Kome Pura

You can have gluten-free tempura "Komepura" and a Japanese-style "Japanese Fried Chicken" different from either karaage or fried chicken. The coating uses a new-texture gluten-free flake developed by a confectionery maker — said to be crispier and crunchier — and apparently 100% domestic rice flour. Rice-flour udon is also available. Don-tare and tentsuyu are also gluten-free, but some sauces and dressings use wheat, and the kitchen isn't dedicated to gluten-free. They apparently have Indonesia's halal certification HITO. I had the komepura don, which won an Outstanding Award at Japan Shokuhin Shimbun's "Sozai Grand Prix 2024." I'm so grateful for the rare opportunity to have gluten-free fried food, and rice-bowl-style at that. It feels less like tempura and more like crispy-coated fried food — I'd want to tell inbound visitors this is a different thing from gluten-free tempura. If I'd eaten it as tempura without the don broth, would my impression be different?? As crispy-coated new fried food, it's quite enjoyable. The so-called gluten-free tempura I've had at other shops was always at a quality I didn't want to finish, so this one being properly delicious is truly appreciated. Located inside Hamamatsucho Neo-Yokocho, in a food-court-style format. Other shops you can order alongside include Asian and Chinese cuisine, and the Italian option lets you change noodles to rice-flour or brown-rice-flour according to the menu. (However, it doesn't say gluten-free.) From ordering to payment, everything is completed by scanning a QR code at the table on your phone — to confirm specific wheat usage, you need to call staff. Typical food courts have separate kitchens for each shop, but here all the shops cook in one shared kitchen, with cooks apparently not divided by shop. With each shop having different attitudes toward allergens, at what level is this shared??

The shop is in Shiodome Yokocho on B2 of Caretta Shiodome. It's like a food court — you're seated at a table by staff and read a QR code to mobile-order. You can order items from multiple shops. The main offering is fried foods with rice flour batter. I ordered chicken rice-pura don, rice-pura don, and aji fry. The texture is crunchy — closer to fried chicken or fried shrimp than light, fluffy tempura. Gluten-free fried food is rare, so this is appreciated. The tartar sauce with the chicken set apparently contains wheat. No mention on the website or menu, but the shop's Instagram says the tempura dipping sauce and tendon sauce are gluten-free. Payment is cashless only.

A gluten-free tempura shop. All tempura menu items use rice flour. Rice flour tempura shops are rare in Tokyo, making this valuable. I had tendon at a shop for the first time in a while. What I ordered: ◆ Kome-pura Don (with miso soup and pickles) Rice flour flakes coat the tempura, giving a crispy texture. Different from the typical tempura coating you'd imagine. Orders are placed by scanning the QR code at your seat. Located in an office building, but with Nippon TV and Gekidan Shiki nearby, many general customers seem to drop in.