La Maison Ensoleille Table - Landmark Tower

Restaurant Review by C. S.

I would like to introduce the stylish café restaurant, La Maison Ensoleille Table. It is located in Landmark Tower. They serve handmade fruit tarts and also many kinds of food, like daily lunch and seasonal menu items. You can enjoy not only a tea break, but also lunch or dinner. All of the tarts are available to take out. Moreover, visitors can use this restaurant to hold a birthday celebration or any other surprise. There are 96 tables, and they are all non-smoking. Inside of the cafe is decorated with cute interior decorations. It is likely to be popular among women, but the calm and warm atmosphere will be enjoyed by men as well. Most visitors come with family or friends, but you can have a good time alone, too.

It was still lunch time when I visited there, so I ordered from the Lunch Menu. If you order it, you need to choose a main dish, drink, and tart from the menu. I chose Fettuccine with Shrimp, Squid and Salmon in Bisque Sauce (￥1,430) for main. Incidentally, this main menu has a salad as an appetizer. Pasta noodles were chewy, and the sauce was rich. For a drink, I chose Italian Peach Soda (￥free). A refined flavor of peach matched well with the soda. At last, I ate Mont Blanc Tart (￥700) which I ordered for dessert. I could savor the mild sweetness of chestnuts. It was not too sweet, so I think people who don't like sweets much can eat it deliciously. However, on the Lunch Menu, the average price of main dishes is approximately￥1290, and desserts cost about ￥840, so it is a bit expensive as a whole. Because of this, I recommend you go there when you want to have a little luxurious meal more than usual or when you have enough money. If you are interested after reading this post, do visit!

La Maison Ensoleille Table
Address: Landmark Plaza 1F, 2-2-1, Minato Mirai, Nishi-ku, Yokohama-city, Kanagawa 220-8172
Access: About 10 min. walk from Sakuragicho Stn.
Tel: 045-226-5839
Hours: 11 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Website: http://www.la-maison.jp 

Oasis in a City - And People Udagawa

Restaurant Review by F. S.

And People Udagawa is a dining café located in Udagawa Shibuya.  This dining café offers Italian food but we can enjoy it as a café or a restaurant or a bar because there are a lot of dishes on the menu. They offer various appetizers that go great with alcohol, such as a guacamole (￥605) and an assorted sausage (￥638) and they offer various coffee or tea items at lunch time. I went here at night so I couldn't order them, but I enjoyed cocktail called a Moscow Mule. They have a lot of cocktails including Mojito (￥858) and maple beer (￥748) and I ate Spaghetti al' Arrabiata (￥1265) and the left one is Carbonara (￥1265). 

The theme of this dining café is natural. There are a lot of plants in the café and they have a terrace so I could  feel wind while I was  there so I couldn't believe I was in Tokyo. I felt like I was in a café which is in a forest. And there were a lot of candles here and there. I was able to relax. The atmosphere was really good. 

And People also has two shops in Ginza and Jinnan. The atmosphere there is different from Udagawa. I would like to go there someday, and if you are interested in this dining café through my post, I hope you to go there. 

And People Udagawa
Location: 9 minutes walk from Shibuya Station Hachiko Exit
Hours: 12:00 p.m. - 23:30 p.m. (Food last order 22:30 / Drinks last order 23:00）
Website: https://www.andpeople.co.jp

Café de la Paix

Restaurant Review by R. N.

I went to Café de la Paix which is located in Nihondaiodori Station, Yokohama. It is near Yamashita Park. You can go to Cafe de la Paix in 4 to 5 minutes from Nihondaiodori Station on the Minatomirai Line. When I went to this place at about one o'clock in the afternoon, there were only a few people. This restaurant has 60 seats. Cafe de la Paix's main menu is meat pasta, rice omelet and hamburg steak. 

I chose Spaghetti Neapolitan made in Yokohama  (横濱発祥のスパゲティナポリタン) and cream melon soda. Spaghetti Neapolitan costs 900 yen and cream melon soda costs 680 yen. I paid a total of 1,580 yen. The taste was so good and the volume was enough. Sometimes I eat Japanese style naporitan and this Spaghetti Neapolitan taste was different. It was more rich. Cream melon soda was more than I had imagined. I was satisfied. 

Café de la Paix
Address: Industry Trade Center 2F, Yamashita-chou 2, Naka-ku, Yokohama city
Access: Nihondaidouri Station (Minatomirai Line). 4 to 5 minutes from station.
Phone: 0456717150
Hours: Every day... 10:00-22:00
Website: http://www.ksg-yamashita.com

Takanashi Milk Restaurant - Refreshing Space

Restaurant Review by S. H.

I would like to introduce the restaurant Takanashi Milk Restaurant. This restaurant opened in 2017, and it is located at the second floor of the Minatomirai Tokyu Square. This restaurant has table seats and terrace seats, so we can enjoy an expansive atmosphere.  

This restaurant offers thoughtful menu items that mainly use delicious fresh cheese and cream from cow milk.  There are 3 types of menus; lunch menu, afternoon menu, and dinner menu.  Furthermore, each menu has some plans.  For example, the lunch menu has premium plan, A plan, and B plan.  Especially, my recommended menu is the A plan in the lunch menu. A plan includes fresh cheese & cream bar that is free refill, lunch plates, desserts, and drinks. We can choose each menu item, so I chose bolognese with eggplant and fermented cream, thick yogurt tart, and milk drink. The price of this plan is \2,500, so it is mid-range.

Takanashi Milk Restaurant has a wooden interior, and a stylish exterior. The staff wears a gray apron. There are 54 table seats inside of the restaurant, and 24 terrace seats outside of the restaurant, but now, the restaurant has reduced the number of table seats because of the corona virus. This restaurant has two order times, lunch time (11:00~17:00), and dinner time (17:00~22:00). This restaurant is very popular, so customers need to get the numbered ticket before the restaurant opening.  When I got the numbered ticket, the number was 3, but there were already 10 pairs who were waiting before the restaurant opening. Like this, this restaurant is very popular, so people who like cheese or milk should go there!

Takanashi Milk Restaurant
Address: Minatomirai Tokyu Square, 2-3-8 Minatomirai, Nishi-ku, Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture
Access: Directly connected to Minatomirai Station
Tel: 045-682-2801
Hours: 11:00~22:00(L.O.21:00)
Website: https://www.takanashi-milk.co.jp/milk-restaurant/

Bistro Takki - French Restaurant

Restaurant Review by M. N.

Bistro Takki is a restaurant that specializes in French cuisine. It is located in Higiriyama. The owner learned cooking in France.

Bistro Takki is reasonable in price. There is a set menu and a course menu. The set menu has a Pizza set and a Pasta set. Each of these prices are ¥1,200. and "Takki Course" is ¥1,800. "Takki Special Course" is ¥2,250. Each set menu has three daily items each day, so we can choose one of the three. And we can add dessert and salad (each price is ¥260), change the hardness of pasta (¥170), and you can change Canape to assorted appetizers (¥550). The restaurant recommends that people who have much time, like about 1 hour, order the course menu.

When I went there, I chose the Pasta set. I selected crab and tomato pasta and add dessert, a crepe cake. This dessert is the daily recommended dessert. Some crab shells are on the pasta, so it is difficult for me to eat. This set makes us happy because we can be full.

There are 7 tables and about 15 people can dine at one time. There are curtains between tables, so you can enjoy dining without other people. When I went there, there were no children. I think that it is not for families because it is not a noisy or large restaurant. So It is for couples or 2 or 3 people who want to enjoy talking.

This restaurant is run by my mother's friend, so I got a free service item, skipjack. You don't have to reserve, but I recommend you reserve because it is not a big restaurant. Actually, everyone reserved when I went, so people who did not reserve could not enter. Basically, customers spend about 2 or 3 hours there, so we can enjoy dining and talking comfortable. Why don't you go Bistro Takki?

Bistro Takki
Address: 1-66-2 Higiriyama, Konan-ku, Yokohama
Phone: 045-823-6172
Hours: Lunch 12:00~15:00 (L.O.14:30), Dinner 18:00~22:00 (L.O.21:30)
Holidays: Irregular
Access: 7-minute walk from Shimo Nagaya Station

Niko and ... Kitchen - Favorite Western Restaurant

Restaurant Review by S.H. 

I would like to introduce Niko and…Kitchen. The restaurant is a Western restaurant. It’s open from 11:00～23:00, open every day.

Niko and…Kitchen has many lunch menu items. For example, they other hamburg, rice omelet, pasta, and bread. I chose a rice omelet with demi-glace sauce. The eggs were very fluffy. The inside was ketchup rice and it was very delicious. The price is 980 yen. Plus, it comes with a mini salad.

Salad is included and around 1000 yen is a good deal. Also, there are many dessert items. There is now a seasonal menu with melons. I ordered a melon panna cotta. The price is 680 yen. It was refreshing and perfect for dessert.

This restaurant has a lot of good points. First, it allows children to enjoy food. because, they have a kids’ menu. The kid’s meal also comes with a toy. A child was happily choosing a toy. Second, the atmosphere of the restaurant is calm and the food is served quickly and smoothly. Also, the prices are reasonable, so it’s easy for students to go there. I recommend it.

Niko and ... Kitchen
Address: 1-10 Kinko-cho, Kanagawa-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa 〒221-0056 Yokohama Bay Quarter 3F
Access: Yokohama Station
Tel: 045-453-0208
Hours: 11:00～23:00 (L.O22:00/ Drink 22:30)
Holidays: Never closed
Website: http://www.nikoand.jp

AWKitchen Figlia - Colorful Pasta restaurant

Restaurant Review by Y. O.

I would like to introduce an Italian restaurant called AWKitchen Figlia. This restaurant specializes in homemade fresh pasta. I entered this restaurant because I was intrigued by the colorful fresh pasta displayed next to the entrance.

I went to the restaurant around 2:00 pm, just before the end of lunch time on a weekday. I figured that lunch time would be crowded, so I decided to go at that time. The restaurant was empty and I was shown to my table right away. Before we were seated, it was explained to us that we had 90 minutes to eat, but it was enough time for a leisurely meal.

Once we were seated, the waiter brought us a bottle of cold water and explained the menu with a smile. During lunch time, there was a pasta set and a dessert set. I ordered the pasta set. It was 1,749 yen for a choice of appetizer and pasta. For me, since I don’t earn much, paying 1,749 yen for lunch was a bit expensive, so I went with my mother. I was able to choose from three appetizers and decided to have a garden salad with organic and spring vegetables from Yamaguchi Farm in Nara Prefecture. For pasta, there were five choices, and I chose the tomato and basil pomodoro from Mr. Ishino's farm in Chiba Prefecture, with linguine kneaded with beets. I thought it was interesting that the names on the menu even included the names of the producers.

First came the appetizer. The salad looked like a flower garden and contained many kinds of vegetables, and the dressing was very well matched with the vegetables. It was interesting to see raw eggplant and other vegetables that I had never eaten before. It was a hearty and satisfying appetizer salad. Next came the pasta. The bright red pasta looked beautiful with the green basil. The fresh pasta was very sticky and the sauce was well mixed with the pasta and was very tasty. The amount was a little large for me. The salads and pasta are colorful, and this Italian restaurant is a pleasure for both the eyes and the palate.

The restaurant is located on the 13th floor of Shibuya Scramble Square, and as I entered the restaurant, I could see the sunlight pouring in through the large windows, making it very bright. I thought the night view would be beautiful if I visited at night.

AWKitchen Figlia
Tel: 03-6419-3380
Address: 2-24-12 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Shibuya Scramble Square 13F
Hours: 11:00~22:00 (LO21:30)
Regular holidays: Same as Shibuya Scramble Square
Website: http://www.eat-walk.com/awkitchen_shibuya

Renka 蓮花 - The Best Ramen Shop Ever

Restaurant Review by M. I.

I would like to introduce the ramen shop Renka. This ramen shop is located in Kobuchi. It is open from 12:00~15:00 (last order is 14:45) and 18:00~22:00 (last order is 21:30). It's a famous ramen shop so it is usually crowded from 12:00 to15:00 so I recommend you to visit there from 18:00~.

Renka is a ramen shop that specializes in shio tonkotsu ramen, but there are a lot of other menu items, too. For example, ajitama ramen (850 yen), char-shu ramen (950 yen), and others are available. My recommended menu item is zenbunose ramen (1100 yen). It is a ramen with every kind of topping. The noodles are thin and the soup is really delicious. It is the most expensive menu item in this ramen shop, but as I said, it's really delicious and makes me satisfied. So if you come this ramen shop for first time, I highly recommend this menu item.

Inside of this ramen shop is clean and fashionable. The atmosphere of this shop is calm so you will feel like you are in a café. The shop owner and staff of this ramen shop are really kind so you can relax and enjoy your meal. I think these points are good points of this shop. So if you became interested in this ramen shop, please go try their ramen. It will be your good moment.

Renka 蓮花
Address: 1-1-12 Sagamiharashi, Minami-ku, Higashi-oonuma
Access: Kobuchi Station
Hours: 12:00~15:00; 18:00~22:00