Where to Dine - Tokyo - page 156

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Caretta Shiodome, 1-8-2 Higashi Shimbashi ( & 03/5537-7808; station: Shiodome),
and on the second floor of the Taisuikan Building, 3-10-1 Akasaka ( & 03/3505-2930;
station: Akasaka-mitsuke).
1-12-9 Shibuya. & 03/3407-8636. Main dishes ¥950-¥1,530; set lunches ¥1,000-¥1,250. AE, DC, MC, V.
Mon-Sat 11:30am-3pm; Mon-Thurs 5-11pm; Fri-Sat 5pm-2am; Sun and holidays 11:30am-11pm. Sta-
tion: Shibuya (east exit, 3 min.). From the north end of the station's east exit, head up Miyamasuzaka away
from the station; it's just past Shibuya's post office on the left, up a short flight of stairs.
Good Honest Grub AMERICAN/VEGETARIAN The owner is Canadian
and the food is a compilation of homegrown favorites expatriates—including the health
conscious—are likely to crave: eggs Benedict and French toast for the weekend brunch
(with bottomless coffee refills), and sandwiches, wraps, chicken quesadillas, vegetarian
lasagna and daily specials for lunch. Located in a cute Lilliputian house, with seating
upstairs in a sunny, cozy room with hanging plants, it would be right at home at any
North American college campus.
2-20-8 Higashi. & 03/3797-9877. Main dishes ¥1,000-¥1,700. No credit cards. Mon-Fri 11:30am-3pm;
Sat-Sun and holidays 10:30am-4:30pm. Station: Shibuya or Ebisu (10 min.). Just off Meiji Dori midway
btw. Ebisu and Shibuya stations, on a side street beside the Lawson 100 store.

Tengu VARIED JAPANESE/YAKITORI Founded in 1969, this popular chain is a
great place for an inexpensive meal. Although it's a drinking establishment and located
smack-dab in the middle of Shibuya's Center Gai nightlife district, it is more brightly lit
than most Japanese pubs and is popular with young Japanese professionals. An English-
language menu with photos makes ordering easy and includes all the typical bar food and
snacks you'd expect: yakitori, sashimi, sushi, tofu, salad, gyoza, fried noodles, and more.
And there's plenty of beer, shochu, sake, wine, and cocktails to wash it all down (you'll be
charged an extra ¥294 snack charge if ordering alcoholic drinks). There's another Tengu
in East Shinjuku, on Yasukuni Dori, at 3-20-5 Shinjuku ( & 03/3354-3046; station:
Shinjuku).
15-3 Udagawacho. & 03/3496-7397. Main dishes ¥380-¥700. AE, DC, MC, V. Daily 5-11:30pm. Station:
Shibuya (Hachiko exit, 4 min.). Off Center Gai just past HMV on the right; look for the Tengu logo—a red
face with a long nose and a sign that reads T ENG .

6

12 EBISU

EXPENSIVE
La Table de Joël Robuchon FRENCH Housed in a reproduction 18th-cen-
tury French château planted in the midst of swanky Yebisu Garden Place, this ground-
floor restaurant offers nouveau French cuisine at a fraction of what meals cost at its more
expensive, more romantic, and much more formal sister Joël Robuchon Restaurant
( & 03/5424-1347 ) upstairs (where lunch courses will set you back ¥8,200 and dinner
courses start at ¥20,000). La Table allows you to compose your own set meals from a
generous list of soups, appetizers, and main dishes, some of which are Robuchon's origi-
nal dishes while others are innovations that add Spanish and Italian influences. The wine
list is extensive, with more than 300 vintages from throughout France, and at reasonable
prices to boot. While La Table, decorated in purple and black and with an outdoor gar-
den in fine weather, is fancy enough for most tastes, serious foodies will likely want to
splurge on the gourmet feast upstairs.