Spanish & Italian Bar FAGOTTO

This is an unassuming pub-restaurant near Niigata station, but the cooking here is absolutely extraordinary. A few nights ago, my wife and I ordered a pizza, a hamburger steak, and a pasta dish -- and although all of the dishes are prepared via quite different means, all of them were superb. The... pizza was crisp and perfectly done -- baked in an on-site brick oven -- and it was not at all soggy in the middle, as it so often is. It was much better than any pizza I had in Italy. The hamburger steak and pasta dishes were similarly good. Moreover, service was fast, and very friendly -- even by the high standards of Japanese establishments. I am in awe of the chef at Fagotto. I've eaten at many Michelin starred restaurants in Tokyo, Hong Kong, and elsewhere... and this place beats the breaks off most of them.

Visited July 2018

I stayed in Niigata for a conference for a couple days so I looked up restaurants nearby. I stayed only a block away from this place so I went there the first night. It is aeuropean style, french-italian-spanish reastaurant. Others recommended pizza and clams with garlic bread. I tried out the clams... with garlic bread and some wine. The prices are reasonable compared to the japanese standerd but I wouldn't recommend to go here if you are very hungry since the portions are enough but not big. The food was really good but I didn't like that they served me some very small appetizer (what would be always free in europe) and they didn't warn me about the price even if they new already that I speak japanese (the staff is only japanese speaking but the menu has english) so I was quite surprised and not pleased when I had to pay extra for one slice of bagget with some paste on it... So be careful with this! Since the city didn't have much options I went back for pizza and asked for take away what caused a little problem even if they had their own pizza box but I managed to get it and it was really good especially compared to the japanese average. It took my by surprise that they don't have any sweets on the menu since it's an essential in all the cuntries they are trying to represent so don't expect delicious european dessert when eating here. But they have a big selection of wine. The staff seemed very not used to foreigners despite the restaurant being just blocks away from the train station and don't speak english!

Visited September 2016