This post was written in 2008. Shop details and prices may have changed since then.
I was wondering where to have dinner in the Marunouchi Building and headed for somewhere I could eat something light. Oyster bars are popular in Tokyo these days, and places with a similar concept have been popping up all over. I just love oysters, and so many people had told me they’d been, so I’d been wanting to go for ages — and when I looked it up, it turned out there’s one near Marunouchi too. The most famous one seems to be in Shinagawa, but I’ll save that for later and head somewhere nearby for now.
This is the place.
It’s a bit small, right?
A Bowmore highball
It’s the house’s recommended drink.
The complimentary starter.
Apparently it’s smoked Miyagi oysters. It tasted pretty satisfying, so I half wished we’d gone for the course, but this time we decided to order à la carte.
Onagawa oysters from Miyagi and Maple oysters on the half shell from Washington
Ohh.. that distinctive oyster aroma is to die for.
This is the Maple
And this is the Onagawa.
The Onagawa is a bit bigger, right?
The dressings.
There’s Bowmore too ^_^
This one’s a red wine dressing
There are plenty of other kinds too, but..
The Bowmore was the best.
Wow.. with the single malt whisky and the oyster aroma mingling together, it feels like standing on the seashore with a cold wind blowing in your face. The Maple you see here is said to be an oyster with a deep flavor, and it really is delicious.
This time I try the red wine sauce.
Not bad, but the Bowmore was better. The Japanese oysters are bigger, but the small ones tasted better.
Today’s market prices
They say the best of these is an oyster called Kumamoto, a Japanese oyster farmed in the US. But it hadn’t come in this time, so I couldn’t have any. Sob.. I’ll have to come back and eat it next time..
Getting into the swing of it, I ordered Australian Cat’s Eye oysters
I’d heard it was a tasty oyster, but the freshness felt a bit lacking. I think the Maple was better. Next time I’ll have to try them somewhere a bit more serious.