Somehow I got it into my head that this place was good…as soon as we got out of the elevator (Sankei Building, 6th floor, watch out because you need to take the one labeled ‘goes to 6th floor’) and saw the crowd barrier dividing the big entry hall and the poster-sized menu from which you have to order and pay before sitting…yeah, about 6 ounces of meh right there. Koala said ‘Oh, you thought this place was good?’
This is part of a huge restaurant group (Sanko Foods), and I won’t even do my usual snarking about how big it is and how many brands are under the umbrella. Suffice to say they’ve got their formula working well, and that formula involves various little touches to make you think you’re in a nicer place. It is kinda cool that most of the seating is in these little ‘privatized’ booths (not actually private, but you could easily get confused and think they were), and looking at how this picture came out, there’s a certain kung fu movie mellow smokey Chinese teahouse about to be the scene of some major ass-whuppin’ vibe goin’ on. But it’s just a camera accident. It’s not actually cool. I’m gonna watch some kung-fu movies this weekend though.
Nothing cool about the food either. Both Koala and I got this ‘seasonal tempura’ bowl, which contained a wide selection of seasonal specialties like sweet potato, green pepper, whiting and shrimp. Also known as ‘the things that have appeared in every mediocre tempura bowl since the dawn of time, regardless of season’.
Why don’t I just leave it at that? We all have better things to do with our time. Sorry we went here, K.
03-5204-3050