Beige, Ginza ベージュ銀座

Once in a while one needs something a little more glamorous than the average lunch set; something to make the statement that although today may be an ordinary day, I am no ordinary person - and nor for that matter are my friends!

On a day like that you should find yourself somewhere like Alain Ducasse's "Beige" - the icing on the modern, austere cake of the Chanel building in Ginza.

It was on such a day that I found myself sampling the delights of Beige. The service and surroundings are all that you would expect - impeccable, stylish; kind of a tweedy-sober-glam feel. I suspect Coco would approve; something I feel confident in saying as I recently saw the movie about her early life "Coco Avant Chanel", which gave a great insight into the foundations of her amazing, revolutionary (for the time) sartorial art. That was one heck of a lady!

My dining partner and I kicked things off with a couple of glasses of Louis Roederer, which was just what the doctor ordered on a hot summer day. For 8,000 yen you can order three dishes from the menu. My dining partner and I had the scallop with orange to start. Then I ordered the "three crustaceans" and the free range chicken with peas. My dining partner ordered the sea urchin soup and the fish. All dishes were beautifully presented and tasted excellent. For mine I think the best dish was the pea and chicken. It's such a mundane combination, but this was like taking the everyday and making it divine.

The desserts are charged on top of the menu but were amazing, and I will just let the pictures tell the story. Perhaps the tastiest morsels of the lunch were the pre-coffee macaroons. But this is not where the feast ended. As we were having our coffee some scrummy, fresh madeleines were offered just out of the oven. Oohh - I wish I hadn't been so full at that point. Last but not least, some chocolates with the Chanel insignia were served.

All in all, Beige is just about perfect for a special lunch with a special person. The attention to detail, and the small touches such as the seaweed butter are superb. I'd go there happily for business or pleasure, but if your purpose was business you'd come over as a pretty shrewd guy or girl choosing such a place.



http://www.beige-tokyo.com/e/
03-5159-5500