Shibuya has so many people passing through that it’s hard to find long-established restaurants, but there are well-reviewed places tucked away that fly under the radar. VIRON is a chain started by a famous French flour-milling company, and I remember introducing it before. This time I stopped by not for takeaway but to grab a light breakfast. (And yet I ended up eating lunch an hour later…) I’d love to become a regular if I could, but the prices are still on the high side, so I’m content to drop by now and then to buy something. For the record, my regular haunt is Suminoe in Shinjuku, which is a bit cheaper.
Front entrance
It’s across from Don Quijote and the Tokyu department store. If I remember right, you go to the right of 109 (Maruq), that is, head up the side street along Center Gai, and you’ll find it just as a three-way junction comes into view. Not a bad location at all. Actually, I didn’t go to buy bread that day; I went to try the morning menu, but I was a little late, so I had to settle for taking out one sandwich and one raisin bread. On weekends the second-floor café closes before lunch service starts. Probably because they have lots of reservations. It’s really nice to see a good restaurant doing good business. ^_^ Even if it means fewer chances for me to go…
Sandwich
Every time I have it, I wonder whether a better baguette could possibly exist; it’s a truly top-notch baguette. How chewiness and crispness can coexist like that still amazes me when I think about it. My companion agreed, and even thanked me for introducing such a great place. At about 800 yen it’s a little pricey for a sandwich, but no regrets at all. If it were just a bit cheaper I’d become a regular ^_^ Well, if I get hooked I’ll naturally end up a regular anyway. I once went to a so-called French bakery back in Korea that was nothing of the sort, and once you start eating bread at places like VIRON, you simply can’t go to those knock-offs anymore. It’s not a matter of baking technique; the flour itself is clearly different.
The raisin bread(?) I bought that day didn’t get photographed. It’s top-notch too, but it’s a little sweet, so it divides opinion. I love that style of bread, of course, so thank you very much. But I left it in my bag to eat later, and when I woke up the next morning someone had already eaten the whole thing… -_-;; That’s life…