Spaghetti in Japan.

[ArmandV]

Any good Italian restaurants in Tokyo?

 

[lukino]

Anyone can make this simple tomato sauce. If you're Italian, you've gotta have a recipe for tomato sauce that you can customize and freeze for months at a time. It's cheap too!!!
Simple Tomato Sauce Recipe
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Yield: 6 cups
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
4 to 6 basil leaves
2 dried bay leaves
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, optional
In a large casserole pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 2 minutes. Add celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, basil, and bay leaves and simmer covered on low heat for 1 hour or until thick. Remove bay leaves and check for seasoning. If sauce still tastes acidic, add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time to round out the flavors.
Add half the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue with remaining tomato sauce.
If not using all the sauce, allow it to cool completely and pour 1 to 2 cup portions into freezer plastic bags. This will freeze up to 6 months.
GOOD LUCK ~~

hey guys.. i m an italian chef
that recipe might be correct. i wouldn't add garlic anyway. if it s too acidic, add a bit of sodium bicarbonate ( a very very little amount).

 

[bakaKanadajin]

Saizeriya!!

Any good Italian restaurants in Tokyo?

Honestly, if you're looking for cheap Italian eats, Saizeriya isn't half bad. I've eaten there a number of times. The foods a tad greasy and you get what you pay for, but honestly the quality isn't bad for the price. They've got a wide variety of dishes, the wine is 100en a glass, I mean if you're looking for quick Italian food in Japan or a place to pre-drink or kill some time before first train, this place gets my stamp of approval lol.

 

[epigene]

Any good Italian restaurants in Tokyo?

Because of the rage over Italian food in Japan, there are countless Italian restaurants, from old-timers like Sabatini (Aoyama, Roppongi, etc.), Antonio's (Daikanyama, etc.), and Nicholas (Roppongi) and new ones opened by Italian chefs who have settled in Japan.

Saizeriya is great for budget-minded young people, but I recommend this place if you are willing to pay:
Ristorante da Nino

Sicilian-style restaurant located in Minami-Aoyama (near Nogizaka Station). I went with friends and found the food delightful!

 

[undrentide]

Something between the posh restaurants and Saizeriya - I'd like to recommend La Verde.
Food is great and their prices are reasonable.
I sometimes go to the one in Aoyama, but you can also find it in Shibuya, Shinjuku, Yokohama, etc.
http://www.la-speranza.sakura.ne.jp/shoplist.html

 

[Balling]

saizeriya is awesome

but if you need some on the quick like
Family mart/7 and i holdings/lawsons all have great spaghetti

 

[TokyoRose]

A few more tips about this; olive oil in the hot water is not necessary, in fact, it will prevent the sauce to stick to the noodles by making them slippery. What you need is enough water in a big enough pot and frequent stirring for pasta to be cooked evenly.
You can skip this, too. Starch, salt and cooking liquid will enhance the flavor of the sauce and add body to it.
Taste pasta as it cooks, empty the pot immidiately before it's completely done, concidering the time you mix it with the sauce.

ah... great minds think alike!
i've also experimented by cooking the pasta in carbonara sauce - to save time and washing up. the result is not as starchy as I'd imagined. however when i try to do the same with tomato based sauce, sauce is thicker and not as tasty...
anybody else has similar experience?

 

[Dogen Z]

Cicada

Cicada in Minami Azabu is superb! It's not cheap but it's still a great value. Can't wait to go there again. It's not strictly Italian--it's Mediterranean, so even better.

 

[gaijinalways]

Bunryu is aother Italian delight. Don't let the japanese name put you off, the owner lived in Italy for 20 years before returning to open two restaurants in Tokyo (Takadanobaba and Ikebukuro) that use Italian and japanese chefs trained in Italy. Very reasonable lunch specials (980 yen includes a salad, pasta of your choice, and cofffee) and great dinners but then you're looking to drop a few bucks. The Italian teachers I know recommend it to their students.

Link with map to the Ikebukuro restaurant.

http://www.tradina.com/0339823230/map.html

There's also another Italian restaurant of note in Takadanobaba called Taverna. Unfortunately, they don't take credit cards, which makes it less enjoyable.

Scroll down in this web page and you'll see a review on Taverna. The earlier mentioned L'Amitie; is also a good choice for inexpensive French, but sometimes with a Japanese touch. Still, very resaonable, but you do often need to book (even for dinners often) as it's very popular.

Secret Japan - Takadanobaba restaurants - European food

 

[Chidoriashi]

Saizeriya is ok, but i would prefer Fazolis (fast food Italian chain in the States) to it any day.

On a different note, sometimes i feel like finding good Italian/Western food in Japan outside of Tokyo or maybe other big cities is really hard. Many common menu items (in the West) are hard to find and the preparation usually has a Japanese/Asian twist.. But then again, making Western-style food that Westerners prefer would not be as profitable here in Japan I suppose.

 

[bammbamm&pebbles]

Anyone,spaghetti with mayo ( お味の方はいかがでしたか ) ?!