All lunches come with coffee or tea.

The food is quite decent for a weekday lunch. The portion can be a bit small - probably the reason why most customers are female. But the environment is nice(it’s not non-smoking though) and it’s never full even during peak lunch hours so I always come back here when I want to stay away from the salarymen lunch crowd.

Lunch Menu: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.

Franziskaner Bar & Grill Ochanomizu (フランツィスカーナー御茶ノ水)
Add: 3-1, Surugadai, Kanda, Chiyoda-ku
Tell: 03-5283-6846

There are two types of Baumkuchen from Nenrinya - hard type and soft type. The hard type is sugar-glaced and much sweeter but since it’s baked for a longer time, it has a nicer aroma and texture. The soft one is lighter. I bought the fresh type which only last for the day, but there are also more lasting types(i.e. preservatives added).

ねんりん家 (Nenrinya)

ちらしずし（上）、￥２１００。
Chirashi-zushi(upper rank, regular size), Y2100.

Pretty nice and fairly reasonably priced sushi place right behind Nihonbashi Takashimaya. I really like the Chirashi-zushi here. Nigiri set is also good. Don’t recommend the Tekkajuu though.

Menu(J): 1, 2, 3.

吉野鮨本店(Yoshino Sushi Honten)
Add: 3-8-11, Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku
Tel: 03-3274-3001

漬物： 自家製ぬかづけ。
Store-made pickled vegetables.

A very tiny washoku place in Asagaya with only about 8 counter seats. Still fairly unknown and not even a decent map available in the internet. I’m so glad my friend brought me here because the food - prepared by a young and pretty lady all by herself - is absolutely delicious and the value for money is unbelievable. You have to order the rice/udon separately from the dinner course, but it’s still very cheap considering the quality and the amount of food you get. I had two storemade fruit wine and it came to about Y5000. Asagaya is a bit out of the way but the value is totally worth the trip.

Menu(J): 1, 2.

まにわ (Maniwa)
Add: 2-10-11, Asagaya-kita, Suginami-ku
Tel: 03-6421-3456
Open: 18:00-23:00
Holiday: Sun, 1st and 3rd Monday of each month

Direction: Come out from the north exit of JR Asagaya station, walk straight and go under the shopping arcade. When you see the fastfood joint “なか卯”(Na-ka-u), turn left. Walk for about 5 mins and Maniwa is on the left side of the street.

I LOVE this Indian restaurant in Jinbocho! I don’t usually crave Indian food but the curry and the naan here have me completely addicted. This restaurant was featured in a popular Japanese comic about gourmet food called Oishinbo which I haven’t read unfortunately. From the website, this restaurant seems to be under the same group as this and this Thai restaurant, both of which I tried long time ago and didn’t really like. The chef of this Indian restaurant in Akihabara used to work in Mandara, but the quality is nowhere near it.

Mandara is opened for lunch everyday of the week. Lunch B(Y1155) consists of one curry of your choice, naan, saffron rice, and fruits yogurt. Lunch A(Y1575) is Lunch B plus 1pc of Tandoori Chicken and 1pc of Sheekh Kebab. You can choose the spicy level. Level 1 and 2 aren’t hot enough so I always choose 3. I think I’ve tried all the curries available at lunch time. I can’t actually pick a favourite cos everything is so nice but the most famous one is Chicken Butter Masara.

ヌールジャハニカレー(骨付チキンとレバーのカレー)。
マサラチャイ(マサラティー) 、420円。
Noorjahani(Chicken and Liver curry). Masala Chai, Y420.

ベジタブルカレー（季節の野菜カレー）。
ミニ甘口ラッシー、￥２１０。
Vegetable curry. Mini Sweet Lassi, Y210.

シュリンプバターマサラ（トマト味のエビカレー）。
マッシュルームカレー。
Shrimp Butter Masara(Shrimp with tomato flavour).
Mushroom curry.

マトンカレー（羊肉のカレー）。
Mutton curry. I don’t really like the saffron rice here so I always mix it with the leftover curry after finishing the naan.

サグチキンカレー（ホウレン草味のチキンカレー）。
エッグカレー（ゆで卵入りカレー）。
Sag Chicken Curry(Green spinach cooked with onion and spices).
Egg curry.

キーマカレー（挽肉のカレー）。シュリンプカレー。
Keema curry. Shrimp curry.

ダールマカニカレー（3種類の豆のカレー）。チキンカレー。
Dal Makahni(Curry with 3 kinds of beans).
Chicken curry.

フィッシュカレー（メカジキのカレー）。
Fish Curry(Sword fish).

Menu: lunch set, Mon, Tue, Wed, Sat01, Sat02, Sun01, Sun02, Sun03.

インドレストラン　マンダラ (Mandara)
Add: B1, 2-17, Jinbocho, Kanda, Chiyoda-ku
Tel: 03-3265-0498

Ironically, my favourite ramen after trying all the variations in Jangara is Hot Tsuke-chan, which is NOT tonkotsu broth that Jangara is specialised in or Kyushu ramen is famous for. ^^;;; The noodles for Hot Tsuke-chan is thicker and more chewy compared to the thin noodles for other menu(thin noodles is Kyushu style though). Somehow when I order “kaedama”(additional portion of noodles to add to the leftover soup, Y150), the noodles is a lot harder and much nicer. Unfortunately I find it a bit embarassing to ask for “katamen”(hard noodles) from the start because it’s embarassing enough to be the only female in the shop, but if you are a guy and you like al dente, I suggest you request for “katamen”.

I tried a couple of side rice bowl but they are nothing special. Better to save stomach space for kaedama.

There are a couple of branches(e.g. Harajuku, Akasaka) and each of them has only a few variations of ramen available at a certain period of time(e.g. at night only). I managed to try all the variations by visiting the Akihabara original shop, the branch in Kanda, and the branch in Nihonbashi. Do check what is available in each branch from their homepage.

Menu: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.

九州じゃんがら (Kyusyu Jangara)

Akihabara Honten
Add: 2-17-6 Soto-Kanda 3-11-6, Chiyoda-ku
Tel: 03-3251-4059

Kanda Nishi-guichi branch
Add: 2-11-8 Uchi-Kanda, Chiyoda-ku
Tel: 03 -3251 -4905

I had just posted an entry of the soba shop opened by my favourite ramen shop Tsujita only a while ago, and I was a bit surprised to find out that the soba place has already closed down and the same location has now turned into a new ramen shop also run by Tsujita. The new ramen shop specialised in Hokkaido miso ramen - regular miso or spicy miso. I’ve tried them both and I really like them! Usually Hokkaido-style miso ramen is too salty and oily for me, but Tsujita’s version is mild enough that I can actually drink the soup without feeling ill afterwards. I also like the finely-chopped seaweed - apparently Yamagata-style - that you are supposed to mix into the soup bit by bit.

Location is about 10 mins walk from Akihabara. Open on Sat and Sun too. There is no queue yet even on weekends.

Menu here.

二代目つじ田 味噌の章 (Nidaime Tsujita Miso no Shou)
Add: 1-1, Ogawamachi, Kanda, Chiyoda-ku

I think this place is pretty well-known among foreigners living in Tokyo. Its nearest station is Kudanshita but it is less than 10 mins walk from Jimbocho. I’ve had dinner here before long time ago(see tag). This post is made up of entirely weekday lunch visits when the menu is cheaper than the weekends’. On weekdays, this place is packed with Japanese salarymen and OLs, occasionally you see groups of foreigners or old Japanese couples who seem happy to talk to the foreigner staff in French.

Food-wise, I must say the quality varies depending what you order. The Y1050 spaghetti/short pasta/risotto lunch are very standard and not bad for a workday lunch. The Y1800 meat/fish lunch can range from “delicious!” to “hmm okay” to “…..terrible”. The portion also depends on the day. I guess if you come here for >10 times and you average out all the lunches, you will get a rating somewhere around “not bad”.

豚挽のトマトファルシ　サラダ添え、￥１８００。
Tomato Farcie with grounded pork, Y1800.

豚バラ赤ワイン煮　白いんげん豆添え、￥１８００。
Pork belly red wine stew, white kidney beans, Y1800.

シュークルート、￥１８００。
Choucroute, Y1800.

桜海老　トマトソース スパゲティ、￥１０５０。
黄桃のタルト、￥３００。
Sakura-ebi(prawn) tomato sauce spaghetti, Y1050. Yellow peach tart, Y300.

的鯛とケッパーのリゾット、￥１０５０。
Matou-dai(fish) and caper risotto, Y1050.

仔羊のロースト、￥１８００。
Roasted lamb, Y1800.

牛ホホ肉のビール煮込み　赤キャベツのブレゼ添え、￥１８００。
Cow cheek beer stew with red cabbage braiser, Y1800.

いとよりのブレゼ、岩のりのリゾット添え、￥１８００。
Itoyori(fish) braiser and seaweed risotto, Y1800. I think fish lunch is generally better than meat lunch.

鮮魚のポワレ ムール貝のスープ仕立て、￥１８００。
Pan-fried fish with mussel and soup, Y1800.

かさごのポワレ かぶとベーコンのクリーム煮、￥１８００。
Pan-fried Kasago, turnip and bacon cream stew, Y1800.

かきクリームのスパゲッティ、￥１０５０。
Oyster cream spaghetti, Y1050.

仔羊肉とキャベツのショートパスタ、￥１０５０。
Baby lamb and cabbage short pasta, Y1050.

目鯛のポワレ キャベツのブレゼ、￥１８００。
Pan-fried Medai and cabbage braiser, Y1800.

ステーキ　フリット、￥１８００。
Steak and frites, Y1800.
Menu: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13.

Le Petit Tonneau - Kudanshita (ル・プティ・トノー＠九段下)

As I said before I tend to stay away from chain/franchise food joints so I never tried this Japanese style cafe even though I walked past its branch in Ochanomizu many times. But one day I gave its parfait a try and…..I loved it!! ^^;;; I’ve been going back again and again in the past few months and tried many items from the sweet/food/drink menu; “Black sesame seed gateau chocolat parfait” and “Kakuni and hotspring-egg donburi”(the two pics above) are my favourite sweet and food item respectively. For the rest, I’ll let the photos speak for themselves.

黒胡麻わらび餅パフェ、￥８５０。
黒胡麻クリームあんみつ、￥６３０。
Black sesame warabi-mochi parfait, Y850.
Black sesame cream anmitsu, Y630.

I love the black sesame seed ice-cream the most(more than green tea ice-cream or red bean ice-cream) and the sweet red bean paste is black sesame flavour too and is very good.

This branch is in Ochanomizu.

づけ鮪のアボガドとろろどんぶりセット￥１０００。
Second floor of Ochanomizu branch.
Marinated maguro and avocado and tororo(grated mountain yam) donburi set, Y1000.

抹茶ガトーショコラパフェ、￥９５０。
抹茶わらび餅ジェラートパフェ、￥８５０。
Maccha(green tea) Gateau chocolat Parfait, Y950.
Maccha Warabi-mochi Gelato Parfait, Y850. This one has a layer of Maccha soft-cream in the middle which is yummy.

抹茶白玉パフェ、￥８００。抹茶ラテ、￥４５０。
Maccha Shiratama(rice-flour dumpling) Parfait, Y800.
Maccha Latte, Y450. If you order the donburi set, you can choose Maccha Latte or Maccha(without milk) as the set drink for an extra Y150.

The branch inside Tokyo Dome City Laqua.

ヨモギわらび餅、￥６００。
Laqua branch has a nice window view overlooking Kourakuen theme park.
Yomogi Warabi-mochi, Y600.

小倉フルーツパフェ、￥９００。
小倉白玉パフェ、￥８００。
Red bean Fruit Parfait, Y900. Ice-cream is red bean flavour.
Red bean Shiratama Parfait, Y800.

贅沢とん汁とじゃこご飯セット、￥９００。
Tonjiru and Jako(dried small fish) rice set, Y900. Japanese tea comes in a pot.

抹茶白玉ぜんざい（温）、￥６００。 あずき黒蜜ラテ、￥５５０。
Maccha Shiratama Zenzai(hot), Y600.
Azuki(red bean) Kuromitsu(black honey) Latte, Y550.

焼芋パフェ、￥８５０。 黒胡麻白玉フローズン、￥６３０。
Grilled taro Parfait(winter menu), Y850.
Black sesame seed shiratama Frozen, Y630.

抹茶豆乳ソフトクリームラテ、￥５５０。
Maccha soy milk soft-cream Latte, Y550.

nana’s green tea (ナナズ・グリーンティー)

Tokyo Dome City Branch
Add: 3F, Laqua Biru, 1-1-1 Kasuga, Bunkyo-ku.
Tel: 03-5689-8123

Ochanomizu Branch
Add: 3-1,Surugadai, Kanda, Chiyoda-ku.
Tel: 03-3294-6541

Menu(J): 1, 2, 3.

太陽のトマト麺 (Taiyo no Tomato men)
Add: 2-17-8 Misakicho, Chiyoda-ku
Tel: 03-3239-4343