With the recession deepening these days, cheap, generous, fast-turnover restaurants like Ore no French and Uokin (and, if I add one more, Sushi no Midori) are booming in Tokyo. The prices are so competitive that the lines are seriously long. I went without a reservation, waited about thirty minutes, and just barely got in right before last order.

A glass of wine

Around 480 yen a glass, which is pretty great at this level.

Bread

Look at that portion..

Risotto

The individual dishes are not exactly cheap, but considering the portions, they are a bargain. Ordering three dishes for two people felt like too much here. It would be best to come with a group of four or so.

Salmon and avocado

Fresh salmon tossed with avocado, so the taste was predictable, but it was still satisfying.

Tomato sauce pasta

The pasta felt slightly lacking, but again, the portion was huge.

Sakura shrimp kakiage

They used plenty of sakura shrimp, which are in season. Trying to finish it all, I was so stuffed I nearly died.

The food is ordinary, made from fresh ingredients, but the value for money is so good that the place is a hit. For those chasing fine dining it falls a little short as a destination in itself (plus the line is long..), but in terms of satisfaction I would say it beats an ordinary izakaya several times over. In Shimbashi, besides the main branch, a Japanese izakaya, there are various sister restaurants doing French, Italian and so on, and I would like to drop by the others someday.

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