There’s a restaurant in the lobby (?) of the Mandarin Oriental Tokyo in Nihonbashi. It’s not really the lobby, more a space connected to the ground floor. I guess you’d say they made good use of some leftover space. Lunch is a buffet and it’s not exactly cheap, so I figured I’d never go on my own, but I got to go for a company dinner. And it was so good that I could easily call it my best restaurant of the year.

Dishes

Bread

Vegetables

The eggplant was sweet.

Quiche

Dishes

Dishes

They don’t use a lot of luxury ingredients, but everything is fresh and properly cooked, so it’s all delicious.

Pasta

The pasta comes one plate per person. It doesn’t look like much, but I was surprised by how good it tasted.

Tabasco

I asked for some Tabasco and they brought it out in a dish like this. I was impressed by the service.

Three kinds of curry

Each one has its own character; the seafood curry was my favourite.

Meat

It’s stuffed with something inside, like a sundae sausage, and that’s delicious too.

Potatoes

These are seriously good as well.

Pasta being made

Desserts

I tried every single one… and honestly they were all good. The macedonia fruit salad was tasty too.

Desserts

Dessert plate

Dessert plate

Pudding

Coffee

Jelly

Ice cream

The walnut ice cream was ridiculously good.

High ceiling

It’s not a regular restaurant space, just part of the lobby they’ve made use of, but the cooking is so polished that I left very satisfied. The food here is cheap at around 4,000 yen, but the alcohol is a bit pricey. Some glasses go for 1,500 yen. Well… with food this good, a drink or two is only right.

I’ve thought about it carefully, and it’s hard to eat this well at most restaurants. If you come to Tokyo and want something truly delicious, give this place a visit. Don’t just go chasing expensive Michelin restaurants.

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