varies depending on the day. Check the website for the weekly schedule.