Restaurant Hara is a French restaurant in my neighbourhood. It seems to have opened only about a month ago, but it’s always full, so I made a proper reservation and went with a friend.
Wine and glasses
For wine I went with a carafe. I didn’t manage to get a photo of the front, but the interior was simple yet really refined. The little decorative touches were nice too. The husband is the chef and his wife runs the floor, and the owners’ taste really shows.
Pumpkin soup
Today I ordered the cheap 3,650-yen menu, and even though it’s cheap, the flavour didn’t suffer. My pet theory is that a great restaurant should be like that (otherwise it shouldn’t offer a cheap menu at all), and this place is exactly my kind of style.
Bread
Egg and salmon
True to a cheap menu, there were no expensive ingredients, but the cooking is well done. They say sauce is the soul of French cuisine, and even though so little of it goes on the plate it takes an awful lot of work. That absurd amount of care is exactly what makes French food memorable, and this kitchen’s cooking had that care in it. It may not be star level, but it’s far better than your average Tokyo restaurant.
Breaking the yolk
At first I thought it was cheese, not egg. The cooking method is unusual… A rich yolk runs out, and it makes the salmon dish taste even deeper. I suppose you can only make something like this after a lot of research into all sorts of ingredients.
Leeks and sea bream
Another plate full of creativity. Again the ingredients -_- don’t look like they cost much, but they’re cooked just right.
This time, focaccia
The bread is high-level too
Fish main
I think it was flounder, if I remember right, and all the different ingredients really come through.
Beef cheek braised in wine.
The portion was huge, but the taste was just ordinary. The weak spot of a cheap -_- menu like this is the main. Everything else can be covered with technique, but a delicious main course needs premium ingredients… Next time I’ll have to try a pricier menu.
When I rate a French restaurant, I give half the points to dessert -_- and the desserts here are pretty good too. Usually a small place like this wouldn’t have the capacity to put much effort into desserts, yet they still turn out some seriously skilled ones.
Chocolate cake with cherries
It’s similar to a fondant au chocolat, but with cherries inside it’s even better. Honestly, fondant au chocolat is so rich it’s a bit heavy as a dessert, right? This was the best of the day.
Cherry tart
Much tastier than it looks.
The purple sweet potato pudding I ordered
The smooth flavour is superb; they’d clearly prepared it well.
Strawberry cream cake
Lovely presentation too, very satisfying.
A cup of black tea too…
Not that I drank it
Sugar and milk
We lingered over after-dinner chat. Work the next day, sadly. Life is busy, but a bit of leisure like this is worth enjoying now and then.
Apple juice
Since I didn’t order tea, the chef brought this out for me. It tastes like, well, apple, but the glass is really pretty. Maybe because I’ve just been to Arita, I pay more attention to cup and plate designs these days.
I’m planning to come back soon to try the higher-end menu. This is the key to eating well out in the regions: once you get to know one good restaurant, you get introduced to lots of others through it. That’s how I heard about this place too. Gotta keep coming and eating here often ^_^