Brad and I had a wonderful Valentine's dinner at an Italian restaurant last night. According to the Italian embassy, Riva degli Etruschi is one of the top five Italian restaurants in Tokyo. I was doing a search for restaurants on the Internet and ran across a rave review of Riva by TokyoQ. (Note: The TokyoQ site requires registration, but it's real easy to register.)
The restaurant is situated in Omotesando, a very trendy chic neighborhood. As the review states, you feel as if you have entered a Tuscan villa when you walk through the door. All the decor, even the floor tiles, come straight from Italy. We sat in the "garden" area, which was enclosed in glass and kept warm by electric heaters. As we sat down we were presented with a complimentary glass of delicious prosecco wine. We ordered the least expensive fixed price menu (this place ain't cheap, but we felt we got what we paid for). For ¥7,500 (about $62) we got an appetizer, two pasta dishes, a choice between meat or fish, dessert and a choice of coffee, or black/herb tea. All the selections were decided by the chef, but we were pleased with everything on the fixed menu.
Pre-appetizer: We were a little worried when they brought out an espresso cup filled with itty bitty dried salted shrimp. Still in the shell. What looked like specks of black pepper were really itty bitty shrimp eyes. I said to Brad: "I don't think I can eat this." He bravely tried one and said, "They're not that bad. Just don't think about what you are eating." So I screwed up my courage and tried one. "Hmmm. Not that bad after all." They were not fishy tasting, but they were a little crunchy.
Appetizer: Two large battered fried mushrooms served with a delicate cream sauce and a portion of what I can only describe as a vegetable paté. It was quite good.
First Pasta: Gnocchi served with a meat sauce. The meat sauce had only a slight hint of tomato and it was more like a gravy than a sauce. We both loved it and wished we had the recipe.
Second Pasta: Ravioli filled with ricotta cheese and prosciutto and served with a very interesting and quite tasty sauce based on cinnamon.
Main Course: For this we could choose between quail (all their meat dishes on the ala carte menu were game) or a white fish (can't remember the name, it's one I never heard of before). Brad got the quail and I got the fish. Brad really enjoyed his quail -- I took a taste and it was very good, much like chicken and not gamey tasting at all. Brad's quail came with a serving of wild rice and spinach (I think). My fish was excellent -- very light and perfectly done. It was served on a bed of chick peas, which unfortunately were underdone (the only negative factor of the whole meal).
Dessert: A scrumptious slice of chocolate mousse cake layered with hazelnut flavored whipped cream. This was elegantly presented on a plate on which the chef had outlined a heart with chocolate cream and filled the heart with a delicate strawberry sauce. It was magnificent.
And, as if that weren't enough, they also brought out a plate with four chocolates and a tray of cookies. We were so full that we couldn't possibly eat all the sweets laid out before us, but everything we did sample was delicious.
The staff was extremely attentive, without being obsequious. Whenever they saw that our bread plate was empty we were offered an assortment of bread, rolls and breadsticks from a basket. The breadsticks were our favorite. Our water glasses were constantly kept full with sparkling Italian mineral water.
We had dinner in the first floor formal restaurant. Upstairs is a casual trattoria. We would love to go back some day and try out the trattoria. This is one of the wonderful things I will so miss about Tokyo: there is such a fabulous selection of restaurants here.
The restaurant is situated in Omotesando, a very trendy chic neighborhood. As the review states, you feel as if you have entered a Tuscan villa when you walk through the door. All the decor, even the floor tiles, come straight from Italy. We sat in the "garden" area, which was enclosed in glass and kept warm by electric heaters. As we sat down we were presented with a complimentary glass of delicious prosecco wine. We ordered the least expensive fixed price menu (this place ain't cheap, but we felt we got what we paid for). For ¥7,500 (about $62) we got an appetizer, two pasta dishes, a choice between meat or fish, dessert and a choice of coffee, or black/herb tea. All the selections were decided by the chef, but we were pleased with everything on the fixed menu.
Pre-appetizer: We were a little worried when they brought out an espresso cup filled with itty bitty dried salted shrimp. Still in the shell. What looked like specks of black pepper were really itty bitty shrimp eyes. I said to Brad: "I don't think I can eat this." He bravely tried one and said, "They're not that bad. Just don't think about what you are eating." So I screwed up my courage and tried one. "Hmmm. Not that bad after all." They were not fishy tasting, but they were a little crunchy.
Appetizer: Two large battered fried mushrooms served with a delicate cream sauce and a portion of what I can only describe as a vegetable paté. It was quite good.
First Pasta: Gnocchi served with a meat sauce. The meat sauce had only a slight hint of tomato and it was more like a gravy than a sauce. We both loved it and wished we had the recipe.
Second Pasta: Ravioli filled with ricotta cheese and prosciutto and served with a very interesting and quite tasty sauce based on cinnamon.
Main Course: For this we could choose between quail (all their meat dishes on the ala carte menu were game) or a white fish (can't remember the name, it's one I never heard of before). Brad got the quail and I got the fish. Brad really enjoyed his quail -- I took a taste and it was very good, much like chicken and not gamey tasting at all. Brad's quail came with a serving of wild rice and spinach (I think). My fish was excellent -- very light and perfectly done. It was served on a bed of chick peas, which unfortunately were underdone (the only negative factor of the whole meal).
Dessert: A scrumptious slice of chocolate mousse cake layered with hazelnut flavored whipped cream. This was elegantly presented on a plate on which the chef had outlined a heart with chocolate cream and filled the heart with a delicate strawberry sauce. It was magnificent.
And, as if that weren't enough, they also brought out a plate with four chocolates and a tray of cookies. We were so full that we couldn't possibly eat all the sweets laid out before us, but everything we did sample was delicious.
The staff was extremely attentive, without being obsequious. Whenever they saw that our bread plate was empty we were offered an assortment of bread, rolls and breadsticks from a basket. The breadsticks were our favorite. Our water glasses were constantly kept full with sparkling Italian mineral water.
We had dinner in the first floor formal restaurant. Upstairs is a casual trattoria. We would love to go back some day and try out the trattoria. This is one of the wonderful things I will so miss about Tokyo: there is such a fabulous selection of restaurants here.
posted by lenora at 8:29 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home