Food without memory is just digestion

Tuesday 10 August 2021

Chez Soma - Nostalgia in Nakane

There is a certain style of restaurant in Japan, Gentle Reader, that delights the heart - and often the wallet. Where a chef focuses on technique and deep culinary knowledge, with the result often being better than most establishments in the "home" country of a particular cuisine. Where repetition is a virtue, and where the flavors are delicate and long. Chez Soma in Nakane in Meguro Ward is one of those places.

Your Humble Correspondent, as ever in your service, recently ventured into the wilds of Nakane, near Toritsu Daigaku subway station, to visit Chez Soma. While the area has a quaint suburban feel, diners are magically transported to Parisian bistro once they enter. In these COVIDesque days, things are perhaps a little diminished by the Perspex screens and masked floor staff but despite the difficulties the atmosphere is warm and welcoming.

But the food, Gentle Reader, the food is delightful. It is wonderfully wrought, superbly balanced, and exquisitely presented. The menu is simple - 3 options including an o-makase - and includes an a la Carte section which is so sadly vanishing from so many other establishments. There are daily variations in the ingredients, and Chef shows enviable creativity for a venue (previously in Jiyugaoka) that has been open for some twenty years. Each of these "courses" includes a dessert sampler which is, similarly, excellent.

There is a certain nostalgia, Gentle Reader, in the dishes on offer. This is Cuisine Classique but without heavy saucing or contemporary flashiness. It is almost as if, God forfend, that the restaurant focuses on the guest experience rather than the Chef experience. No pretense, no foamy-foamies, no trace of ego.

Your Humble Correspondent is frantically looking forward to being able to graze the Wine List once these wretched lockdowns become a thing of the past. It promises a well-crafted and diverse selection, with the typical Parisian aperitifs available to the discerning drinker.

Chez Soma is best enjoyed with friends rather than colleagues, and a reservation is strongly recommended. 

Pip Pip!

Chez Soma1-7-20 Nakane, Meguro Ward t: 03-6421-3034
Bowgett»Y8,000 (with wine) * a 'bowgett' (or budget) is a leathern pouch or wallet to carry one's cash
RatingFood: 8/10; Nostalgia: 8/10; Service: 8/10; Ambiance: 7/10; Price-Performance: 8/10
Total: 39/50 (3 Forks)

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