Sacre Coeur　(奥沢サクレクール)

Posted on September 1, 08 by seat

トマトの詰め物（マグロとアボカド）サラダ添え。
From 2310yen lunch(tax included and no service charge).
Marinated sanma, tomato stuffed with maguro and avocado.

ブイヤベース。美桜鶏モモ肉と無農薬ナス　トマトのパートブリック包み焼。
Bouillabaisse. Chicken thigh, aubergine, and tomato wrapped in “Pate Brick”(wrapper made of flour).

桃のゼリー　自家製アイスクリーム添え。セロリーのシャーベット。
Peach jelly and homemade ice-cream. Celery sorbet.

Very small bistro in a quiet residential area of Okusawa. It is amazing how we spotted up to 4 French restaurants within a 10 mins walk from the restaurant to Jiyugaoka station. Food is decent in general though the portion is quite small – I thought the main dish had the size of an appetizer. But then 2310yen is very cheap….service is friendly too.
Lunch menu(J) here.

Sacre Coeur　(奥沢サクレクール)
Add: 3-12-6, Okusawa, Setagaya
Tel: 03-3726-0234

French Restaurant pivoine (ピヴォワーヌ@門前仲町)

Posted on August 23, 08 by seat

平政ときゅうりのテリーヌ　大葉のゼリー寄せ。
Champagne cocktail with water melon sorbet, 1000yen. This drink was heaven as we went for lunch on a really hot day(some 34C -o-;;;).
Terrine of Hiramasa Kingfish and cucumber and ouba(Perilla) jelly. Mild and refreshing.

とうもろこしの冷製ポタージュ。
Chilled corn potage. A bit too sweet. The small round bread is homemade apparently.

本日の魚料理　２種の調理で。プラネリのパルフェ。
Today’s fish course consisting of two kinds of fish in two ways of cooking. All 4 of us chose fish instead of meat(lamb rolled in bacon) and they didn’t have enough to serve 4 portions so I had one of my fish switched to some other kind. My friends had their 2 kinds of fish braised and pan-fried, while both of my fish were pan-fried. Dessert is Praline parfait with almond ice-cream.

The lunch course we had was 3000yen, tax included and no service charge. Value is great. Taste is very mild in general. Service is friendly.

Lunch menu here.

French Restaurant pivoine (ピヴォワーヌ)
Add: 2-2-6 Botan, Koutou-ku (Monzennakacho)
Tel: 03-5639-1817

Bistro La Ciboulette (ラ・シブレット＠浅草橋)

Posted on August 15, 08 by seat

カツオのタルタル。にんじんのムースにウニとコンソメジュレ。
From the 5500yen “omakase” course. Katsuo Tartare on chicory. Carrot mousse, uni and consomme jelly. Pretty common combination but the generous amount of uni is unusual. The mousse is very delicious with natural sweetness from vegetables that actually outshines the uni completely.

フォアグラとイチジク、バルサミコソース。
Foie gras and fig in Balsamic vinegar sauce. Fig is delicious, but the foie gras could be better. The foie gras I had in my last visit here was much nicer(see tag) though it was from a la carte menu.

金目鯛とホタテ。シャンパングラニテ。
Kinmedai and scallop. The orange paste on the side is spicy. Big portion for a fish course in a 5-course dinner. Love the scallop. Nice “granite”(sorbet) with strong champagne flavour that got my non-drinker friend a little high.

ロースト沖縄ポーク。タルトスリーズとフランボワーズのソルベ。
Roasted pork is a bit dry. But the dessert is a real treat. Rich crunchy tart with two kinds of cherries – American cherry and Japanese Satou-nishiki(佐藤錦). Also raspberry sorbet on the side. After hearing my raving about the amazing “Canele” in this place, my friend requested for it when she phoned to reserve(a month in advance). I wish I could buy a whole lot of it…one is not enough!

A glass of sparkling wine, a glass of red wine, about 7000yen per person. The food is in general very good. Value is fantastic. Since it is only the chef cooking everything himself, if you go in a group of more than 3 people, you have to order the omakase course. Having tried both a la carte and omakase, I think a la carte is much more satisfying.

Bistro La Ciboulette (ラ・シブレット＠浅草橋)
Add: 2-27-5, Asakusabashi, Taito-ku.
Tel: 03-3863-6232

Restaurant Hiramatsu Hiroo (レストランひらまつ広尾)

Posted on July 8, 08 by seat

Taraba crab meat and avocado with ham-flavour jelly.

春野菜と小イカ、ルージェのサラダ仕立てオリーヴのピューレとハーブのドレッシング。
仔羊のロースト　タイム風味グリュイエールチーズとジャガイモのガレット添え。
Salade de légumes printaniers au calamar et au rouget sautés, puree d’olives aux herbes.
Carré d’agneau rôti au thym, galette de pommes de terre au Gruyère.
Warm salad of spring vegetables, squid, rouget(grilled fish, only two tiny pieces though).
The lamb was soft but the expected nice smell of roasted meat wasn’t present for some reason. Polenta with orange sauce on top was nice though.

The staff brought the cheese wagon after the main dish and since we were not full and still had some wine left so we ordered some.

オレンジのムースグラッセ　ミルフィーユ仕立てチョコレートのサヴァランと共に。
“Mille-feuille” de mousse a l’orange glacée, savarin au chocolat.

Lunch was 6300yen(a cheaper 4200yen lunch was also available but the menu didn’t appeal to us) plus 15% service charge. Had a glass of wine, and cheese, came up to about 11,000yen. Food is okay….a bit bland-tasting overall, and the portion is small. Petit fours looked great but tasted disappointing. Very nice environment though, with window seats overlooking a park.

Restaurant Hiramatsu Hiroo (レストランひらまつ広尾)
Add: 5-15-13 Minami Azabu, Minato-ku
Tel: 03-3444-3967

Bon Chemin (ボンシュマン)

Posted on July 1, 08 by seat

Delicious and hot homemade bread which kept coming. Must have had about four…
Chilled carrot potage.

Panfried fresh foie gras and foie gras terrine. A slice of toast at the bottom and homemade fig jam on the side. The terrine is soooooo good, even better than the fresh foie gras.
Baby lamb in Anchovy cream sauce. The lamb is very tender and soft. Surprisingly huge portion for a cute restaurant like this. Moussaka(lamb and aubergine) on the side is also good.

My friend’s pork cassoulet.
Matcha rollcake with black beans in black honey cream sauce. Just a piece of rollcake for dessert was a bit disappointing at first but it was very smooth and delicious so I was satisfied at the end.

Lunch course is 3000yen but the foie gras appetizer has a 1500yen additional charge. Glass wine is about 800yen. Cheaper 1800yen lunch course is also available. I like the food, the interior which makes you feel very at home and the friendly service here.

It is located halfway between Gakugeidaigaku(学芸大学) and Yuutenji(祐天寺). There is a very cute cake shop called Patisserie SOURIRE in the same block and is a must check.

Bon Chemin
Add: 2-40-5 Gohongi, Meguro-ku
Tel: 03-3791-3900

Restaurant Latin (レストランラタン)

Posted on June 29, 08 by seat

A French restaurant inside Gakushi Kaikan(学士会館).

サーモンマリネサラダ。仔羊の煮込み。
First lunch visit. Appetizer: Salmon marinade salad. Main: Simmered lamb.

With dessert and coffee, 1500yen.

サーモン腹身の燻製サラダ　バルサミコ風味。仔羊の香草パン粉焼き。
Second lunch visit. Appetizer: Smoked salmon salad with Balsamic sauce. The salmon belly is hot and very fatty. Main: Grilled Baby lamb chop(very tender) with herb and breadcrumbs. Unfortunately both dishes are a bit too salty.

By coincidence the lunch menu was salmon and lamb for both times(one whole year apart) I visited this old-fashioned style French restaurant. Customers were mostly old ladies and old gentlemen. Service is formal and extremely attentive.
Lunch menu(J) here.

Restaurant Latin
Add: 3-28 Nishiki-cho, Kanda, Chiyoda-ku
Tel: 03-3292-0881

Le Bonheur (ル　ボヌール)

Posted on June 8, 08 by seat

A newly opened French restaurant near Yoyogi Park. From the 6000yen dinner course.
Amuse: warm tart with Iberico ham and cèpe mushroom. The warm homemade bread is tiny but refillable. So good that I had about 5 of them….

The uni(sea urchin) cocktail is recommended in a few blog reviews and I was really happy that it happened to be included in the dinner course(If you order it from the a la carte menu, it is 2500yen – but in that case the size will be bigger). It is so pretty and with an exquisite taste to match. Would have been perfect if it weren’t for the unnecessary scrambled egg in the middle layer which is a bit too sweet and dominating. The lobster sauce, Kyoto carrot mousse, consomme jelly, 3 different layers made from uni, caviar and hojisho(Japanese Perilla) on top, are still amazing and overall an appetizer to die for. Side view here.
Medai(Japanese butter-fish) in shellfish sauce. A bit salty but very good.

Roasted duck breast in fig sauce, and duck confit with salad. Not impressive but still tasty. The meat is soft and tender. Comes with foie gras on a spoon.

There were four of us and we had 4 different desserts to share around.
Yuzu Blanc Manger. Warn apple tart with herb ice-cream(good!).

Warm chocolat terrine sandwiched with banana(good!). Strawberry parfait.

Herb tea and Petit fours(a bit oily).

Overall the food is of high quality. We were pleasantly surprised that the 6000yen includes service charge and tax. Unfortunately the staff who served us was a bit pushy, like he must have come to urge us to order more drinks for 5-6 times, even before we finished the ones we were having. My friends don’t have high tolerance for alcohol and we all have already ordered 1-2 drinks(non-alcohol cocktails included) each, yet he would say stuff like “You guys really don’t drink that much” and made us feel really bad. But then they gave us a lot of special service like, one of my friends who arrived at the restaurant very early, was served a free rose champagne while she was waiting. Instead of a second appetizer included in the 6000yen course, we were served a fish main dish instead. The same pushy staff kept giving us bread before we had to ask for it. So I guess if you open bottles of wine then you won’t be bugged so much and will have no problems with the service. ^^;;

Le Bonheur
Add: 1-14-20 Tomigaya, Shibuya-ku
Tel: 03-3467-6161

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