It’s not every day that you get to have lunch in a strange city (just Nihonbashi in this case, so actually closer to home for me, but not Roppongi). Might as well make the most of it! In this case we were accidentally released early from obligations, and found ourselves on the street barely after 11, with over 90 minutes blocked out for lunch. As one should always do when in Nihonbashi randomly, we tried to go to Merveille. And as is their prerogative, they were fully-booked for Friday lunch…note that they open at 11 though! I think this is a result of the securities industry being in the area – lots of OLs, lots of early starters.
Back to Coredo, which my previous-night’s research had determined to be the place most likely to yield tasty luncheon (good sir). In fact I had already settled a bit on 4eme, on…wait for it…the fourth floor! hahaha. This is simple 3-course french lunch (or more, or less) with some cheap glass-wine options and a bit of view out to the street in Nihonbashi.
Across from me was the steak lunch. It looked small but turned out to be sufficient, especially with the bread (especially the rosemary focaccia).
On my side, things started with a vegetable terrine. This seems to be getting popular lately – cram a lot of veggies in a mold, fill it with aspic, and slice it out. Very dramatic, not always terribly interesting or tasty, and the beauty goes away as soon as you try to cut it. In this case it was mediocre but accompanied by taponade and some saffron mayo. [Aside: this reminds me of the place we used to go for lunch when we were working at Chubb in Ashfield, NSW. It was called the Busy Bee or something, and was basically a sandwich and salad place, but you could pick your own ‘fillings’, as they were called. One of them was ‘tamponade’, which we ordered frequently and with great glee.] My main was a roasted salmon, whose skin was crisped to within an inch of his life, but who was still reasonably attractive. He came with some vegetables. Dessert, I’m afraid I’ve forgotten you completely. Coffee came in large cups that were oddly curved and hard to hold. Y500 class wines were really quite tasty!
Lest you think I’m being surly, this felt like good value in a Y1800 lunch course (Y1500 for steak since it had only a salad instead of starter and dessert). There are also 1-course options, or 4 courses. And dinner, of course.
Where do they get these names?
03-3272-8444