Bistro Yen

⭐⭐⭐

Bistro / 📍 Nihombashi

📓 Visits: 1

Bistro Yen opened in December 2022 in a former Mizuho office and is co-located with the cafe/bar "Coin" in the basement and the bakery "Bank".  The restaurant is from the same people behind the popular Patisserie ease and the ice-cream specialist Teal.  I went for lunch.  An out-of-date English menu was available.  Staff did not speak English.

New onion and bacon soup (¥600, English menu not corrected).  It tasted mostly of milk and I'd have never guessed there was bacon in it unless I'd been told.  At least it was hot.

Pork cheek braised in beer with lentils and potatoes (¥2000).  There were just three morsels of pork but it was good.  The side dish of buttered rice with cheese and asparagus was fine.

Creme caramel with rum-soaked raisins and vanilla ice-cream (¥1200).  This was twice the size it needed to be and twice the price.  The ice-cream was delicious but I left some of the not spectacular pudding as it was a waste of calories.  Enough for two to share.

A slice of bread is charged at 300 yen but instead I got some to take home from the bakery while I was waiting.

I appreciated that to make these kind of dishes takes a lot of time and preparation and there are worse bistros but it wasn't cheap and the flavours were too muted.  The bread I took home looked better than it tasted as well.

There were plenty of seats available when the restaurant opened at 11:30 on a weekday but service got a bit slow when it got busier and staff were not the sharpest.

I would give Bistro Yen and Bakery Bank a miss but don't miss out on Teal which is also expensive but serves superb quality ice-cream.

📌 https://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1302/A130203/13279853/ 

❓ My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ 3.4

📱 Booking: 🟩 You can book online for dinner only.  Lunch reservations may not be taken by phone but if you get there early there's no wait.

📍 Location: 

6-7 Nihombashi Kabutocho.  2 mins from Nihombashi station Exit D2 or Kayabacho station Exit 10.  Dedicated street-facing entrance behind Kabuto One.
Map data ©2023 Google

📶 Free WiFi? ❌ No

📅 Visit March 2023

Soup 600
Pork 2000
Pudding 1200

💴 Damage: 3,800
⏱️ Time taken: 1h