teatro di massa

Many small restaurants and cafes have been springing up in the Odori west neighborhood. Teatro is near the western end of Tanuki Koji. The interior of Teatro is elegant and the food is good, with a few mis-steps. We ordered the 5500-yen prix fixe dinner, which started with foie gras stuffed with r...aspberry sauce and served on a toast point. The sauce was good, but it didn't go with the foie gras and the toast made the dish seem amateurish. Next was a creamy soup that delivered a powerful burst of celery flavor. I enjoyed it. Then seared amberjack with two sauces: a smooth puree of yellow bell pepper and an anchovy sauce. The bell pepper worked. The anchovy would've been more at home on an oilier fish like horse mackerel. The highlight was the spaghetti with a tomato-clam-caper sauce. Perfectly cooked. Oddly, a second pasta course followed: gnocchi in a cream garlic sauce. Because both pastas came as small portions, I didn't mind the duplication of the pastas, but the gnocchi was overgarlicked, and the garlic wasn't the freshest. Then roast pork with some kind of balsamic vinegar sauce. And finally tiramisu with rosemary ice cream and a small cookie plate to go with our coffee. The ice cream was overpowered by the rosemary. The espresso was outstanding, as was the wine by the glass: an Emilia Romano blend of Merlot and Cab Franc. This all came out to about $55 per person. My biggest gripe was the atmosphere. The space is lovely, but the heating system drowned out out conversation. I don't expect this at a fine dining restaurant. I wanted to like this place more than I ended up liking it.

Visited October 2018