Pita The Great: Tokyo's premier vegan falafel

First opened in 1993, Pita The Great is one of the oldest and most treasured falafel restaurants in Tokyo -- a true wonder for the city's vegetarians and lovers of Middle Eastern food.

Pita the Great is hidden between towering office buildings in Tokyo's Tameiki-Sanno area on a second-floor terrace. The store can take a while to find, but Isreali owner Uri is not entirely happy with the 'hidden gem' status. "Somebody introduced me to this location", says Uri, "and if I find him I'm going to kill him." Death threats aside, the secluded location is actually very charming, sitting in the nexus of Tokyo's corporate and political center. Outdoor terrace seating lets you enjoy a pita sandwich with local office workers as the sun beams down on you.

Uri originally started the restaurant back in 1993 because he felt he was "not qualified to do anything else." He wakes early to make the pita fresh in the store each morning using a classic recipe and only opens up the shop when it's ready. This morning ritual means that flour literally covers the whole space, spills out to the entrance and even covers Uri from head to toe.

For ¥1,180 you can enjoy an bountiful lunch set: a pita packed to the gunwales with hummus, salad, falafel and hot sauce (on request), plus a generous side of salad, falafel or fries and a drink. If you ever grow tired of falafel you can try some unusual pita ingredients on the menu like crispy tofu, pumpkin, broccoli, eggplant or fried mushroom -- something concocted by Uri to appease "Japanese tastes."

Running one of the city's only Falafel restaurants and preparing all the food single-handedly is no mean feat. "It's difficult," says Uri. "It's just me and God that work here, but God doesn't clean the dishes."

Visit Pita The Great at ATT Shinkan 2F, Akasaka 2-11-7, Minato-ku, tel. 03 5563 0851, pitathegreat.net, lunch time only