Jin Din Rou - Ebisu - Taiwanese

Jin Din Rou - Ebisu

March 2009

4-3-1 Ebisu
Shibuya-ku Tokyo
Tel. 03-5795-2255
Open Mon-Sat lunch 11.30 - 15.00
Open Sun lunch 11.30 - 15.30
Open Mon-Sat dinner 17.30 - 24.00
Open Sun dinner 17.30 - 23.00
http://jin-din-rou.net/

MAP

Best Dish - Shou Ron Po

Cost - lunch sets are from 1,400 yen including one soup or rice dish, 4 shou ron po, salad and dessert. Al a carte menu is from 550 for starters and from 750 for mains and courses start at 3,000 yen.

English Friendly - Yes

Seats - 36

Food - Fresh shou ron po and subtle flavours.

Service - Good

Wine list - a few only

Functions - no

Private Room - 2

Non smoking areas - yes

Vegetarian Options - yes

Family Friendly - yes

Priya - Hiroo - Indian

Priya - Indian

June 2007

5-2-25 Hiroo

Shibuya-Ku Tokyo
Tel. 03-5941-6996

http://priyajapan.tripod.com/

Best Dish - Baingan Masal, roasted potatoes and egg plant cooked in fresh tomato and onions

Cost - Set course from 2,500 yen to 8,000 yen per person
English Friendly - Yes
Food - The cooking is enticing

Atmosphere - Stylish restaurant
Service - well-mannered
Wine list - none
Private Functions - no
Non smoking areas - yes
Vegetarian Options - yes
Family Friendly -older kids only

Tonchang - Korean BBQ - Shibuya, Akasaka, Shinjuku, Gotanda

Tonchang - Korean BBQ (pork)
December 2006 (Shibuya)
March 2007 (Akasaka)

2F 2-6-2 Dogenzaka, Shibuya
Shibuya-Ku Tokyo
Ph (03) 3462-7057
Open 17:00 - 05:00
http://www.tonchang.com/store4.htm

2F 2-32-3 Akasaka
Minato-Ku Tokyo
Ph(03) 5573-9271/2
Open 17:00 - 06:00
http://www.tonchang.com/store2.htm

2F 5-28-12 Gotanda
Shinagawa-Ku Tokyo
Ph (03) 5475-5877/8
Open 17:00 - 05:00
http://www.tonchang.com/store7.htm

You should print off a coupon from the website here
http://www.tonchang.com/sinzuku.htm
for your free Chijimi (Korean pancake) or salad.

Summed up - Traditional Korean home cooking, love the heat!
Best Dish - The kimchi rice at the end, order it with cheese.
Cost - BBQ meats from 1,000 yen. Side dishes around 1,000 yen.
English friendly - Menu is Japanese and Korean only but the waiters speak a little English.
Seats - 40
Atmosphere - casual
Food - Rocking
Service - Average
Wine list - Wine? Who wants wine with this food? Nice icy cold beer.

Syun - Hiroo - Organic Fusion

Syun - Hiroo
January 2008

2F Hiroo Complex
5-7-35 Hiroo Shibuya-Ku
Tel. 03-5792-4143

Open every day for lunch 11:00 - 16:00

Open for dinner

Mon - Sat 17:30 - 23:00

Sun & Hol 17:30 - 22:00

www.syun-hiroo.com

Best Dish - Uncured ham and organic onion salad with carrot sauce.
Cost - Courses range from 4,800 yen to 8,800 yen per person.
English Friendly - Yes
Atmosphere - Modern and sophisticated
Food - All the vegetables are fresh, full of flavour and unimaginably sweet. A couple of the sauces were not complimentary to the dishes.
Service - Excellent
Wine list - Organic wines only
Private Functions - yes
Non smoking areas - yes
Vegetarian Options - yes
Family Friendly -no

Bairan - Shibuya - Yakisoba

Bairan - Shibuya
December 2007

2-9-1 Dougenzaka
Shibuya-ku
Tel. 03-5489-0866

No Review Available yet. Meals are less than 1,000 yen.

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

Onyasai - Ebisu - Shabu Shabu

Onyasai - Ebisu

September 2007

1-8-3 Ebisu Nishi B1

Shibuya-Ku

Tel. 03-5728-5729

www.onyasu.com

Open Daily: 17:00 - 03:00

Best Dish - Sukiyaki and Shabu Shabu. You can order a pot with both.

Cost - The best value is the 2,980 set.

English Friendly - menu is Japanese but some waiters speak English.

Food - good

Vegetarian Options - Only if you don't mind you food being cooked with meat.

Non smoking areas - no, but the booths are OK.

Family Friendly - Yes

Legato - Shibuya - Fusion

Legato - Shibuya
April 2007

3-6 Maruyama-cho
15F E Space Tower
Shibuya-ku
Tel. 03-5784-2121
email: legato@global-dining.com
www.legato-tokyo.jp


No review available yet

Chinese Cafe Eight - Nishi Azabu - Chinese

Chinese Cafe Eight - Nishi Azabu (also in Ebisu and Akasaka)

March 2007

Court Annex 2F

3-2-13 Nishi-Azabu

Minato-Ku Tokyo
Tel. 03-5414-5708

http://www.cceight.com/

Open 24 hours

24 hour Peking duck with erotic decor. It is no wonder why this place is busiest at 3-4 in the morning. Stores also in

Best Dish - Peking duck
Cost - Around 2,000 - 3,000 yen per person. The duck is 3,680 yen.
English Friendly - Yes including English menu
Atmosphere - I have only been late at night
Food - The duck is fantastic
Service - average
Wine list - average
Private Functions - No
Non smoking areas - No
Vegetarian Options - Yes
Family Friendly -No, given the decor.

Tuscano's - Shibuya - Brazilian

Tuscano's - Shibuya
March 2007

Shibuya Fhontis bld B1
2-23-12 Dogenzaka
Shibuya-Ku Tokyo 150-0043
Tel. 03-5784-2661
Open for lunch Mon-Fri 11:30 - 14:30 and Sat 12:00 - 16:30
Open for dinner every day 17:30 - 22:30
www.pjgroup.jp/tucanos/index.html

Best Dish - Garlic Steak and the chocolate fountain for dessert
Cost - All you can eat food is 3,000 yen/person or 3,500 with dessert. Add 2,000yen for drinks.
English Friendly - Yes
Atmosphere - On weekends a live Brazilian band plays.
Food - The meat is very fatty
Service - average
Wine list - Mostly from Portugal
Private Functions - Yes
Non smoking areas - Yes
Vegetarian Options - No
Family Friendly -Yes

Trattoria Il Boccalone - Ebisu - Italian

Trattoria Il Boccalone - Ebisu
March 2007

Silk-Ebisu 1F
1-15-9 Ebisu
Shibuya-Ku
Tel. 03-3449-1430

No review available yet. This place is known for its risotto.

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.