What a gem! I was with good company who recalled the place from a previous dinner here - otherwise there's little chance you'd walk in just waking by. We sat in the small open-air space in the back, and sought advice from the chef. A good thing, too: I would not have deciphered the item in the menu that stood for "astonishing cured meat with some crazy savoury ice cream", or the giant filled pasta (the correct name of which I forget) with chives and a cheesy filling. The pasta itself made me remember why I avoid pasta pretty much anywhere -- because once every few months I have pasta like this, and nothing else is good enough.
We were both content, but Jan remembered an exceptional piece of meat, and we asked about sharing a steak. When it arrived, in strips that revealed a deep pink surrounded by a perfect brown, our giving in to minor gluttony was justified: it was so tender that no knife was needed to cut this up, and we recalled stories of Kobe beef. When we complimented the chef he told us that the meat was from a private farm in Ireland where cows were treated as per the Japanese method -- no surprise, then.
The price was perfectly agreeable, and the service friendly and helpful: superb food in an honest environment. read more
