I’ve done several novelty restaurants in Tokyo, including the Lock Up in both Shinjuku and Shibuya, but up til my last visit had managed not to pay a visit to a Space Age themed one in Shinjuku right near Don Quixote and the Lock Up. I’m referring to the imaginatively titled “Neotokyo Fooding Bar – MYSTERIOUS“.

It’s basically a bit space age, with cocktails called things like “Mercury” and “Uranus” and waitresses running around in pvc costumes.

The bar you can see here through the metallic mesh panel of our dining booth – it was lit a gorgeous moody blue colour. There were also ultraviolet strips running along the walls, and though it was dark and strange, it also felt cosy.

There are various sized rooms – ours was enough to fit 4 people, but there are larger ones like the tatami room below, and a few nooks for couples too!

I’d gone a little gyaru looking on this night, having made a big pouffy bun out of mauve fake hair, and wearing my circle lenses, pink lippy and darker than usual base. The Day of the Dead necklace I scored at Nude n Rude in Koenji.

So onto the food! This arrived, called the Mysterious omelette (714 yen), and it was very nummy, although swathed in slightly sinful mayo and katsu sauce. For my cocktail, I chose the Saturn (840 yen), which was yellow and blue – or green once I mixed it up. Other cocktail names included the Sun, Moon, Uranus, Earth, Mars, Pluto, Jupiter, Neptune…

Then came these prawns in a creamy dressing topped with caviar and served with salad, crispy deep fried lotus root chips and sweet potato strips. On the menu it was Hutoshi Akira shrimp mayonnaise and cost 1029 yen. Yep, this place aint cheap. But the dish was delicious. You just have to not fear the mayonnaise.

Mind you, the Starry Starry Fries only cost 556 yen, and we also had a tasty risotto cooked in a litte clay pot. The food is good, but small in portion, so don’t starve yourself before you come in here, and make sure you order enough.

For the menu and prices, see here.

Dessert was the loved-round-the-world fave, Creme Brulee:

Here’s a short clip from when I and my friends were in the Neotokyo Fooding Bar – along with a clip from shortly after when I saw them off to the station, which shows the temperature at the time was 30 degrees. It had got up to 37 when I was there, so 30 was positively cool!

So it has ambience and yummy food and drinks…but you need to have a few yen to dine there. If you went to only one novelty restaurant in your Tokyo stay, I’d probably go for the Lock Up nearby – but if you’re looking for somewhere new and have never before been, Mysterious is defo a cool place for a meal.

MYSTERIOUS Neo Tokyo Fooding Bar

1-16-3 Kabukicho, Shinjuku Shinjuku Square Bldg B1F
JR Shinjuku Station East Exit 5 minutes walk  or 3 minute walk from Seibu Shinjuku Line