BIANCA

Jun28 by Bianca

When there is a restaurant in town that bears your name, you are of course obliged to give it a try (and maybe take pictures in front of its sign).

I stumbled upon this restaurant in the Gyre building (I often refer to it as the Chanel building) in Omotesando one day and decided to go in for lunch.

The interior

I loved the atmosphere of the space. The interior was simple and sleek but I especially loved their out-door terrace with lovely views on to the tree-lined Omotesando avenue.

The terrace

They do have a quite reasonable set menu for lunch starting at 1300 yen. I took the 3 course menu while my friends tried the four course menu. This is what we got for our appetizers…

A salmon terrine

Some smoked chicken cuts

Salad

Followed by some pasta. I had the meat ragu pasta which I thought tasted pretty good, and my friends tried the risotto and tomato based pasta.

Meat ragu pasta

Mushroom risotto

Tomato pasta with beans

Then came the main course. There was a choice of lamb or fish. My friend decided to try the fish.

Fish main course

We then each tried a different dessert.

Chocolate cake

The tiramisu

To be honest, the food really wasn’t that remarkable. But I loved the atmosphere of the place and will definitely be back to dine on their lovely terrace.

BIANCA. 4F Gyre, 5-10-1 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo. Phone : 03 6418 6771

Minimalism at Cafe Canoviano

Oct16 by Bianca

Set amidst the beautiful gardens of Roppongi midtown, cafe Canoviano’s modern, rectangular structure will surely catch your eye. In compliance with its design, this Italian cafe serves simple Italian food made with fresh ingredients. There is a set lunch starting at 2,500 yen with an appetizer, choices of different pastas and dessert. We tried the sea urchin pasta and the mushroom pasta.

The fresh appetizer

Sea urchin pasta

The mushroom pasta

Although the pasta was definitely fresh and a little above ordinary, I did not find it exceptional. The dessert however, was a different story. The caramel ice cream with banana was so delightful, I could have licked it all off my plate.

The delightful dessert

I don’t know if I’ll come back for the pasta but I will definitely come back for more dessert.

Price : $$

CAFE CANOVIANO : Galleria/1F/12 Tokyo Midtown. Tel : 03-5413-3575

EATALY Daikanyama

May22 by Bianca

This cozy eatery in Daikanyama is the perfect place for some simple, good Italian food. The compound is designed like an Italian piazza with a supermarket, bakery and restaurant. The supermarket sells a variety of Italian food, cheese and bread. I always enjoy browsing through their shelves as I wait for my pasta.

Eataly’s menu consists of a variety of pastas and wood oven pizzas. The pastas are good and fresh. And my favorite dish in the restaurant is their lasagna.

Coffee is also good so whenever you’re in the area, you should drop by.

Price : $

EATALY Daikanyama

Address: 20-23 Daikanyama-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

Telephone: 03-5784-2736

Cheap and cheerful Italian at La Boheme.

Mar12 by Bianca

La Boheme Shiroganei Branch

If you live in Tokyo, you probably know about this Japanese-Italian restaurant chain spread around Tokyo. Their pasta is cheap (under 1000 yen for lunch) and absolutely delicious. My favorite is their mentaiko (spicy cod roe) pasta which is creamy and absolutely delectable. Second to that would be their steamed chicken pasta with green onion, spinach and sesame oil. Really fresh.

The mentaiko pasta

What you definitely have to order is their Gorgonzola Pizza with honey which is simply the best pizza ever. Whoever thought of the recipe is a genius in my book.

Gorgonzola pizza with honey

Although I’ve tried a few of their restaurants, my favorite is the one in Shiroganei which feels really grand. (First picture above).

They also open late (up until 3.30 am) and can be the perfect place to go to if ever you are in need of a midnight bite.

1F, 2F 4-19-17 Shirokanedai Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-0071
Telephone : 03-3442-4060

Easy meals at Trattoria Pagliaccio

Mar4 by Bianca

This warm trattoria nestled in a corner of Marunouchi would not be the best place to enter if you are afraid of clowns. Rather weird and scary images of clowns making spaghetti are painted on the walls of this restaurant and if you are afraid of clowns like my sister, it might spook you a little.

Spooky clown images

It is however, the perfect place to enter if you are looking for an easy meal or a good cup of coffee in the Marunouchi area. The interior is warm and inviting, successfully mixing modern and rustic charm.

They have some choices of pasta for lunch. I tried the linguine with oyster, Japanese parsley and garlic oil which tasted good. My friends had the spaghetti with tomato ragu of spanish mackerel which somehow reminded me of the canned sardines I used to munch on when I was little. I’m not sure this is a good thing, but for me it brought a certain feeling of comfort and I will definitely have this pasta when I return to Pagliaccio in the future.

Spagehtti with tomato ragu of spanish mackerel

Linguine with oyster, Japanese parsley and garlic oil

Pagliaccio has a choice of deserts as well. I didn’t try it on this visit because the pasta filled me up but I had a cup of latte which was good.

To summon things up, Pagliaccio is not the best trattoria in the world, but its the perfect place if you are looking for an easy, decent and filling meal or looking for a place to hang out for a short coffee break in the Marunouchi area.

Pagliaccio

6273-4486

Marunouchi 2-2-3, Marunouchi Nakadori Bldg 1F.

Open 11:30am-10pm (LO) daily.

A lovely sakura lunch at LA LUNA ROSSA, Nakameguro

Apr8 by Bianca

This is one Italian restaurant to consider if you are planning to have a lunch or dinner with lovely views of the blooming sakura trees.

View from the window

During Sakura season, this tiny restaurant in the Megurogawa area only serves two set menus. The first menu is a two course set menu that costs around 3000 yen and includes a very lovely and fresh orange salmon for appetizer, a very hearty and delicious pasta with meat sauce for main dish, dessert of the day and coffee/tea.

The orange salmon appetizer

For 5000 yen you get a three course menu with all of the above and a roasted duck for main course. They did not have an english menu but the waiters did manage to somewhat explain to us what was in the menu. He started to flap his hands when he came to the roasted duck part, I thought we were going to get a pigeon.

The meat pasta

Anyway, we did have a lovely lunch with a wonderful view of the cherry blossom trees framed outside their windows. Lunch was quick, service was pleasant and food was good. From all the dishes we tried yesterday the pasta with meat sauce was the best and I will definitely go back again to try whatever other options they have on their menu.

The roasted duck

Price : $$

La Luna Rossa

Nakameguro 2-5-23, Meguro, Tokyo

Phone : 03 3793 4310

Tokyo Food Diary

A journal of my journey through Tokyo's various eateries

Category Archives: Italian