Many of the tower buildings around Shiodome (and Tokyo in general) have restaurants on the top floors. Caretta is one such building and it houses my dining destination for tonight. I have a feeling I have eaten here before, but it would have been way back in 2008, so memory is a bit fuzzy and I wasn’t blogging back then.
However, I decided I wanted to eat somewhere with a view and this restaurant certainly satisfied that wish. The front desk girl did however put a slight dampener on my first impression. I felt that had I been Japanese or other Asian I may have got a better response. For a restaurant that does get a lot of tourists, the lack of English was very off putting( as can be seen on reviews they get online). I was only able to sit at the bar, which considering the number of empty seats by the window was slightly disappointing, it was also a smoking area. I am willing to put up with it if needed.
After perusing the menu it took a while to be noticed by some one to have my order taken. Good thing I am not a pro reviewer. I chose a sashimi plate, asparagus and Shimanto pork jeon pancakes, Fukushima Prefecture Aizujidori local chicken, Sake lees cheesecake with ice cream. Drinks started with Alamos Extra Brut Sparkling(Mendoza, Argentina), Koshu Suntory Japan Premium(Yamanashi,Japan), and with dessert Hibiki 17 year old( I know, again with the Hibiki).
Out first was a plate of appetisers, pickled turnip, spinach and ?, small miso with a pork meat ball in it.
Out next was the asparagus and Shimanto pork jeon pancake and the Aizujidori chicken, which came with a bowl of freshly ground sansho pepper. The chicken comes from Aizu and has a strong flavoured, darker meat. The cut was thigh with the skin on, sprinkled with a little sansho it was delicious. The pork came from the area around the Shimanto River which is in Kochi Prefecture on Shikoku Island,(google is my friend!).
Next was the sashimi, which was so good it didn’t have a fishy flavour. I know one was tuna but the others nobody stopped to tell me.
Dessert, well lets just say it was smaller than expected and quite unusual, holiday time things should be a bit unusual. Interesting flavour the two pieces were about 2cm square and that high. There was more ice cream than cheesecake. I know Japanese desserts aren’t usually big but this was a little disappointing. What should have been the star of the dish was upstaged by the support act. The Hibiki 17 Year Old was again fabulous!! So smooth and luscious, coating the mouth well. Perfect!
Then it was time to head back to the hotel picking up a night cap of sparkling sake(ok I thought it was a Japanese sparkling wine….must learn more Japanese!!!). Pull cap on it so didn’t need a corkscrew, good bubble, pours cloudy, almost looks like cloudy ammonia but tastes and smells a whole lot better. Dassai Sparkling 50.
Thus ends my first real dining experience for this trip. If I had to give a rating it would be 3.5 out of 5.
Thanks for dropping by and stay tuned for tomorrows adventures, (if it doesn’t rain).
Cooking Across 4 Generations 
Recent Comments