A note on the words: hamburg steak, called hambagu in Japan, is a seasoned patty of ground meat served on a plate rather than in a bun; here it comes simmered in a beef stew broth flavored with miso. Miso-nikomi refers to ingredients simmered in a rich, savory miso sauce, and chicken nanban is fried chicken coated in a sweet-and-sour vinegar glaze and served with tartar sauce.
Gusto Akasaka mitsuke ten on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Hello, this is Hangover Meshi. I wonder how long it has been since I last went to a family restaurant chain. Dropping in after such a long time, I was a bit surprised by how everything seemed to have evolved into another dimension, ha. This time I headed to “Gusto Akasaka mitsuke ten” right in front of Akasaka-mitsuke Station. It is on the second floor of the building right outside the station exit. To go up, you can use the stairs or the elevator in the back. Having an elevator is a nice plus!
Once inside, you are shown to a seat, but looking around the restaurant, what do I see wandering around but a cat-shaped serving robot! Ah, right. Recently in Roppongi I was thinking, “Yay, robot sushi!” but come to think of it, I had seen somewhere that they were being deployed in family restaurants too. It feels a bit embarrassing that I was so amazed by it back then, ha.
THE Gusto Hamburg — 682 yen
THE Gusto Hamburg Double — 909 yen
THE Gusto Hamburg, miso-nikomi style in a beef stew treatment — 955 yen
THE Gusto Hamburg & chicken nanban — 864 yen
The menu is on the ordering tablet, of course. We truly are in the touchscreen age. What I chose this time was right on the first screen: THE Gusto Hamburg, miso-nikomi style in a beef stew treatment. I kind of wish they would make up their mind whether it is a hamburg steak, miso-nikomi, or beef stew, but after eating it later, the naming made strange sense to me. Also, feeling like since I was here I might as well, I additionally ordered a thin cutlet, fried chicken, a highball, and a mountain of fries to go with the drink.
After a short wait, the cat-shaped serving robot brings it over.
I do not know why, but it feels even smoother than back at the sushi place in Roppongi.
Ohh! It looks good!
The fried shrimp is nice. Taking a bite, hmm… I see. There is definitely a gentle whiff of miso flavor, but if I had to say, the beef stew impression is much stronger — like adding a bit of miso-nikomi miso into beef stew. No, wait, that is literally what the name says. As for the hamburg steak, it feels very typical of a family restaurant chain. It is not shockingly delicious or anything. Rather than eating a hamburg steak, the sensation is more like eating the stew around it.
A mountain of fries,
one piece of fried chicken, and
a single cutlet. When I ordered the hamburg steak on the tablet, a “how about adding this?” prompt popped up on the screen, and I carelessly ordered it. Honestly, it goes great as a snack with a highball, ha. Then, just as I was thinking there were way too many fries to finish, it turned out you can buy a takeout container from the tablet for 20 yen! That is a great initiative! I ordered one, packed the leftover fries into the container, and decided to take them home.
What surprised me even more when it came time to pay was that if you use PayPay, you can settle the bill right at your table, ha. Yes, exactly, this is what I wanted! Going all the way to the register to pay is a hassle, so I just want to finish up at the seat and head out! Things really have evolved quite a bit. Once you pay at the table, you just toss the bill slip into the box beside the entrance and you are done. Very smart. Thinking about it, since it is a family restaurant, it must be open from morning, right? With this level of automation, it is so easy to drop in, and I thought I might stop by once for breakfast!
Gusto Akasaka mitsuke ten (Family restaurant / Akasaka-mitsuke Station, Nagatacho Station, Akasaka Station)
Tabelog lunch rating ★★★☆☆ 3.0
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
