Es, Ebisu エス、恵比寿

Es enjoys pretty good, and generally consistent, reviews online, and I have it on good authority that the dining experience on the main floor is enjoyable. On this particular visit we ended up seated outside on the small terrace in front of the restaurant, huddled under a gas heater willing ourselves to be warm. The staff were pleasant, the open kitchen with pizza kiln to the rear of the terrace a nice touch, and the food reasonable in terms of both quality and price. 

The lunch menu provided all the Italian staples, and baskets of bread helped fill the corners. The tuna salad was about as dull as they come, but the corn and potato soup and prosciutto-topped margherita made up for it. Although no longer on the menu, my dining partner mentioned to the staff that she’d once enjoyed a cheese risotto there and had hoped to repeat the experience; the request was speedily accommodated, but the risotto didn’t live up to expectations. 

Obviously better visited once the weather improves if dining al fresco, but I’m curious to try the restaurant proper of an evening.

Tuna salad - dull, limp, uninspired 

Corn and potato soup - smooth and creamy 

Bread and olive oil - a simple pleasure, and replenished if asked for

Cheese risotto - somewhat bland

Margherita topped with prosciutto - moreish

03-6277-1612

Es  

Uncle Tom, Ebisu ウンクルトム、恵比寿

Tokyo is dotted with these old-style Western/ spaghetti “restaurants” serving up antiquated Japanese takes on Italian staples and domestic creations utilizing all manner of seemingly incompatible ingredients.

Uncle Tom, situated a short jog from Ebisu station’s East exit, is one of the better known and loved of the genre.

Usually busy, especially of a lunchtime, the portions are pretty good, the prices extremely reasonable, and the pints of Yebisu beer very cheap. 

The atmosphere is redolent of a rāman-ya, and the interior rather 1970s/ 80s, complete with a collection of prints by John Lennon. 

The salads, although sizable, aren't prizewinners, but the spaghetti is strangely compelling. The asparagus, bacon and egg pasta was certainly moreish, and I have it on good authority that the cod roe and nattō variety is equally tasty…

03 3442 1934

Uncle Tom

Komatsuan, Shibuya 小松庵、渋谷

Komatsuan is a small chain of soba restaurants serving up “Tokyo Soba,” based on the traditions of Edo Soba, which is to say they claim to adhere to tradition while adding something contemporary to the mix, too. 

A visit to the Shibuya Tokyu Honten store for a late lunch found the place practically deserted, and lacking in character, as are most department store restaurants.

The menu offered range of set lunches, reasonable priced, with the soba and tempura set being well proportioned and tasty.

03-3477-4824

Komatsuan

Le Lion, Ebisu ル・リオン、恵比寿

Being both shocked and dismayed by the queue outside L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele, my dining partner and I trundled on over to Le Lion, a small Lyonnaise bouchon-styled French restaurant, in the Ebisu backstreets between Meiji Dori and the station, not far from the excellent Hainan Jeefan Shokudo.

Not large, the restaurant interior looked inviting enough, and the covered terrace area provided for a nice atmosphere (surrounded by surprisingly well behaved pet dogs) on a warm and admirably rain free afternoon.

Although both Tokyoeater and Terry thought well of Le Lion a few years ago, this particular lunch excursion found it somewhat wanting. Either time has taken its toll, or the lunchtime business doesn't do that later in the day justice.   

An amuse of dry bread proceeded our mains; steak and roast beef, respectively, both propped up with a miserly splash of mashed potato and over-cooked, under-represented, vegetables. The steak came with mustard puree that served to moisten the bread a little. Both pieces of meat were of the fatty persuasion so beloved of Japanese diners, and thus too oily and soft-textured for my liking.

For dessert, lemon tart and a delicious, sickly-sweet chocolate mousse that would have faired better after an evening meal.

03-3445-8131 

Le Lion

Kagomi, Ebisu 籠女、恵比寿

Kagomi is an enjoyable izakaya some ten minutes walk from Ebisu station in the direction of Hiroo – near Ebisu 4-chome, to be precise.

Part of a chain, which belongs to a group running a handful of restaurant/ izakaya brands, the emphasis is on good portions, a broad menu – regional okonomiyaki to fusion salads – and drawing female customers, as demonstrated by their ladies’ party plans and, perhaps, the tone the menu strikes. 

If this izakaya has a claim to fame, then it must be the otoshi – all-you-can-eat salad, and a surprisingly good one at that, stuffed full of beans, peppers, radish, lettuce and other leaves. 

The erengi in chives and butter were great, as was the cheese and asparagus bacon roll, although it didn't come anywhere near the molten cheese heaven of Kushiwakamaru’s cheese-stuffed peppers. 

Although tasty, and providing ballast to offset the beer guzzling, the okonomiyaki was somewhat disappointing. This only reinforces my belief that good okonomiyaki are only to found at dedicated okonomiyaki-ya.

Kagomi get’s the mid-range budget izakaya positioning just right, and provides a welcome excuse to visit the side of Ebisu that I tend to neglect.

03-3446-7998

Kagomi

Sakura, Jingumae 神宮前

Not far from where Volantaire used to perch, Sakura is a tastefully appointed modern izakaya/ dining bar in Jingumae’s B6 building, more or less opposite the many faceted Audi showroom.

Dark interior, stylish yet simple furnishings and a decking veranda that must be great when it’s not raining (a rare chance of late!) combine with brisk, friendly service, quality cooking and an intimate, quietly convivial atmosphere to create a pleasant dining experience. 

The menu covers the gamut of izakaya staples, with each seemingly prepared from quality ingredients with an equal focus on presentation and volume.

Although my dining companion and I were too absorbed in conversation to delve deeply, those dishes we did enjoy were delicious, although, and as others have noted, the sashimi is okay rather than great, despite looking pretty.

The salad was plentiful, possessed of a delicious sesame-enfused dressing and both soft and crunchy textures. The takenoko, being in season, was very good, too.

The best, or at least most memorable, dish of the evening was the otoshi. Served on elongated platter, at least half a meter in length, it presented us (to our glad surprise) with an array of different flavours, textures and cooking styles, from simmered to deep fried, with pickles and chewy snails in between. 

Good stuff, and deserves further investigation. There’s another Sakura in Shibuya’s Sakuragaoka district, too.

03-6427-3335 

Sakura

Raj Mahal, Shibuya ラージマハール、渋谷

My rave review of Jiyugaoka’s Taj Mahal prompted @japanized to ask, “is it as good as the Raj Mahal, in Shibuya?” Admitting I had no idea, I promised to take a look, in the interest of fairness.

Happily, it was not a wasted visit. Located on the 5^th floor of a corner building opposite the Udagawacho police box in central Shibuya, I realized that I’ve passed the Raj by a thousand times without ever noticing.

The shop interior is suitably worn and faded – this place has been in business for some 15 years and enjoys its reputation (along with the others in the small chain) as one of Tokyo’s most venerated Indian restaurants – probably having been quite blingy in its heyday.

The service was good, but not great. Still no complaints in that department. The funny, fish tank kitchen allows diners to watch some of their meal being cooked. At the time of my visit I enjoyed watching doughy naan flying through the air.

The menu offers a wide range of curries (chicken, lamb, shrimp, fish and vegetable) focusing on rich-tasting, oily dishes from northern India, as well as rice dishes, breads and other sundries, along with an extremely tasty looking range of tandoori dishes, some of which are large enough to make a meal of. Indeed, and is often the case at a good Indian, one is best visiting in a party so as to sample a wider range of the dishes on offer.

The aromas coming from the kitchen were mouthwatering. The beers were over-priced, but then you can’t have it all I suppose. The vegetable (predominantly potato) samosa were excellent, the skins robust without being too heavy.

The naan – plain and garlic varieties – were not bad, but certainly nowhere near as good as those usually found in many of Tokyo’s Indian and Napali restaurant these days. In this sense, the Raj Mahal really needs to get with the times. If the naan aren’t the size of surfboards, and incredibly light and fluffy, then they no longer please. The garlic naan tasted faintly of garlic, but none was to be seen… It should have been smothered in the stuff.

The curries, chili chicken saag and a seafood/ shrimp curry, were very good. Wonderfully rich tasting and full of strong spicy flavors, without overpowering the other ingredients. I wished they were a little larger, but this indicates how tasty they were just as much as how greedy I can be. 

Still, when all is considered, the naan, service and interior (not to mention the price of the beer) can’t compete with the Taj Mahal, and although the curry came close, I didn’t experience the same “oh my god I want to order another of those right away” sensation. 

Happy to make repeat visits though, just to make sure… Or to check out the reportedly excellent buffet lunch which they serve daily. 

03-3770-7677 

Raj Mahal