Alternative - The Real Deal

Imagine, if you will Gentle Reader, a quiet and elegant space in Roppongi. One set above the race and reel of the street. Sweetly far from the madding crowd.

Imagine a sophisticated table, set with beautiful tableware and visually stunning glasses. Add a certain air of playfulness balanced with exquisite technique and wonderfully engaged service.

No doubt you're thinking of Alternative.

Your Humble Correspondent ventured there recently with The Professor, who was late. Unfashionably late. Temporally-challenged late. A military background coupled with a crippling sense of self-importance makes one rather intolerant of tardiness. Quite right too, don't you think?

Which is apropos of nothing except to say that it provides one with the time to get to know the staff and to chatter unhelpfully about how the venue can sometimes be difficult to find. Perhaps, but we were certainly glad to have done so and were set to test Chef's technique and imagination. Silly, silly boys ...

Alternative is that rare combination of temple and laboratory, a place that revels luxuriously in the concept of seasonality where the seasons are a week long. It strives to offer a certain air of freedom and pivots to originality wherever possible. The goal is to be topical and interesting, while delivering on expectations above and beyond the burger level.

We opted for the Dinner Course (\10,000) and wine pairing (\5,000). In the end, that was remarkably cheap for what we received. It felt almost unfair ...

This is cooking of the highest quality. It is matched with intimate service from floor staff who actually know what they are talking about. The wine selection was possibly the best Your Humble Correspondent has experienced in 30 years of dining out in Tokyo. Each glass paired with its course in a pas-de-deux that twirls and whirls, each time offering a serious challenge to a wine lover (I think got 3 of 6 right).

Chef Saito first came to prominence at Provinage, and he has succeeded to the mantle here in the same location. Small specialist producers send him new ingredients which he turns into triumphs. The plating is high art. We enjoyed dishes arranged like a debutante's fascinator with subtle sauces and intriguing layers of textures. Can you say "rice sauce"? He brings a Kansai passion for real food, real textures, and real experiences.

Alternative is a place to enjoy with people one truly cares about. Think of it as a right more than a reward. You deserve Alternative, Gentle Reader, and it deserves you.

Pip Pip!

Rating: Food: 9/10; Alternative-ness: 9/10; Service: 9/10; Ambiance: 9/10; Price-Performance: 9/10 

Total: 45/50 (4 Forks)

Alternative: 2F 3-1-19 Nishiazabu, Minato-ku t: 03-5772-7272

Ata - don't mind the audience

One feels one’s age, Gentle Reader, when one stumbles into a hostelry full of people in their 30s. It is often loud, bustling, and self-possesed. While such a situation promises a certain economy, it also begs a disquieting sense of clatter and the fear of a tendency to trend rather than excellence. Your Humble Correspondent is therefore pleased to report that Ata in Sarugakucho demonstrates neither of these characteristics.

The restaurant is a touch tight to be sure, but makes up for this with fine service and familiar yet formidable cuisine coupled with a very good wine list. Ask for the secret menu and for “special” wines. YHC was presented with an Israeli Chardonnay which surprised, intrigued, and challenged simultaneously.

The occasion was a quiet dinner between two friends, and Ata provided a warm refuge on a chill winter’s evening. There is a heartfelt attention to detail on provenance although one has to sometimes coax it out of the floor team.

Humor me, and order the mussels in white wine: it comes with pleasantly toasted baguette and you will be encouraged to use the shells as weapons as you fight over any remaining broth. Hokkaido oysters from Akkeshi were plump, highlighting the bounty of the cold Kanryu currents and needed only a touch of lemon juice and fresh pepper to be nearly transcendent.

There is welcome variation on the menu for main courses to prompt indecision and a protean feeling of impending regret. Try the splendid duck or the delectable lamb. Desserts are more workmanlike, but help to round out an evening of casual indulgence.

Fear not, Gentle Reader, and sally forth with pennants flying. Order generously but with an eye to the waistline. Apparently, sharing is tolerated even though YHC allows no such indignity at his table.

Ata is a place to enjoy with friends; a place for genteel carousing and raucous laughter. A destination to revel in, and visit frequently. Give yourself a little longer than usual to linger, and warn the downstairs staff you may be home a little later than normal..

And ignore the gnome in the corner burbling into his Bouillabaisse: I shan’t take long and will be on my way soon enough!

Pip pip!

Rating: Food: 8/10; At-Homeness: 8/10; Service: 8/10; Ambiance: 7/10; Price-Performance: 8/10 

Total: 39/50 (3 Forks)

Ata: 2-5 Sarugakucho, Shibuya t: 03-6809-0965