Hyperlocal Tokyo

A long-established stew restaurant. Their beef stew is delicious. It's not your typical, heavy stew, but rather light and delicate, with a gentle flavor that pairs well with rice. Their gratin is also famous, and it too has a gentle flavor. While it's definitely an acquired taste, it's a truly unique place with an addictive flavor. It's one of my favorite restaurants. The space is small, and the food takes time to prepare, so be prepared for a long wait if there's a line.

This is an old-fashioned stew shop that has been around since the Showa era (1959-1989). I arrived around 12:30 pm. The restaurant was about 50% full. I sat at a table on the raised seating area. I ordered the mixed stew set for 2950 yen. A small dish was brought out first, followed by the stew and rice 10 minutes later. Rice is refillable. The stew was a bit bland, with a light flavor. It's traditional, but I didn't feel much depth of flavor. The meat was well-cooked and tender. It came with potatoes, carrots, onions, and green beans. The flavor got a bit boring towards the end. It was a delicious meal. In this area, which is a lunch battleground, it's easy to get a table at this restaurant. This means the surrounding salarymen and office workers have refined palates. Since I had some time to spare, I could hear the staff's casual conversation, which was quite real. The price-performance ratio was also not good.

My companion ordered the beef stew and gratin set, while I went for the beef tongue stew. First, we were served a small dish with lotus root simmered in soy sauce, a colorful salad of shredded daikon radish and carrots, and pickles. After a while, the stew and rice (my companion's gratin) arrived. The small pot was bubbling away, and when I stirred it with a spoon, I found plenty of potatoes, carrots, string beans, and crisp onions at the bottom. Of course, the main beef tongue was also braised to a tender, melt-in-your-mouth consistency, and the generous portion was well worth the price. Unlike Western beef stew, this one had a relatively light sauce that seemed to use soy sauce or miso, making it a perfect match for rice. However, the stew alone might get a bit monotonous, so I recommend the set with the gratin. The gratin was also delicious, with a strong aroma of Parmesan cheese and plenty of shrimp and mushrooms. The building is old, but the air conditioning is strong, so you can enjoy hot dishes comfortably. Thank you for the meal.

My Edo Outing is Complete While on my way to Haneda Airport, I stopped at Higashi-Ginza Station for a late-night drink at 3 pm. I had lunch at 10 am, so I was hungry. I found a place called Ginnotou, a stew restaurant that's open on Sundays and serves all day. I ordered the mini set of stew and gratin for 4,200 yen. It was quite expensive, which surprised me. I chose the mixed stew with beef and tongue stew. It was served in a clay pot, bubbling hot. The beef and tongue were both tender. It also had onions, carrots, and potatoes, but they weren't really necessary. The flavor was reminiscent of the 1950s. I imagine it was quite delicious back then. The gratin had three small shrimp and shiitake mushrooms. The béchamel sauce was excellent. The three small side dishes were like home-cooked meals. It was so hot that I had a beer, something I don't usually do. I had an Ebisu beer for 950 yen. The staff in the dining room had lovely smiles. (^ ^) #EdoGourmet

As it was a famous restaurant, I decided to try it. To be honest, as others have written, the flavor was bland. It was far less flavorful than the stews and gratins I usually eat. However, the bubbling stew and the golden-brown gratin were visually appealing. The rice was delicious, and the pickled daikon radish was also very good. When we went with two people, the staff kindly offered us a serving dish. If the flavor had been a bit stronger... It's just the flavor that I was concerned about. The MVP was the pickled daikon radish.