Mewby's birthday was a couple of weeks back and to celebrate I took her to Trattoria 道月 by the Ocean. Though the name is a bit unwieldy, the restaurant itself is very welcoming and friendly, and the food was superb. This is the outside of the building which as you can see is a lovely old (but fully renovated!) machiya townhouse. You can't beat a bit of machiya dining when in … [Read more...]
Bocca del Vino
Yesterday, Mewby & I celebrated five years together with dinner at Bocca del Vino. We ate there once before, about four years ago now, and I am happy to say that the food and service remain excellent. If you like Italian and you are looking to celebrate a special occasion with something a little bit special, then I definitely recommend splashing out at Bocca del … [Read more...]
Bistro Ranman
On Sunday, Mewby and I had booked a lunchtime table at Cafe & Osteria Siluet after seeing some tasty looking pictures online. However, on arrival we were dismayed by both the lack of choice on the menu, and the somewhat churlish manner of the waitress. Life being short, we quickly made our excuses and left. We were still in the mood for pasta though, and I was pretty sure I … [Read more...]
Tramonto
Chris Rowthorn introduced me to this little Italian restaurant a few months ago. As he said at the time, to look at the place you would think it was a kissaten (old style Japanese coffee shop), and expect them to serve you カレーライス. Nevertheless here at Tramonto you can get some of the best pizza in town. The last time I went with Mewby, we ordered this one: Super … [Read more...]
Second House ShichijoNishinotoinTen
Update: Sadly, I visited this restaurant today and found that it had disappeared and been replaced by a dreadful souvenir shop. Thankfully the fine historic building still stands but this particular branch of Second House with its delicious pasta and fine Italian beer is no more. (May 13th 2011). Last night I took refuge from the rain at the Second House restaurant on … [Read more...]
Oggi
On Boxing Day we had lunch at Oggi on Kawaramachi (not to be confused with Kei's Cafe Oggi). Oggi is an Italian/Spanish influenced cafe & dining bar in an machiya building full of comfy sofas. They do a pretty good lunch set. For 1000 yen you get a plate of tasty hors d'oeuvres... ...good bread and (on this occasion pumpkin) soup... … [Read more...]
Caffe dell’Orso
A few weeks ago Ted Taylor introduced me to Cafe dell'Orso a nice new Italian restaurant on Higashi Ichijo Dori. They do a good ￥1000 set lunch there; one pasta of your choosing + salad + focaccia with a home made pate and a wee slice of quiche. I decided to go back for dinner, and try some more dishes. In my pictures below you can see various appetisers and desserts but not … [Read more...]
Pizza Ya
UPDATE April 2013: Sadly, Pizza Ya has now closed. Foreigners coming to Japan for the first time go through various rites of passage, one of which is the intense rush of self-satisfaction you get when you finally manage to order a pizza over the telephone in Japanese. Well, alright. Well done, you. However, I do have one small point to make. That over-priced-mush delivered … [Read more...]
