Mystery Critic
The Best Restaurants Out There - And Much More!
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Rangetsu - Tokyo Ginza
OVERALL Rangetsu is the Japanese-equivalent food icon of Ruth Chris in the US. OK, I just insulted the whole naton of Japan. FOOD Did I mention BEEF? Matsusaka beef (松阪牛) is served here with the shabu shabu. Next to Kobe beef, Matsusaka beef is the best - Let it melt in your mouth slowly.... Everything else that comes with it, including the appetizers (raw crab legs, yum!!) and noodles, are simply heavenly. The taste, arrangement and serving process is rather traditional - so you better go with someone who knows the drill - or pray that you have roommates (some rooms have two booths, some just one) that know what's going on. They also serve Kaiseki (multi-course 2-hour long feast of very small portions of top-notch Japanese food) and other traditional dishes here. I didn't try them, but I heard they are pretty good. SERVICE You can eat on the street of Tokyo and still enjoy great service - that's the spirit of service of the Japanese. Therefore, the service here is rather mediocre. Maybe it's because this is such a tourist center (right in the hottest section of Ginza), but the hostess and servers just don't seem to care too much to please. Also, everyone is hidden in the rooms, so you've got to ring a bell to get them to serve you. There is the usual Japanese efficiency, so can't really give it any less than three smileys.... AMBIENCE At first glance this place looks rather unappealling (unless you head straight down to the sake bar), because it looks like a nice prison carved out of wood. As I've mentioned, it consists of partitions with booths in them. But, think about where you are - the MOST expensive real estate on planet earth, so you should be glad that you actually have some space to yourself. The decoration is very plain and simple, just like the food. Not too impressive, but nothing wrong with a little plainness after spending $$$$$ at Ginza. VALUE There are very few restaurants in Tokyo that offer good value (excpet the cheap sushi boat joints in Ueno). This place is no exception. If you want to try the Matsusaka beef, you can spend $50 and then have to have another dinner afterwards. If you consider the quality of the food and its location, it actually beats out many equivalent places in value. Hey, it's Tokyo, and your USD isn't worth very much anyways.... FINAL WORD I was pleasantly surprised that this place has a sister restaurant in the US! Check out http://www.rangetsu.com. Out of this massive country, they decided to put the restaurant in Orlando, not exactly the Ginza of the US.... Or maybe the owner saw the commercial for Florida beef.... If you can't make it to Japan, this might be a good alternative. |
But seriously, this place serves great traditional Japanese food. While not the most high-end, it's definitely good enough to check out after an exhausing day of shopping at Ginza - and enjoy some of the best beef in the world.