My friends and I decided to grab a meal somewhere around Ginza, but there was no obvious place to go. The good spots either need a reservation, or cost too much, or have a queue, or just are not the kind of place where you can sit and talk quietly. Lining up one or two easygoing fallbacks for times like this is one of life’s little wisdoms. In that sense, Aux Bacchanales is a pretty good option on the south side of Tokyo.
A Ginza street scene
It may be called Ginza, but it is a bit away from the main drag. That is exactly why a quiet place with reasonable prices and good food can survive here.
The front entrance
These are not people queuing up to get in, they are people on their way out.
Chicken liver mousse salad
Some people do not care for this distinctive flavour, but it is nicely salty and rich, which makes it a really good thing to drink with. If somewhere sold it on its own, I would love to stock up and eat it little by little.
Baguette
Aux Bacchanales is also famous for its baguettes. There is even a separate bakery inside the place.
Echire butter
Eaten together with good butter, the flavour doubles.
Clams
We ordered some seafood too, and the portion was generous.
Steak
It looks like Australian beef, and it is decent enough. The fries were pretty good too.
Onion soup
When it is cold out, a piping hot onion soup is the best.
Daisen-dori chicken
I was already full by this point, but there was an unusual item on the menu so I ordered one more. It is a good quality free-range chicken dish, and it was really tasty.
Even after all that eating and drinking, the bill did not come to much. I should make a point of using this place whenever we have a get-together.