Located on the Garden Terrace of the stylish Tokyo Midtown shopping centre, Nirvana serves up inspired Indian cuisine that bursts with flavour. A reincarnation of a well-regarded restaurant that opened in 1970 in Central Park South, Manhattan, Nirvana Tokyo came into being under the watchful eye of Warren Wadud, the son of the original founder.
With its chic design and brightly patterned furniture, the indoor dining room is appealing, but when the weather's good it's hard to resist the outdoor terrace, which includes sofa seats that are ideal for lounging (although they can feel a little awkward for eating a proper meal).
Dinner courses are priced from ¥6,800, but the lunchtime buffet presents a more affordable alternative: ¥2,500 gets you a selection of curries, salads, hot and cold appetizers and desserts, with freshly baked naan brought to the table. As well as the tantalising selection of curries like tandoori salmon and lobster tail marinated with chili mustard masala, a surprising highlight are the marinated and pickled vegetables (an explosion of unfamiliar but moreish tastes and textures) and the devilishly good garam masala potatoes. It's enough to turn even the more abstemious diner into an unabashed glutton.