It’s really great to have a friend who shares your hobbies. On top of that, we know each other’s tastes so well that their recommendations never miss ^_^ That friend came to visit for the first time in a while, so we decided to take the chance to go together to a great restaurant that’s hard to go to alone.
There was a French restaurant I’d been dying to try for ages, but when I called to book, it turned out they’re closed on Sundays, and on top of that the whole time my friend was in Japan fell inside their two-week summer holiday. OTL So I scrambled to draw up a new list of restaurants we could go to. Not that many restaurants are open on Sundays, so the list wasn’t hard to put together. I showed it to my friend and asked, and the answer was that since it’s not like they get to come often, let’s go somewhere as good as possible. In that case there was no need to think it over: there was only one place ^_^
Enoteca Pinchiorri is the Tokyo branch of a restaurant in Florence, Italy, that holds three Michelin stars. Tokyo has countless famous French restaurants, but if you ask me to name the great Italian ones, nothing much besides this place comes to mind; that’s how central a position it holds in Tokyo’s Italian scene.
The entrance
It’s on the 7th floor of Ginza Core. As you’d expect from a top-tier restaurant, a receptionist greeted us warmly as soon as we stepped out of the elevator.
The waiting room, which doubles as a lounge/bar
It isn’t as flashy as Joël Robuchon, but it’s antique-styled and calm. Very Ginza, you might say?
A vase
We wait calmly for our turn.
When you’re shown to your table, the passage from the entrance has cellars built in on both sides. I was told they currently keep about 14,000 bottles of wine. They also run a wine shop, so it’s only natural that they’re confident about their wine, but beyond that, I got the feeling they really put a lot of care into it.
Inside there are quite a lot of tables. It looked like more than 100 seats. It seemed they could handle big banquets too. As expected, the atmosphere is calm rather than flashy. It crossed my mind that for a date where you want to impress, Robuchon might be the better choice.
The table setting
Hmm.. pink.. I suspect it doesn’t really suit male customers.
Glasses
The glasses for wine and water.
Today’s wine by the glass
Yes.. the cheapest one. It didn’t taste bad, but being light-bodied it left me wanting a bit more. When I asked for the wine list, they handed me two books. I flipped through them, and the list itself is amazing, but anything really worth drinking will set you back 30,000 yen. The course was in the 10,000-yen range, so I couldn’t order a 30,000-yen bottle, and just had a glass of wine instead. But looking around at the other tables, most people were ordering mineral water. (Of course, there was also someone boldly ordering a Sassicaia.) I’ll keep that in mind next time I order.
My friend and I ordered the 8,000-yen Creativo and the 13,000-yen Menu Degustazione courses. My friend doesn’t like lamb, which was the main, so we paid 2,000 yen extra to switch it to beef. In the photos from here on, except for the bread, the Creativo always comes first and the Menu Degustazione second.
Focaccia topped with broccoli
My friend hates broccoli, so I took care of all of it. The blanched broccoli went really well with the savory, slightly salty bread. As you’d expect from a high-end place, even the bread is delicious ^_^
Now for the starters.
Composizione di melanzane: alla Parmigiana, in pasta croccante e in zuppa affumicata
A composition of eggplant: alla parmigiana, a little pastry, and a smoked crema
The one on the left is baked like a pie, and the one on the right is rolled up like a spring roll and fried. The richness of the cheese cream brings out the crisp bite of the eggplant, soaked in oil, even more. One bite and any worries I had about high-end Italian food vanished.
In salata di pesche al limone verde, gamberetti all’olio d’oliva e crema di gorgonzola
Peach salad with sweet shrimp carpaccio and gorgonzola crema
You dip the Okayama peaches into the peeled sweet shrimp and the gorgonzola sauce. The fresh sweetness of the shrimp, eaten odori-style (raw and fresh), the soft cheese, and the peach full of the scent of the season come together to create a new kind of delight I never could have imagined. Maybe because it’s the pricier course ^_^ this starter was much better.
Fresh bread brought out around this point
On the left is brioche, and on the right is a bread called ciabatta. The brioche is apparently made with flour from northern Italy, and its chewy texture is fantastic. The ciabatta has milk in it. It was good too, but it lost out to the brioche. The bread was so good that I asked for another piece, but it took quite a while. When I asked, they said it was because they were baking it fresh again.. At Joël Robuchon they just brought out cold bread. Top restaurant or not, it’s not easy to pay that much attention to flavor.
There were so many photos that I split this into two. Continued in part.2.