A note on the words: a bar (bal in the shop’s name) in Japan is a casual Spanish- or Italian-styled drinking spot where you eat small plates at the counter rather than sit down to a full restaurant meal. Otoshi is a small appetizer you are charged for — it is the cover charge, not a scam — and here it arrives in the guise of an amuse-bouche. Crudo is raw fish dressed with oil and seasoning, and a crostino is a thin slice of toasted bread. White liver, shiro reba, is the pale fatty grade of chicken liver, prized in Japan for its mildness. Tai is sea bream; madai is the red sea bream, while itoyori (threadfin bream) and amadai (tilefish) are related fish with finer scales. Kamo is duck.
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ITALIAN BAL Aoto on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Hey, this is Hangover Meshi. This time it’s a newly opened Italian place in Akasaka, “ITALIAN BAL Aoto.” It’s upstairs in the same building as Safari (in Japanese), the place known for Droit. Safari is on the third floor and Aoto on the fifth, I think? Step inside and the first thing you meet is a big counter. From the photos on Tabelog I had the impression it would be fairly bright and roomy, but the mood is less an Italian restaurant than a bar! I wonder whether they took over a bar as it stood? Well, if the food is good then that’s that! Time to explore a new place!
Two-hour limit, with all-you-can-drink (Aoto Special plan): 7,900 yen
Two-hour limit, all-you-can-drink: 3,400 yen
It’s rather good that you can take just the all-you-can-drink on its own. This time I had plans afterwards and wasn’t in the mood for anything too heavy, so I settled on the a la carte approach and ate whatever I felt like.
First an amuse-bouche — or rather, the otoshi!
Fig, maybe? It looks like a little sweet and it’s charming!
The Ao Mojito. A clear blue that is lovely just to look at.
I haven’t seen it anywhere else, so perhaps it’s original to this place? Rum + mint + herbs + citrus + syrup + soda, apparently.
The chef’s choice trio.
From the left, a crudo of fresh fish. Sea bass, perhaps? Above it, white liver mousse with a garlic crostini (toast). Bottom right, endive and fruit with white balsamic and truffle over the top. I see — a stylish plate indeed. That endive at the bottom right in particular is a vegetable that isn’t very familiar in Japan! Something like a very juicy Chinese cabbage that is easy to eat raw, lol. The fruit was pear.
The dishes served in jars are said to be a specialty, so I ordered one. Marinated olives.
They’re olives with the pits still in, which left me with the problem of where to put the pits, lol
Tomatoes of all different colors with buffalo mozzarella.
Because the tomatoes vary you get sweet ones and sharp ones and everything in between, which is fun, but be aware that it’s a little different from the orthodox caprese you might be picturing. Still, if you like tomatoes it’s good, because there are plenty of them.
When they call it “Akasaka” you can’t help being curious, lol. Maybe I’ve fallen neatly into the shop’s intentions ^^
They said today’s fish was tai (sea bream), but by the look of it this isn’t madai. Itoyori or amadai, I suspect — the sort of tai with slightly yellowish skin and fine scales. There are a good many kinds of seafood and vegetables in it and they have given off a proper stock. If anything, “home-style bouillabaisse” fits it better than a restaurant’s. A gentle flavor, and delicious.
And then, last, a dish using a domestic brand duck called “Gin no Kamo” that was listed right at the bottom of the menu.
It costs a fair amount, but since I was here anyway ^^
Looks good!
The Gin no Kamo itself. The flavor is very concentrated and that’s good, but personally I think I’d prefer it cooked a bit further through? Probably a matter of taste, but precisely because it’s a duck with such a deep flavor, the strong red-meat smell — that iron-like note — comes right to the front, so having it cooked a little more might have made it easier to eat.
So — a new Italian place explored. One thing to be aware of: I felt it might be a little difficult to use as a restaurant. Better to come at it with the feeling of dropping in at the counter for an ordinary drink, with Italian food as the snacks. The other customers were mostly using it that way too — drinking at the counter with friends rather than settling in slowly at a table — and between the voices of the people drinking hard at the counter, using the place for a leisurely conversation was difficult, lol. But for a drink-led evening of that kind, good!
ITALIAN BAL Aoto (Italian / Akasaka Station, Akasaka-mitsuke Station, Tameike-sanno Station)
Tabelog dinner rating ★★★☆☆ 3.3
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
