I swear that the current boom products are ochazuke and tsukemen. Both of these are, for me, in a class of “nice, but a little too subtle”, and for some reason I want to describe ochazuke as ‘pallid’. It’s a very gentle sort of snack. Anyway, En is a counter fast food ochazuke place that […]
Marunouchi
Aux Amis Tokyo, Marunouchi
Continuing with our series on overpriced Marunouchi top-floor restaurants, here’s Aux Amis. Unquestionably terrific views combine with an unquestioned 10% service charge to produce a slight feeling of discomfort at payment time. Nuts. Why does this happen every time I go to the Marubiru upper floors? In this case, Aux Amis came about because Lauburu […]
Il Ghiottone, Marunouchi
Had heard a rave or two about this place from reliable sources (I thought) and always found it booked when I called. Finally managed to get in for a late lunch on a weekend. The staff seemed to feel it was too late to give us proper service, but that didn’t stop them from charging […]
Labyrinthe, Marunouchi
This is one of those ‘slice of France’ places, in . It’s in Maru Biru, which I find very faceless and unappealing (perhaps it’s just the lower floors, since I haven’t ascended to the heights for any dining yet?), but when you step inside it’s dark and terribly, terribly Frenchy. I can say that with […]
Au Gout du Jour Nouvelle Ere, Marunouchi
[July 5, 2011: Amusingly, my farewell lunch with my boss today turns out to be three years to the day after I went here for the first time. I can’t even remember who I went with in 2008, so I’d have to guess she was un-amusing. What I said below is substantially correct based on […]
Viron, Marunouchi
I really can’t say enough good things about this place. In a dining career that has seen me revisit places only rarely, I’ve probably been to Viron’s Marunouchi restaurant in the Tokia building more than 10 times. It’s definitely overpriced for bistro food, but it’s so perfect in every other way that I can’t help […]
Brasserie Aux Amis, Marunouchi
Going for the bistro effect, and I guess succeeding, BAA is located at the south end of Marunouchi. Well beyond the Maru’s, Tokia and others, if you’re coming from Tokyo station you’ll probably walk past Viron to get there. You’ll be tempted to go in to Viron instead, and you should. I guess this succeeds […]