This post was written in 2008. Shop details and prices may have changed since then.

Whenever friends from Korea come to visit Tokyo, I really struggle with where to take them. I’d love to take them somewhere tasty with a nice atmosphere, but that’s easier said than done. Most visitors from Korea come over a weekend, and I also have to think about how much of their travel budget goes on food, yet the cheap, good places are almost impossible to book on weekends. Factor in their itinerary and how they’re getting around, and there’s even more to think about. In that sense, La Bettola is an extremely handy place. It’s a little off the main drag, but it’s still in Ginza; for lunch you don’t book in advance, you go in the morning of the day and reserve on the spot; the prices are practically at cost, 2,000 or 3,000 yen; and the food goes without saying. It’s hard to find a place that ticks every box this perfectly ^_^
The same-day reservation line.

I got there at 9 and there were 17 people ahead of me. The photo shows the scene around 10. At 10 a staff member comes out to take reservations. With a line this long, the people at the back very likely end up going home without eating.. It can’t be helped since it’s such a popular place, but it’s well worth putting up with. Only one person needs to queue, and once you’ve booked at 10 you’re free to wander around Ginza until they open at 11:30, which alone is something to be grateful for.
With the booking done, I headed to Tsukiji for a bowl of Yoshinoya gyudon as an appetizer, then came back to Ginza and worked my way through Manneken waffles plus dorayaki and anmitsu at Tatsutano. A food crawl around Ginza never seems to end ^_^
Focaccia

House-made bread. Tasty but oily. Better with the food than on its own.
Moscato d’Asti

I was going to have it by the glass, but there were quite a few of us, so we got a bottle. Wine connoisseurs might dismiss it as cheap, sweet stuff that tastes like soda, but it goes down easily for beginners and it’s low in alcohol, so that’s what I ordered. I can’t think of many wines this well suited to lunch. Daytime drinking is dangerous, after all ^_^
On weekends there are two courses: Course A is antipasto + pasta for 1,890 yen, and Course B is antipasto + pasta + main for 2,940 yen. Course B gives you more choice, but be warned, the portions are pretty big. The menu is prix fixe: you just pick one dish from each preset list. The menu is only in Italian and Japanese, so choosing isn’t easy. Go with your gut and choose well ^_^
They took the menus away too quickly, so I’m naming the dishes from memory. I’ll look up the exact names and post them later.
Yoshida Farm mozzarella with tomato, basil and olive salad

The portion was huge. You could order one and split it three ways. Is it really okay to serve this much at this price.. it almost made me feel guilty. Tomatoes so sweet you’d suspect they’d been sugared, mozzarella so fresh it seemed to have come straight from the farm, and basil that also tasted freshly picked: eat all three together in one bite and even your mood feels refreshed. The only thing is, they used to come in bite-size pieces that were easy to eat, but this time they were big, so it was hard to get all three onto the fork at once..
House-made ham salad

Ah.. once again I was moved just by the portion and the presentation before I’d even taken a bite. The fresh-looking pink meat, the artistic marbling of fat, the crisp, clean edges of the slices, and so on. I could imagine how it would taste before eating it, but actually eating it moved me all over again. Who knew I’d feel the freshness of a spring day in a plate of ham.

Prosciutto and house-made ham salad

Both the greens and the prosciutto were in great shape. But the antipasti so far had been so huge that I didn’t reach for this one much. I think this was probably the Course A option. If you want a proper meal, I’d recommend going for Course B if you can ^_^
Today’s assorted antipasti

This alone would pass for a 3,000-yen set meal at another restaurant ^_^ There wasn’t a weak dish on it. But at this place, I think it’s better to go with a group and order a bit of everything rather than the assorted plate. Well.. if you’re going alone, ordering this one would be the best bet..
Seafood carpaccio

Everyone raved about it. They said the fish was amazing. It was better than the sashimi at most Japanese restaurants.
After being so impressed by the antipasti, I was even more excited for the pasta.
Sea urchin pasta

A rich, sweet pasta. It’s the house signature. But the noodles were a bit overcooked.
Karasumi (bottarga) pasta

Nicely salty and good, but this one was a bit overcooked too.

Gorgonzola pasta

The pasta is bigger than it used to be. There seems to be a bit less gorgonzola too, but the portion was satisfying.
Pasta with wagyu braised in wine

This is my favorite dish, but today it wasn’t in great shape. Overcooked. The quality doesn’t stay consistent; it seems to go up and down. It used to be fantastic, but now it’s just so-so..
You can’t judge it by the same standard as pasta in Korea, but it wasn’t at its peak either. It’s normally much better than this; the place seems to have changed a bit. The antipasti have got a lot better than before, but the pasta skills seem to have slipped.
Now for the mains.
Scallops

The sweetness of the tomato went well with the springy scallops. Maybe because it’s Japan, the seafood dishes seem especially strong.
Mushrooms and cod

That’s how I remember it, anyway, though I’m not sure… It was just okay. Not that it tasted bad; it felt more Chinese than Italian.
Lamb steak

Great flavor. The portion seemed about right. But it didn’t wow me as much.
Dessert costs extra. Cheap set-course restaurants make much of their money on desserts and drinks. That’s how they stay in business.

The best of the best dessert here: tiramisu

It was a huge hit. A classic tiramisu, soft on the first bite with a bittersweet finish, and very well made. I’ve had it many times so it doesn’t feel special to me anymore, but anyone trying it for the first time will be happy with it.
Pudding

It’s one of their recommended dishes, but this one wasn’t all that satisfying. I regret being too full to order any more desserts.
The pasta was a little weak, but it was a really good meal. It’s not easy to eat this well at this price ^_^ Once you get used to places like this, you start dreading Italian restaurants back in Korea. It is a popular restaurant, but if you go late on a weekday evening, you can sometimes eat without a reservation. If you ever find yourself lost in Ginza with no idea where to eat, give it a try.. Dinner is a flat 4,000-yen course.

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