Hyperlocal Tokyo

The prosciutto was thinner than the usual thickness, but it had just the right amount of saltiness and went well with the drinks. (I want to eat it again when I think about it!) The baguette was also very delicious and went perfectly with the prosciutto. I ordered a variety of other dishes, and they were all delicious. I especially liked the creamy porcini pasta with its delicious cheese.

Located just a 5-minute walk from Roppongi Station, 'Cucina Alla Barba' is on the 3rd floor of a mixed-use building on Imoarai-zaka. I finally visited this place after my friend had been raving about it for a while. According to my friend, Chef Baba, the owner, used to be a sous chef at a popular Italian restaurant in Tokyo, so they serve authentic and creative Italian dishes. I was so excited! The restaurant isn't very big, with a counter and some booths in the back. It has that 'hidden gem Italian' vibe. The menu is so extensive and everything looks delicious, making it hard to choose. I couldn't decide! And they have a huge selection of wines, which is great for wine lovers, but also makes it tough to pick! In the end, I left the food and wine choices to my friend who had been singing the restaurant's praises. (I was too overwhelmed to decide...) ↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓ Appetizer: Prosciutto toast, etc. (Forgot to take a picture) Horse meat carpaccio Zucchini omelet (Forgot to take a picture) Eringi mushroom cheese fritters (Forgot to take a picture) Tripe in tomato sauce (with beans) Roast duck breast with grilled scallions Spaghetti alla Bolognese (Forgot to take a picture) This place is amazing, even the appetizers were incredible. They brought out homemade focaccia, bruschetta with prosciutto on top of homemade bread, olives, and more. Wow, that's amazing! So many different things, and a good amount of food too. I was surprised! We enjoyed these wonderful appetizers and sipped wine to get our livers ready for the main event. We got so into it that we finished a bottle of wine just with the appetizers! Haha. The horse meat carpaccio had a generous amount of watercress on top, and when you eat it with the horse meat, it's like heaven. It's impossible not to keep drinking wine. Yes, pure bliss. All the other dishes were delicious too, I couldn't stop eating. The roast duck breast was particularly memorable. It was a total winner. MVP of the day. The duck was cooked to perfection, the flavor of the meat was incredible! The subtle sweetness of the duck meat and the complex flavors of the sauce blended perfectly in my mouth. The grilled scallions paired with the duck brought out its flavor even more, and the scallions themselves were so sweet that they made me want to keep drinking. We ended up drinking 5 bottles of wine between the four of us. (I only took one picture of the wine... 😭) We definitely had a lot to drink! Haha. We kept saying 'delicious' and 'so happy' the whole time, it was a truly wonderful meal. I'll definitely be back!

A Tabelog Top 100 restaurant, 'Cucina Alla Barba' in Roppongi is an Italian restaurant open until 1 am, perfect for wine lovers and those who enjoy ordering a la carte. You have to order at least three drinks per person, though! It's located on the third floor of a mixed-use building, about a six-minute walk down Imoarai-zaka slope from Roppongi Station. I made a reservation for two a week in advance. I had been to other restaurants in this mixed-use building before, but I had no idea Barba existed! Chef Baba runs the place solo, so I thought the food might be slow to come out, but that wasn't the case at all (well, maybe a little). It's amazing that he can make all these dishes by himself! That night, I had the tripe alla arrabbiata for ¥1400 and the white asparagus with fried egg and ham for ¥1500. Everything was so delicious! Thank you for the wonderful meal!

• Lemon Cream Pasta ¥1,500 • Nuts and Gorgonzola Honey ¥1,450 • Chilled Chicken and Foie Gras ¥500 • Appetizer (Table Charge) ¥1,000 Another day where I found a wonderful restaurant. I went to Cucina Alla Barba in Roppongi to enjoy wine and dishes that perfectly complement it. This place is truly amazing, I definitely want to revisit! I visited this place as my third stop that day, so I couldn't order too much, but even with just a few dishes, I could tell it was the best. The menu was filled with tempting dishes, written on a small piece of paper. First, we ordered a bottle of wine. Cheers! The appetizer was so impressive, I was amazed. Homemade focaccia, bruschetta with prosciutto on top of homemade bread, olives, and crackers. This alone could make you drink three glasses of wine. The bread and prosciutto with black pepper were incredibly delicious! ♡ The chilled foie gras was also delicious, with no gamey taste, just rich and creamy. The combination with ginger and perilla was also great. And then! This is something I absolutely wanted to try the moment I saw it on the menu. Nuts and Gorgonzola Honey!! I love the combination of Gorgonzola and honey. On top of the cracker was a large piece of Gorgonzola. On top of that were plenty of nuts, which made me so happy. And then there was the drizzled honey. The unique, pungent flavor of Gorgonzola, the gentle sweetness of honey, and the texture of the nuts were a perfect match. This was another dish that made me want to keep drinking. Finally, we finished with pasta. There were so many types of pasta, it was hard to choose. From all the options, the lemon cream pasta caught my eye first. The visual of the pasta topped with prosciutto was already so cute! ♡ And the moment I put it in my mouth, I was hit with the refreshing, tangy flavor of lemon. And the cream was so mild. The thin noodles were so chewy and smooth, they went perfectly with the cream! ♡ It was so delicious, I could eat it even though I was full. I want to order a large portion of this. There were so many other dishes I wanted to try, I was sad to leave. I will definitely visit again!! Thank you for the meal.

The restaurant has a comfortable atmosphere, lacking the tension often found in members-only establishments. It has a cozy, homey feel, thanks to the single-person operation, allowing me to relax and enjoy the food and wine. The stuffed shiitake mushroom fritters, while seemingly unassuming, burst with concentrated flavor in every bite. The savory richness of the sausage perfectly complements the fragrant umami of the shiitake mushrooms, creating a fantastic pairing that goes exceptionally well with red wine. The wine selection was excellent, and I plan to return for a larger gathering to try more dishes. Thank you for the delicious meal.