Arriving at Iri — as introduced in my Japan Times column today — in the evening, all you notice are the huge windows, covering almost the entire facade of the low, free-standing house. Your gaze is drawn inside to the gleaming, spotless kitchen, the chefs at work, the counter seats and the dining room beyond...
The lines are clean; it feels spacious and contemporary.
In daytime, though, you see clearly that it's actually a traditional wooden residential house, probably 50 or 60 years old but beautifully refurbished.
You see the pillars, beams and ceiling boards, and the corners where the wattle and daub walls are exposed...
But mostly it feels all feels comfortable, organic, contemporary.
Just like the food. The basic ¥1,800 lunch starts with a generous serving of antipasti, including plenty of marinated vegetables and prosciutto sliced freshly off the ham.
You get a choice of main courses — basically pasta, fish or meat/chicken. On this occasion I plumped for the spaghetti, which was tossed with morsels of lightly cooked madai snapper and spring greens. It was seasoned so subtly I had to call for an extra sprinkle of salt and pepper (very unusual for me).
And that, apart from coffee, was it. Not exactly generous for the price, and clearly not aimed at the grab-a-quick-pasta-lunch-for-under-¥1,000 office crowd. But that's because there aren't many offices around here, and the clientele are mostly non-working ladies with the time and wherewithal to lunch at leisure and without too much concern for the bottom line.
At dinner it's a different demographic and a different feel: more couples, more romantic. At dinner last month (the set ¥4,800 menu) we nibbled on home-baked bread...
and a slightly more elaborate mixed antipasti plate.
Great pasta: hearty, home-made strozzapreti — don't you love the name: Italian for "priest choker" — topped with a rich, meaty ragu of wild boar meat generously sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.
Followed by an excellent acqua pazza...
And then beef tagliata: seared, sliced and arranged with rocket greens and shavings of Parmesan. Not a delicate dish but beautifully prepared. Equal parts rustic and artistic.
We passed on the cheese platter and moved onto dessertand coffee.
And instead of lingering with digestifs, we decided to head down the hill for a snifter or two at San-Sun... But that's for another separate post...
