Red Pepper - Omotesando and Ebisu

Red Pepper - Omotesando and Ebisu - Modern
October 2007

3-5-25 1F Kita-Aoyama

Minato-ku Tokyo

From Omotesando crossing, take the laneway behind thepolice box.
Tel. 03-3478-1264

1-12-5 1F Ebisu

Minato-ku Tokyo

Tel. 03-3280-4436

Open 17:00 - 24:00
www.take-5.co.jp

Best Dish - Lasagna
Cost - Dishes range from 600 - 2,000 yen each. Most are around 1,100 yen.
English Friendly - Menu's are Japanese. We had one waiter who spoke a little English.
Seats - Omotesando is very small with 20 seats, Ebisu is a little bigger with 42 seats.

Atmosphere - Lively and Friendly.
Food - Everything was good.
Service - The food was a little slow to come out
Wine list - none
Private Functions - No
Non smoking areas - No
Vegetarian Options - Yes
Family Friendly -No

Tony Roma's - Ribs

Tony Roma's

September 2007
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5-4-20 Roppongi
Tel. 03-3408-2748

3-1-30 Minami Aoyama

Tel. 03-3479-5214

1 Sanbancho, Chiyoda-ku
Tel. 03-3479-5214

2-3-4 Akasaka
Tel. 03-3585-4478

5-53 Choja-machi, Naka-ku, Yokohama-shi

Tel. 045-261-7755

2-6 Nakase, Mihama-ku, Chiba-shi
Tel. 043-299-3781

http://www.wdi.co.jp/en/re-tony.html

Best Dish - As expected, the ribs were fantastic. Maybe not the best that I have ever had but definitely the bast I have had in Japan.
Cost - around 10,000 yen for 2
English Friendly - yes
Atmosphere - American. Lots of gaijin.
Food - apart from the ribs, everything else was average.
Service - average
Wine list - poor
Private Functions - yes
Non smoking areas - yes
Vegetarian Options - yes
Family Friendly -yes

Topkapi - Aoyama - Turkish

Topkapi - Aoyama
August 2007

B1 Si Building
3-6-26 Kita Aoyama
Tel. 03-3498-3510

Best Dish - Dips and pita bread
Cost - courses from 2,500 yen per person
English Friendly - yes
Seats - 3 tables of 4 and 4 at the counter
Atmosphere - small
Food - OK
Service - OK
Wine list - small
Private Functions - no
Non smoking areas - no
Vegetarian Options - yes
Family Friendly - yes but no room for a stroller

Ghungroo - Minami Aoyama and Chiba - Indian

Ghungroo - Minami Aoyama and Chiba
July 2007
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2F Seinan Bldg
5-9-6 Minami Aoyama
Tel. 03-3406-0464
Open Mon-Fri 11:30 - 22:30
Sat 12:00 - 22:30
Sum & Hol 12:00 - 21:30

2F Atre Station Bldg
1-1-1 Irifune
Urayasu City, Chiba
Tel. 047-390-6871
Open 11:00 - 22:30

www.ghungroo-jp.com

Best Dish - Vindaloo
Cost - 3,000 each but we ate lots
English Friendly - yes
Atmosphere - casual
Food - I heard a rumor they cater for the Indian embassy
Service - OK
Wine list - average
Private Functions - Yes
Non smoking areas - Yes
Vegetarian Options - Yes
Family Friendly - Yes

Beacon - Aoyama - Steak

Beacon - Aoyama
February 2007

1-2-5 Shibuya
Shibuya-Ku
Ph. 03-6418-0077
Lunch: 11:30 - 15:00
Tea time: 15:00 - 17:00 (Sat, Sun, Hol)
Dinner: 18:00 - 22:00
Bar: 18:00 - 23:00

This place was recommended to me for lunch but since I am usually busy during the day we had to settle with dinner. The decor is similar to that of modern restaurants all over the world with dim lights, high ceilings and a slightly Japanese influence.

The menu has a wide range of fish and meat dishes with a few vegetarian dishes also available. To start with, we had the prawns and the wagyu beef carpaccio matched with the pinot noir (by the glass). The prawns are served in a deliciously spicy sauce and crispy bread to dip in. I was a little disappointed when the carpaccio was served. It looked more like beef tataki with thick slices of slightly seared wagyu arranged on the plate but it did taste good. The pinot by the glass was average.

We had a salad between courses and were a little surprised when the waiter arrived with a Caesar salad. On the menu it was called Romaine Salad, Romaine lettuce leaves are also known as Cos lettuce leaves. It seamed like our waiter did not have much to do. He continually looked over us, waiting for us to finish our meals and as I was putting my fork down from the last bite, his hand was already on the plate taking it away. It was a little disconcerting having the feeling of being watched while eating our meal. As another waiter reached across the table to put a fresh glass of wine, his sleeve went straight in my food.

For mains we ate wagyu steak and braised lamb shanks with garlic mash on the side. We drank a glass of Shiraz and a glass of Merlot. The Shiraz was typically barossa with rich peppery aromas but the Merlot was definitely the pick of the day and it went perfectly with the lamb. The mash had one garlic clove on top but other than that I could not taste any garlic mixed in with the mash. The steak was as expected very marbled and became a little too fatty towards the end (it was quite large). The braised lamb shanks were a special and I don't think they will last long on the menu. The meat did not fall off the bone and the flavours on the sauce did not match the lamb.

Best Dish - Prawns to start
Cost - For 2 people including 2 glasses of wine each we paid around 16,000 yen.
English Friendly - Yes, English speaking waiters and an English menu.
Seats - 100
Atmosphere - International.
Food - Stick with steak.
Service - Below average.
Wine list - Good.
Private Functions - Yes

Non smoking areas - No

Vegetarian Options - A couple of dishes.