Tag Archives: French restaurants in Tokyo

IRIE LE JOYEUX

by Bianca

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I am thrilled to be sharing with you my latest discovery, a wonderful little french restaurant serenely and fashionably nestled somewhere behind the Prada flagship store in Omotesando/Aoyama. If you are familiar with the area, Irie Le Joyeux is on the second floor of the building right next to Dries van Noten.

Decorated in soothing hues of nude colors, you immediately feel welcomed. None of the stuffy atmosphere of a classic french restaurant here. Minimalism is the name of the game.

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Through an elongated window at its side wall, you can watch chef Irie and his team work their magic. They have two choices of dinner menus, one that is around 12.000 yen and their grand menu that cost around 15.000 yen per person. The menu only comes in Japanese and French but within minutes of choosing the grand menu, chef Irie himself had a special menu printed for us with English translations and his signature in the back. I thought this was a nice touch. So, here are pictures of our feast that wasn’t just pleasing for the stomach but also soothing to the eyes.

First came a cute little plate of bite size bread munchies.

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Followed by the first small appetizer which was a very vibrant dish of Hokkaido marinated Sanma fish with Gunma eggplant puree, red beets and tomato jelly.

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Our next dish was a wonderful and very color coordinated cold entree of Hokkaido scallop carpaccio and caviar with purple cabbage marinated in amontillado served with wasabi goat cheese.

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The warm entree which was a delicate mushroom soup with sauteed foie gras, flan and milk cappuccino was actually my favorite dish of the night.

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An autumn inspired seafood dish followed. Tandoori Pan fried sea bass from Ishikawa prefecture served with welk clams, chinese cabbage and black rice puree.

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The meat dish that followed was absolutely delectable. Kumamoto Akaushi slow-roasted beef with Syrah sauce, hokkaido oven roasted onions and ricotta cheese accent.

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After the meat course came an innovative cheese dish of blue cheese cream with hazelnut oil, radish and crouton with chrysanthemum puree.

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And a little pre dessert came before the actual dessert. Sauternes Marinated Persimmon from Kyoto with mascarpone cream.

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Chef irie’s tarte tatin was the grand dessert. A raspberry jelly with tart of fuji apple, custard and cinnamon ice cream.

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And to accompany your tea or coffee, these lovely little delights.

IMG_5494This sums up our wonderful feast. Beautiful, don’t you think ?

Price: $$

IRIE LE JOYEUX
Luce Minami Aoyama, 2F
5-5-4 Minami Aoyama
phone : 03-6418-7778

TATERU YOSHINO GINZA

by Bianca

This is another French restaurant with a Japanese touch worth trying. There are a few Tateru Yoshino restaurants in Tokyo but the Ginza branch has the grandest decor. Three of Tateru Yoshino’s restaurants in Tokyo received Michelin stars last year, the Ginza branch received one star. It is located on the 12th floor of the Pias Ginza building, just behind the Mitsukoshi Department store in Ginza. The restaurant manager speaks good english which is very helpful since you will be guessing the menu unless you speak French.

I will let the aesthetically pleasing and carefully prepared dishes speak for themselves through these pictures …

Langoustine with caviar

Tomato stuffed with green pepper jelly and caviar

Slightly smoked beef with grilled mushrooms in morel cream

Roasted turbot and crayfish

Grilled steak with mustard cream

Compote a la rose dessert

To summon things up, I thought the food was deliciously light and fresh. The beef was the most memorable part of the meal for me, perfectly done with just the right amount of crispness on the outer parts and delicate softness inside. It was also the perfect size. Tateru Yoshino Ginza is definitely worth a try.

Price : $$$

Pias Ginza 12F. 4-8-10 Ginza. Tel : 03-3563-1511.