Sablier

So we discovered this place from eating at the 3443 club at the basement level of Mitsukoshi department store (Nihonbashi). 3443 is basically a collective of famous restaurants (Japanese and Western) around Nihonbashi area serving their seasonal menus all in one place. A great idea to let the shoppe...rs to try out their food. We decided to try one of the collective, Bistro Sablier at their own business address. It's a small place split on two levels, both the food and the atmosphere are not fussy nor fancy, which is my preference. The story is quite cute with the father being a farmer and the brothers decided to branched out to restaurants business after the younger brother trained to be a Chef in Paris. The food portions are small but with the addition of the house rolls it is sufficient for a medium eater. So big eaters beware... The food is quite agreeable, I thought the Chef had a good grasp on the balance of flavor on not making the food too over powering. I personally do not prefer the traditional heavy full cream/butter type that French food can be. By the way, the fruit store on the street level also belongs to the family so you can buy some fruits before you eat dinner to enjoy at your hotel. Here's the photos of the courses we had, BOM appetite:-

Visited November 2016

A somewhat Japanese take on French food, but very delicious. This second-floor restaurant is cozy, warm and inviting, and we had ample food for the farewell dinner for our tour group - all of it very yummy!

Visited November 2015

After several days of only good Japanese food, I was in the mood for something different. This place was on my hotel's food map, so I walked over to take a look. The chalkboards outside were mostly in Japanese, but the beer and wine prices seemed reasonable, so I walked upstairs. There are a coup...le small tables and then a counter facing the street and one facing the kitchen. They had several red wines by the glass and also several whites. They were all 600-700Y. I started with a Rioja and it was very good. The menu is in French and Japanese, but I think all the staff speak some English as well. I chose a smoked salmon appetizer and cote du bouff(?) for main course. The salmon was nice thin slices over greens with capers, shallots and an herb oil- maybe parsley? The salmon was very good- I suspect they smoke it right there. Next I tried a glass of Cote du Rhone, also very good. I think the beef was shredded short ribs- very tender, encased in caul, I think. This skin kept it together and was easy to cut through. There was also a wonderful wine/beef reduction, pureed potatoes and some vegetables. This dish was really amazing and as good as I've had in 5 star restaurants. I'm not sure if they have desserts, as they didn't offer. The total bill was around $60US- a reasonable price for an excellent meal.

Visited February 2012