Nicolai Bergmann NOMU

There is no obvious entrance or signage for this place, as it’s actually inside a flower shop all under the same name.  But it definitely catches the eye, with large windows making up the outside wall, and flowers on display worth up to a couple hundred dollars.  The restaurant is farther inside, which is where it got a little confusing.

You order at a counter in front of the kitchen, and it appeared that we could just take a seat first like at a cafe.  But seats for two were all full, and with no obvious place to wait or put our name down or wait-person to talk to, we flagged someone down who took our name and told us to enjoy the flower shop until a table opened.  Then one of two caucasian workers told everyone waiting for tables to wait by the entrance to the flower shop, from where we were called shortly after.  The two seated next to us at about the same time seemed confused also, and were waiting to be waited on while we were ordering our food at the counter.  When we got back we saw them flagging down the waiter to ask for a menu and being told there is no menu and to please order at the counter.

They have sandwiches for around 1200yen, and a set with salad and soup.  The sandwiches were filling and the soup was good.  “NOMU” I assume refers to “drink” in Japanese, and there is a huge drink menu with 700yen juices and smoothies, but given that the only menu is right at the register, I didn’t want to hold up the line going over the drink menu and just went with the set’s ice tea.  Overall it was nice to go once; nice atmosphere, decorations, being inside flower shop.  I hesitate to give it a high grade because of the prices.  Desserts also looked good but didn’t look worth the cost.  Not to mention the water that dripped on me a few times from a vent above me during my meal.  But I bet the juices are delicious, and I’d consider going again to try one.

Jacob

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お花やさんの隣にあるお花がいっぱいのレストラン。

入り口がお花やさんなので、一見どうなってるの！？という感じですが奥に行くとテーブルがたくさんありカフェになっています。

食べ物のメニューはサンドイッチ等の軽食。

ほとんどが１２００円でランチだと飲み物とスープが付いて１６００円！

ちょっと高いですがサンドウィッチはボリュームがあるしスープが美味しかったです。

混雑した時の入店の案内が。。。ん？？？と言う感じでよくわからなかったのとオーダーの方法も分からない人がいたようなのでそのようなアナウンスがちゃんとあるともっと良いと思いました。

のどか；）＊＊＊

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Hours:  10:00~20:00 (LO 19:30)

Location:  Omotesando (map)

Website

Nana’s Green Tea

A place that caught my eye when looking for food options in the department store by Yokosuka Chuo station.  What probably caught my eye was the dish I chose the first time, the tuna and avocado rice bowl.  There are several such bowls with rice and noodles and soups, and a plentiful drink selection plus some Japanese style desserts.  Being in a department store, the prices are a bit above average, and it’s not a place to linger for a long time.  However, it tasted fresh, the servings were just right, and the interior was nice with blue lights.  Not sure about English menus, but it’s easy to go in.  Just something to consider if in the area, or I think there’s a branch in Yokohama too.

Jacob

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メインはカフェですが和風の面白い軽食も扱っています。

味も悪くない！

ランチだとセットメニューもあり最適だと感じました。

のどか；）＊＊＊＊＊

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Hours:  10:00-21:00

Location:  Yokosuka Chuo More’s City (map)

Website

 

City Shop

We’ve been eating around this area quite a lot lately, and just happened to pass by one day.  It’s bright and spacious with large windows, and feels just like most shops in the Omotesando area do- casual but on the nicer end.  City Shop is a deli full of healthy and organic goodies, mainly fruits and vegetables, with some meat and pastas and such. You choose between a salad + 2 items from the deli, or 5 items from the deli without salad for a couple hundred yen more.  I had salad topped with quinoa (not very common here), some also not very common fruits, and chicken, and some special ice tea.  I believe they had fruity water for free too.  Not cheap but I’d go again.

Jacob

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青山のお洒落地域にあるだけありお洒落なお店です。

最初に注文方法が書いてあるプレートを眺めていたら店員さんが声を掛けてくれとても親切でした。

値段は青山価格！！まあちょっと高いけど質のいい物を提供してくれていのかなっと感じました。

ドレッシングの味も美味しかったしフルーツもボリュームがあり美味しかったです。

アイスコーヒーとアイスティーはお代わり自由でした◎

のどか；）＊＊＊＊＊

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Hours:  11:30 – 22:00 (LO 21:30)

Location:  Omotesando/ Minami Aoyama (map)

Website

Tower Records Cafe

Probably my favorite store in Japan- Tower Records.  If you don’t live in Japan you’d probably think, “What, Tower Records still exists?”  Oh yeah, and it’s huge in Japan.  There are actually two major competing CD stores.  And on the second floor of the several-story-tall Shibuya branch is a book store and cafe.  I was curious about it for a while considering how often I go to Tower Records (not too much lately but at least once a month my first year or two working in Japan), and I think I looked at it once and thought it looked expensive.  I think every once in a while they have a theme menu, featuring characters like Snoopy, and I happened to look in on a day when they had that menu out and there was a line.  But we checked it out on a weekday night, and there was a normal menu with normal prices, and enough open tables.  It’s a very comfortable place with comfy seating and feels very open.  It’s not somewhere like a coffee shop where you can plug in a laptop and stay all day, although when it’s not super crowded, at least when we went it looked like there were some people that were chilling there for a while, studying or reading magazines from a stand in the middle of the cafe.  They had typical cafe-restaurant food-  a few nice appetizers for 500, a few big salads, pizza, pasta, Japanese curry, etc around 1000.  At first glance you might think such food is not worth the price, but what we ate was actually pretty good.  Nothing special but it was all done well.  There were drinks and desserts too a little more expensive than your typical cafe, which we did not try.  Not the first stop for a tourist to Japan, but if you’re ever at Tower Records go for it.

Jacob

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渋谷のタワレコの中にある少しお洒落なカフェ。

夕飯時に行ってきました。

ご飯はバリエーションが少し少ないですが味はまあまあ美味しい。

少し値段は高めです。

飲み物のメニューは充実していそうだしケーキも美味しそうだったので買い物ついでに少し休憩するのには使えるレストランかなと感じました。

のどか；）＊＊＊＊＊

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Hours:  10:00-23:00

Location:  Shibuya Tower Records (map), others

Website

カワラ カフェアンドダイニング/ Kawara Cafe and Dining

A friend took me to the Ebisu branch a couple years ago for lunch, where I had a delicious tuna and avocado donburi.  I forgot the name of the restaurant, and was looking for it on and off for a year or so, and only realized after arriving at the Shinjuku branch at night for dinner that it was what I had been looking for.  Both are fancy but affordable places places overlooking busy streets in their respective neighborhoods, and since then I’ve also been to the Minato Mirai branch as well, which seems to be the highest rated on Tabelog.  Very comfy seating, a nice view at the Shinjuku branch, bright and open during the day, dimly lit and romantic at night (check the website for more pictures).  The food is nothing to die for, and besides the donburi that made me want to go again nothing in particular stands out.  I think you pay just as much for the atmosphere as for the food, but it is nice, they have a little of everything and it’s all decent, from drinks to steaks to salads to soba to waffles to pastas to spring rolls to cheese.  I think they also have course menus and do birthdays and such.  I recommend it if you’d like somewhere nice to go, and at least for the branches I went to I’d definitely recommend a reservation for dinner.

Jacob

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お洒落なカフェチェーン店。

カワラというだけありお刺身等使った日本的な料理もあります。

わりと美味しいし雰囲気も良いし色んな場所にあるのでレストラン何処へ行こう〜困ったな．．という時に使えるお店です。

のどか；）＊＊＊＊＊

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Hours:  11:45-24:00 (food LO 22:30)

Location:  Shinjuku (map), others

Website

牛かつ もと村/ Gyukatsu Motomura

I just happened to see the line at this place while walking to another restaurant and quickly took note.  Where there are lines there is usually good food, and there was a line for a good reason.  It’s a specialty gyu-katsu shop, with just one long counter and maybe 10-14 seats.  I had never had gyu-katsu and was not disappointed.  You can rarely go wrong with specialty shops like this.  It might not look like the easiest place to enter since you can’t see it from the outside, but there were lots of Korean tourists when we went so I assume there is limited English service.  Besides, you know what you want- some gyu-katsu!  I feel like it’s not something I should eat all the time, but I bet I’ll go again sometime.

Jacob

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渋谷にある牛カツのお店。

いつ行っても結構並んでいます。

店内はカウンター席のみ。

牛カツに麦ごはんととろろが付くのが嬉しい！

牛カツも美味しく値段もお手頃価格で満足出来るお店です。

のどか；）＊＊＊＊＊

Hours:  10:00-22:00

Location:  Shibuya (map), others

Website

Pie Face/ パイフェイス

Do you like your pies with faces on them?  Pie Face serves various savory and sweet hot pies.  Fillings range from steak, curry, clam chowder, to apple, matcha, custard, etc, each with a different face on the outside.  I loved the concept, and the interior was nice as well, but the taste was just OK and gave a semi-fast-food vibe.  I think it’s fun to try it once though.  We went to the Shibuya branch, but there are a couple others as well.

Jacob

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確かオーストラリア発祥のお店。

パイフェイスという名前だけありパイが可愛い顔しています＊

見てるのが楽しい〜味はふつう〜という感じでした。

のどか；）＊＊＊＊＊

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Hours: 9am-10pm

Location: Shibuya (map)
Website (Facebook)

Crisp Salad Works

Maybe one of my favorite places to eat, and always an option when a friend tells me regarding our meeting place, “Oh anywhere in Tokyo is fine.”  In one of Tokyo’s nicer neighborhoods, the prices reflect that and might seem a bit much for a salad served in a recyclable plastic bowl with a plastic fork.  But with comfy seating (blankets to use for when it’s cold) and wide open windows to take in the quiet surroundings, it’s a nice place to take a break from the bustle of the city.  I’ve seen it busy, but not so much that I felt I had to rush.  As for the food, it is all fresh, and each salad is packed with goodies.  I think the first one I tried had chicken, feta cheese, apple, raisins, nuts, etc, and you can choose among a few dressings or even make a completely customized salad.  The menu is in English too, and according to their website they do takeout and delivery too (through finedine.jp and ubereats).

Jacob

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自分でサラダの具材を選べるサラダ屋さん。

ボリューム満天なのでこれだけで充分満足できます。

ドレッシングも美味しい！

店内は簡易的なのであまりゆっくりは出来ない雰囲気です。

のどか；）＊＊＊＊＊

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Hours:  11am-10pm

Location:  Ebisu (map), also in Azabu-juban, Roppongi

Website

Glorious Cafe

Eggs Benedict, pancakes AND burgers?  You have me intrigued.

It was actually rented out the first time we tried to go.  The seating and tableware wasn’t fancy, but the atmosphere is nice and clean.  Interesting silverware, and there was a sofa with some cool art.

Nodoka’s food looked meh, just rice with ground beef and egg, but I was thrilled to find actually decent bacon on my burger.  It wasn’t good enough to go again just for burgers unless I was in Shibuya and wanted some atmosphere, but I might try the eggs benedict or pancakes.

Jacob

渋谷にある小洒落たレストラン。

店内の雰囲気は良く洋風です。

フォークやスプーンが変わった形で面白く店内の装飾も凝っていたような気がします。

ガパオを食べましたが味は至って普通。

雰囲気を楽しみたい方は是非。

Nodoka;)*****

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Glorious Cafe

Hours:  11:30~23:00

Location:  Shibuya  (map)

Website

Yokosuka Shell / ヨコスカシェル

Navy Curry

I think it speaks for itself.

Yokosuka cheese cake

An izakaya along Dobuita street, a place catering to foreigners from the navy base and Japanese people wanting to escape Japan for a moment.  A good number of shops along the street are bars, and at night it really doesn’t feel like Japan.  A good number of shops, including Yokosuka Shell, also sell the famous Yokosuka Navy Curry and Navy Burger.  We came because we wanted to try the Navy Curry, and because it was kind of late at night and it was open.

It didn’t feel like an izakaya so much as a restaurant where you can also get a beer after a long day.  It was a not-so-busy Sunday night, with a few elderly ladies chatting at the counter, young folks sitting around a table, no smoking at least at the moment.  There were no foreigners, but anywhere selling Navy Curry I’m sure is ready for them.  It was not the prettiest place but was comfortable, and the food was good for what it’s worth.  I thought that the Navy Curry was probably as good as any Navy Curry, but perhaps a specialty shop might serve it better, and that if you want to go to an izakaya there are probably more izakaya-like places.  I’d go back if I were in the area and just wanted a beer, but I wouldn’t go out of my way.

Jacob

横須賀といえば海軍カレーと横須賀チーズケーキ！

シェルという横須賀中央駅にある居酒屋さんに行ってきました。

横須賀という街に初めて行きましたがなんとも独特な雰囲気。

そんな横須賀の雰囲気満載なレストランでした。

海軍カレーに牛乳が付いてくるのが面白い！

味はまあまあなので、横須賀の雰囲気を味わいたい方は是非＊

Nodoka;)******

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Yokosuka Shell / ヨコスカシェル

Hours:  １１：３０〜２４：００

Location:  Yokosuka-chuo (map)

Website