Finding ourselves at the Shimbashi end of Ginza the other evening and in need of some light sustenance, we decided to try our luck at Mardi Gras. Usually that would be a very long shot without a reservation — on a weekday we wouldn't even bother — but this was a Saturday (and still in the post-quake self-restraint gloom), so we were able to walk straight in.
This excellent little basement grill/wine specialist is one of our longtime favourites, and has changed little since I wrote it up in the Japan Times back in 2001. Best of all, chef Touru Wachi's Spanish/Mediterranean-inflected food remains as reliably tasty as ever.
We settled in (as we usually do) with sherry, which came with complementary wedges of tortilla español (good) and bread rolls (forgettable).
Our first appetizer was the plate of mixed pintxos. It's a great selection of nibbles on sticks: quails' eggs, breaded balls of sausage meat, deep-fried Brussels sprouts, tiny one-bite squid, eringi mushrooms cooked with fennel, and even smoked salmon with small cubes of cream cheese.
Our other starter was the creamy cod brandade...
By this time we had a bottle open. Mardi Gras' wine list seems to have shrunk a bit over the years, and still is too focused on French rather than Spanish or the New World bottles that would better fit Wachi's cooking — this is Ginza, though, so name brands count for everything. But the Saladin (Haut Brissan/Côtes de Rhône Villages; 100% Grenache; organic) delivered the kind of quick-to-drink spicy-smooth flavours we were looking for...
Especially since this was our main course: a terrific lamb tajine, with pine nuts and prunes in a lovely rich meaty gravy.
This was so good it deserves a close-up shot...
In fact it was so good it should be on video...
We lingered long enough to share a dessert, a very fine creme caramel drenched with bitter-sweet sauce.
Satisfying food; a good bottle of wine; a quiet, unpretentious setting you can settle into (the New Orleans music on the sound system). For Ginza, this is pretty great value.
Full details in the JT archives...
And here's a map link...
