Street Pasta Company @ Yoyogi

June 14, 2017 Dave Perry

***Spaghetti with bacon, four kinds of mushrooms, cream sauce***

***Spaghetti with squid, littleneck clams in tomato sauce***

***Meat sauce tagliatelle with beef shank, bacon, parmigiano***

Although the high street fronting Yoyogi station caters mostly to students and tourists passing to and fro between Shinjuku and the Meiji Jingu shrine, venturing into the side streets reveals plenty of interesting dining options catering to hungry office workers and wandering gourmands alike.

Street Pasta Company stands out among the many ramen shops and cafes for its paired down pseudo-hipster aesthetic and contemporary approach to the Japanese pasta house. The pasta, freshly made on the premises, is served in 100g, 150g and 200g portions at a flat rate, or can be super-sized to 250g for an extra 100 yen. For the the most part it's served al dente. The twenty odd dishes on the menu cover the gamut of ingredients and flavours, from veggie to meaty, creamy to spicy.

We tend to stick with menu staples such as the spaghetti with bacon and four kinds of mushroom, the beef shank and bacon tagliatelle or New York pizza, although venturing from the beaten path to explore weekly specials can reveal gems such as the recent seafood spaghetti with squid and littleneck clams, too.

Street Pasta Company

03 6276 7447

Pizzeria L.F.C. @ Tenma

June 9, 2017 Dave Perry

**Romana - olives, anchovies and mozzerella**

***Ciabatta with peppered ham, tomato and leaves***

Among the many curious eateries and standing bars crowding Tenma's backstreets, Pizzeria L.F.C.'s inviting facade hinted at homely culinary pleasures within.

The ciabatta was particularly filling, while the pizza romana came loaded with anchovies without the flavour becoming overpowering.

Despite the lunchtime menu feeling somewhat limited at first glance, generously proportioned pizzas and sandwiches - not to mention plenty of quaffable wines - left us satisfied and regrettably unable to finish our evening meal.

Pizzeria L.F.C.

06 6948 6929

Le Comptoir @ Ebisu

June 3, 2017 Dave Perry

Cidre stewed chicken with turnip and carrot galette — ***Cidre stewed chicken with turnip and carrot g*****alette**

***Scottish smoked salmon with turnip and cheese galette***

***Miyaji pork sausage galette with radish and mashed potato***

***Sugared crepe with chocolate ice cream***

The Breizh Cafe chain of crêperies first introduced authentic 100% buckwheat galettes to Japan a couple of decades ago and those at its Le Comptoir outpost are our favourite. Especially when washed down with Brittany brut cidres or the delicious Eddu Silver buckwheat whisky (a rareity in Japan, apparently).

Besides the menu of surprisingly filling savoury dishes, monthly specials and a focus on seasonal ingredients sourced from various regions of Japan and beyond bring a depth to the dining experience not usually found at most other crêperies we've tried.

Particular favourites have been the Scottish smoked salmon with turnip and cheese galette, and the Miyagi pork sausage galette with radish and mashed potato. For the sweeter of tooth, the salted butter caramel crepe is worth a visit too.

Le Comptoir

03 6455 7100

BareBurger @ Jiyugaoka

September 21, 2015 Dave Perry

Yet another entrant to Tokyo's gourmet burger scene, this time promising a diverse seasonal menu of health conscious organic gourmet burgers, BareBurger brings a culinary twist and a bright and airy non-Americana themed restaurant, which is also a welcome addition to the few al fresco dining options in Jiyugaoka.

The menu provides a range of eclectic burgers encompassing beef (including premium wagyu), chicken and turkey patties, as well as a fun "build your own" option. Our favourite was the County Fair, which delivered visually and excited the palate, as well as being the closest approximation of a standard cheeseburger on offer. The Supreme burger was a visually stunning stack, but would have benefited from less focus on the breaded onion. The Standard was less satisfying, its special sauce proving particularly distracting, while the Big Blue failed to express blue cheese flavours except in erratic, overpowering doses. The headlining Tomorrow Burger (complete with Ozaki wagyu patties, coming in at approximately ¥3,000) was disappointing.

These burgers are an acquired taste; the crumbly texture of the patties and bland tasting buns do little to bring the at times overly complex flavour/ organic ingredient combinations to life, resulting in a rather dull experience. The fries, notable for their crispy deep-fried crunch, soon become tiresome, leaving an unpleasant oily sensation which detracts from the flavour of burgers.

BareBurger

03 3724 5820

Meon Garden Cafe @ Chitose

August 10, 2015 Dave Perry

En route from Hokkaido’s Chitose airport to the resort town of Niseko, Meon Garden Cafe provides a charming garden terrace of wild flowers surrounding an ornamental pond and - by all accounts - an excellent menu of flammkuchen, the renowned pizza-like dish of south west Germany and Alsace.

Arriving shortly after the lunch service had ended, we missed the opportunity to try the savoury "flame cakes," but were fortunate to enjoy the hospitality of the house and its blueberry flammkuchen with delicious Hokkaido ice cream — a dessert which made amends for the mediocre house wine.

Meon Garden Cafe

0123 26 2007