IL PINOLO

I have lived in Japan nearly 20 years and eaten at every level, from convenience store rice ball to fine dining costing hundreds of dollars a time. I came here after a medical check in Osaka, wanting a kind of 'reward' or 'pick me up' lunch. I chose the cheapest course, which is still 2500 yen and o...rdered a separate drink, 900 yen. Then, when I politely asked for water, having not drunk for hours due to the medical, they refused point blank to serve me plain tap water, despite me purchasing this not-cheap lunch, paying for a separate drink and free water on arrival being the norm in Japan. The policy of not providing water with a meal and forcing customers to pay for premium imported mineral water, when the food and beverage prices are high in any case, is really unacceptable. And hidden in small print on the website. Eventually and very grudgingly, they brought me a teacup full of water, which is frankly insulting. I didn't touch it, to be safe.I don't recommend this restaurant. I've written to them saying what a stupid and short-sighted policy that is, given the lack of any English explanation as well and the fact they are right next to the Hilton, serving foreign food and presumably welcoming a fair number of non-Japanese speakers. It's nothing to do with how the food tastes, purely and simply, nickel and diming.

Visited May 2019

My husband & I came for lunch today. We tried both lunch sets at ¥2,500 and ¥4,000 (plus ¥500 for beef as main course, and ¥600 for choosing shrimp pasta). Food was delicious especially shrimp pasta). Vegetable soup was just so so. I'd recommend to take the ¥2,500 option with better value.

Visited October 2016