Akasaka Tsutsui, Akasaka 赤坂津つ井赤坂

February 17, 2018

Akasaka Tsutsui, Akasaka 赤坂津つ井赤坂

'Yōshoku' is literally translatable as 'Western cuisine'. And that's pretty much what it appears to be at first glance. But in reality it might be better defined as a branch of Japanese cuisine. Things like kare (curry) rice, fried croquettes, crumbed prawns, hamburg (not hamburger!), omuraisu (omlette on rice) and so on...

It is a ubiquitous style of casual dining in Japan, however the chefs that prepare it sometimes take such care and pride that their food pushes up into the territory of fine dining. I have had several yoshoku meals in my time that were as refined as any other Japanese cuisine (and with prices to match).

An exemplar of this finer version of Yōshoku, Tsutsui is a virtual institution in Akasaka . The restaurant is kind of off the beaten track but worth the effort to track down. Recently I sampled their basic 3,500 yen lunch course which left me more than satisfied.

A friendly looking entrance...