Elements - Toranomon - Fench Fusion

Elements - Toranomon
December 2007

Toranomon Towers Residence 1F

4-1-34 Toranomon

Minato-ku Tokyo
Tel. 03-5733-0222

Open for lunch 11:30 - 15:00

Open for dinner 18:00 - 23:00

Closed Sunday and holidays

www.elements-restaurant.com

Best Dish - The roasted duck is the signature dish and the steak is also superb.
Cost - Mains go up to 12,000 each.
English Friendly - Yes.
Seats - 2 private rooms for up to 10 people each and 52 seats in the main room.
Atmosphere - The interior design could be in any top restaurant anywhere in the world. The wooden floors can make is noisy.
Food - wonderfully fresh
Service - excellent
Wine list - A large selection of mostly French.
Private Functions - Yes.
Non smoking areas - Yes.
Vegetarian Options - No.
Family Friendly -No.

Hama - Roppongi Ginza Meguro

Hama - Roppongi Ginza Meguro - Steak
October 2007

7-2-10 Roppongi

Minato-Ku Tokyo
Tel. 03-3403-1717

Open lunch Mon - Fri 11:30 - 14:00

Open Dinner Mon - Sat 17:00 - 23:00

7-6-12 7F Ginza
Chuo-Ku Tokyo

Tel. 03-3403-1717

Open lunch Mon - Fri 11:30 - 14:00
Open Dinner Mon - Sat 17:00 - 23:00

1-8-1 1F Meguro Gajoen

Shimomeguro Meguro-ku Tokyo
Tel. 03-3492-1390

Open lunch Mon - Fri 11:30 - 14:00 and Sat 11:30 - 15:00

Open Dinner Mon - Sat 17:00 - 22:00

www.gnavi.co.jp/hama

Best Dish - Of course the steak is the best dish but also try the fois gras or abalone with seaweed sauce. Both are fantastic.
Cost - Money should not be an object, we paid 55,000 yen for 2 including one of the cheaper bottles of wine.
English Friendly - Yes
Atmosphere - On week days it is full of business men
Food - Up there with the best. I would put this place in the top 10 steak houses in Tokyo.
Service - Poor. I would give this place 5 stars except the service let it down. We were served the next course without the prior plates being cleared, our waiter forgot to take our drink order, the food came before the wine and other than the first glass of wine we poured the entire bottle ourselves. I expect more when I am paying these prices.
Wine list - Excellent for Japan
Private Functions - Yes
Non smoking areas - No
Vegetarian Options - No
Family Friendly -No

Cafe Daisy - Roppongi - Danish

Cafe Daisy - Roppongi
March 2007

7-3-22 Roppongi
Minato-Ku Tokyo 106-0032
Tel. 03-5411-0253
web: www.cafedaisy.com
Open Daily 11:30 - 22.30

Best Dish - Marinated Salmon
Cost - Starters around 1,500 yen each and mains around 2,800 yen each
English Friendly - Yes
Atmosphere - International crowd, lots of groups on the terrace.
Food - delicate flavours
Service - as good as any top restaurant
Wine list - Good, but they also do BYO!
Private Functions - Yes, the terrace is great.
Non smoking areas - Yes, all non smoking.
Vegetarian Options -One or 2 only
Family Friendly - Yes, on the terrace.

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.

Lawry's - Prime Rib - Akasaka

Lawry's - Prime Rib (Corned Beef)
November 2006

Akasaka Twin Towers
East Tower 1F/B1F
2-17-22 Akasaka
Minato-Ku Tokyo
Ph (03) 5114-8080

We were lucky enough to be taken to this restaurant as special guests. We were even luckier to be treated to some very tasty Don Perignon with the meal! I will try not to let that influence my judgement.
It is always a lovely feeling to eat a meal in Tokyo in a large spacious room where tables are not cramped in together. I could not stop smirking at the waitresses uniforms, they were ridiculous. The signature dishes are the tossed salad and the prime rib. The tossed salad wasn't anything special but it is fun for the kids to watch them make it at the table - and fun for the grown ups who are still kids at heart. The prime rib was perfect although the Yorkshire pudding served with is not worth trying. On our table of 8, not a single person ate it.

Summed up - Thought I'll never eat a corned beef in Japan, reminds me of mums home cooked meals.
Best Dish - Have to have the meat, the smoked salmon starter was good too.
Cost - Mains 3,500 - 5,500 yen depending on the size you want, +2,000 yen for a lobster tail on top.
English Friendly - yes

Seats - lots
Atmosphere - business
Food - Awesome
Service - Immaculate
Wine list - A little too American focused